The Paris Peace Conference - Term Paper Example

The Paris Peace Conference The Paris Peace Conference The main theme of the Paris Peace Conference was to restore peace to the war torn countries after World War I. The conference began in the middle of January with opening addresses from the main allies. The main theme of the conference, as portrayed by representatives from the main countries, is peace. All the delegates confessed that their countries were willing to cooperate to restore a state of peace. This paper seeks to discuss the various themes that were evident in the speeches which were read and the part that was played by four representatives of the major allies. The mission to restore peace was proclaimed by President Wilson. All the documents present the authors’ quest for peace. This is portrayed with carefully chosen words that are used and the effect that these words have on the delegates that attended the conference. The Paris Peace Conference recorded an attendance of 27 countries with high-ranking representatives and aids who devised a Peace Treaty. The central power leaders who attended the conference included Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Great Britain, George Clemenceau of France, Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando, and President Woodrow Wilson of the United States. During the Peace Conference, two themes were highly critical. The first theme was that each victorious ally from Europe had betrayed the diplomacy of the then president Wilson. Therefore, in so doing, they had deprived the post war international order of its moral justification1. The second theme was the Carthaginian settlement in which all the winning nations had virtually dismantled the country of Germany of all its economic and military power. Therefore, the main theme was that of restoring peace to the war torn nations while the secondary themes were of diplomacy and the Carthaginian settlement. These three themes each stand for itself and the three cannot be united as one theme. Key points of the speeches by the presidents of the four nations are evident. The then President of the United States, President Wilson, promised Poland free and secure access to the Baltic Sea. Wilson balanced antithetical considerations with his self-determination and patience2. France attended the conference with the aim of acquiring backup and security from the Germans. Therefore, the only way of achieving their goal was to ensure the Americans and the British take over. However, this was only possible if the two countries could give Germany such a punch that Germany could never rise again3. The Peace Conference Treaty which was agreed on ignored the problems in the economic sector that Germany had to face. German economy at that time was based on the production and sale of coal and iron. Coal could not be delivered or mined to other countries after the treaty was signed. 75% of the iron ore that Germany used to mine came from a region that was reclaimed by the French after the signing of the treaty. The Germans, therefore, were responsible for the war damages since they are the ones who did start the war on the other countries4. The world had gone through a most upsetting time and a more vicious era, World War I, but still there was light at the end of the tunnel. Several meetings were held among the countries around the world after the Germans surrendered. The agenda was to discuss the steps that the world should take in restoring peace. The most prominent and disclosed meeting was the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. The international conference main aim was to establish the terms of peace between the countries that had taken part in the war. Negotiations were difficult since country representatives had their own views on the steps to be taken5. President of the United States of America Wilson expressed these views on the war and his wish for a secure world; he proposed the Peace Treaty and played his part to perfection. His aim was to help the countries come back together and set up rules that ensured that the war never happened again. Wilson had laid the foundations of world peace and made a matchless contribution in his time. Wilson had to modify his aims to fulfill the desires of the presidents of the other three key players, which included Vittorio Orlando of Italy, Georges Clemenceau of France, and David Lloyd George of Britain6. President Wilson compromised several of his wishes to achieve his main objective in the conference. He had strived for the universal disbarment of the nations but had to bear with the disarmament of Germany only. However, Germany could not agree with this disarmament, so its representatives agreed to only several rules that were set at the treaty. These rules demanded that the country reduce its military forces to the maximum of 100,000 and abolish the law on compulsory military training7. Georges Clemenceau was the man chosen by France to represent their country at the conference during the signing of the Versailles settlement; he wanted the terms of the treaty to smash Germany. George Clemenceau of France was a bitter man at the conference. His main aim was to ensure that the Germans paid for the crimes they committed during the war. He sought revenge and punishment for the Germans. He was after the passing of a law that would hold Germany responsible for paying for damages of the war. His other goal that was evident in the arguments he raised was to weaken Germany militarily and economically, so that France could be assured of security from attack8. The treaty was agreed upon with some disapproval from the French. The influence of Lloyd George had certainly minimized the effects the treaty would have had on Germany. He asked for reassurance from the American and British delegates that the French will never face another attack from the Germans. The two presidents played significant roles in the signing of the treaty. Wilson was interested in the restoration of the peace while George was focused on weakening Germany to assure the French of their security. This two had the same mission, the fostering of peace, but they had different methods of how to achieve this goal. The Italian Prime Minister, Vittorio Orlando, was also among the four key players at the conference. He went to the conference with the hope that his country’s demands, which focused on the territory of the country, would be met. However, when the delegates failed to honor his demands, the man left them and came back just to sign the treaty. The Italians were focused on retaining Austria as a part of their country, and when this failed, the president did not see the need of remaining at the conference since this was his main aim of attending it9. The Prime Minister of Great Britain at the time of the conference was David Lloyd George. He was a sort of man who said what people wanted to hear, and people wanted to hear that the Germans would pay. He was a man after justice in the conference, but he did not want revenge. He had the notion that peace should never be harsh, otherwise another war may start in several years. He tried to reach a halfway point where all countries would contribute to the damages of the war. His main aim after the peace goal was to expand the British Empire so that the Britons would maintain control of the seas and increase trade10. The four delegates played crucial roles in the signing of the Peace Treaty. This treaty helped the countries to overcome their differences so that they could return the world to the economic status of before. All the three delegates had one core mission but different ways of achieving it. The president Wilson served as the mediator in these negotiations and strived to ensure the three countries would come up with a treaty which would be favorable to all and would prevent one more war. The author of the five documents has tried without fail to bring out the different themes that the four principles discussed and the effect that each theme had on the signing of the treaty. The author makes us appreciate the presence of each delegate since, as he portrays them, all of them have played a unique part in the conference. The author uses credible information without omitting of any details about the conference11. This paper brings into account the different themes that were brought out at the conference, the part played by each of the four key players, and the effect that this had on the signing of the treaty. The Paris Conference of 1919 was a significant step initiated by the President of the United States Wilson, who sought to achieve peace among the countries which participated in the First World War. In addition, this was also meant to avert any other disagreement that could lead to the breakout of another war. Bibliography Cecilto, R. L. “Certain Accepted Principles.” Intimate Papers of Colonel House, July 22,1918. United States Department of States. “The Paris Peace Conference Volume I.” Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, 1919, 1919. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/FRUS.FRUS1919Parisv01. United States Department of States. “The Paris Peace Conference Volume II.” Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, 1919 , 1919. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/FRUS.FRUS1919Parisv02. United States Department of States. “The Paris Peace Conference Volume III.” Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, 1919 , 1919. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/FRUS.FRUS1919Parisv03. United States Department of States. “The Paris Peace Conference Volume V.” Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, 1919 , 1919. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/FRUS.FRUS1919Parisv05. United States Department of States. “The Paris Peace Conference Volume VI.” Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, 1919 , 1919. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/FRUS.FRUS1919Parisv06. Read More