Woodrow Wilson was one of the "Big Four" at the Versailles
Peace Conference, comprised of Wilson, Georges, Clemenceau of France, David Lloyd George
of England and Victor Orlando of Italy. Wilson had grandiose plans (dreams might be a
more appropriate word) for the peace settlement, and accomplished most of them; however
in the long run, his efforts were for naught.
Wilson
arrived at the conference intent on implementing his famous Fourteen Points which he had
previously promulgated. He ran into opposition almost immediately, primarily from
Clemenceau and Lloyd George. France had been humiliated by Prussia in the
Franco-Prussian War, and a substantial amount of the fighting in the war had occurred on
French soil. Clemenceau was determined not only to punish Germany but also to prevent it
from invading France again by keeping it crippled. Prior to the conference, he famously
remarked
Moses
gave us the Ten Commandments and we broke them; Wilson has given us the Fourteen points.
We shall see.
Lloyd George
was no less vindictive. He won election in Britain on a promise to make Germany pay
dearly for its transgressions, stating
We shall squeeze the orange until the pips
squeak."
The conference
deadlocked almost immediately, and Wilson packed his bags to return home. The conference
was only saved because Clemenceau feared the breakup of conference would leave France
alone and exposed to another invasion from Germany.
As
agreed upon the Treaty of Versailles was much more punitive than Wilson would have
liked; but it did contain a provision for his most cherished dream, the creation of a
League of Nations. The latter provision ultimately won Wilson the Nobel Peace Prize;
ironically, however, the Treaty was not ratified by the U.S. Senate, primarily because
of Wilson's intransigence, and the U.S. never joined. The League had a brief and
unremarkable existence. Wilson therefore accomplished little at Versailles that proved
long term.
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