Treaty of Versailles

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Treaty of Versailles
Introduction
In historical discussions, scholars come across the phrase treaty of Versailles. This phrase refers to the peace agreement at the end of the World War one, specifically on the 28th day of June 1919. The treaty of Versailles saw the termination of the war between German and the Allied power. It was not until the 21st of October 1919 that there came to be the registry of the treaty by the League of Nations secretariat. The armistice of the treaty had been signed earlier on, but there had been delays in signing the deal. Following the signing of the armistice, there had been a cessation of the fighting, but there had not yet been a permanent agreement. Before the Treaty of Versailles, there had been the continued fight which at the moment seemed to concentrate on German against the allied nations. The allied nations included France, Britain, Italy and Russia. The treaty of Versailles picks its name from the France city which is ten miles outside Paris.
There has always been a two-sided perspective to the treaty of Versailles. One view tilts to the positive side whereby there is an association of the agreement with cessation of the war hence contributing to peace and stability of the nations. However, there is the second perspective which aligns to a negative side whereby; there is much connection of the treaty with the ignition of the Second World War. The association of the Treaty of Versailles with the Second World War outbreak emanate from the considerations of the provisions of the agreement.

The deal hastened the conflict that led to the spread of the Second World War. The provisions of the accord led to German expansion, economic downfall as well as hyperinflation. There was also the vulnerability of the German people which resulted in the election of Hitler and Fascist party, elements that fueled the Second World War.
Conduction
The treaty of Versailles, considered as an agreement that aimed at creating peace took place in Versailles near Paris. The selection of the venue for conducting the ceremony followed considerations of space whereby; Versailles would provide adequate space for the many people involved in the treaty. In the conduction of the Treaty of Versailles, there was involvement of many clauses. Some were neutral while some came out as controversial. One of such controversial provisions includes the provision that later came to be known as the War Guilt Clause. This aspect refers the phase in the treaty whereby; there was a requirement that German accepts the responsibility of German and her allies for the war losses and damages to themselves and to the other countries that suffered the harmful effects of the war. Since then, the War Guilt clause has been an element of discussion in the historical deliberations. There was a requirement that German disarms and pays reparations to the individual states that incurred much damage under the Entente powers.
The most intriguing part of the clause came to be the demand that German takes full responsibility for the payment of the reparations to the countries. Economists’ estimates found out that the compensation would amount to something close to $ 442 billion. Such was an excessive amount to pay and therefore, many analysts believed the demand was too much for German, hence the linkage of the Treaty of Versailles with the subsequent outbreak of the Second World War. Many analysts found this requirement to be excessive and counter-productive hence, taking the blame over the eruption of the Second World War to the Treaty of Versailles. The basis of the arguments was that the figures to be paid were way too high for German especially in the consideration that there had been many countries in the involvement that required the compensation. Nevertheless, there are those that held the opinion that such a requirement of the German in the conduction of the treaty was too much lenient. Going by the damage that the war, under much influence of the German had caused, there was a need to give out a much harsh condition to the Germans before any cessation.
The conduction of the Treaty of Versailles, therefore, led to a situation of a war loophole whereby; there was no complete strengthening of conditions for the entire existence of peace; neither was there absolute weakening of the states that were capable of igniting the war afresh. There is much connection of the manner of conduction of the treaty of Versailles with underestimations of the abilities of German in igniting a new war. There was, therefore, sensing of problems in the deliberations of the Treaty of Versailles, and before long, there were realizations of the Locarno treaties which sought to improve the relations between the state of German and the other European powers. Following the Locarno treaties, there was also the renegotiation of the compensation system. The agreements resulted in the Dawes and Young plans as well as the postponement reparations. The delays went on until the time of the Lausanne Conference which was in the year 1932.
Wilson’s fourteen points of peace
As the world continued to dwell in constant wars, America realized that there was a need to seek a permanent solution to the fighting. In 1917, United State’s president, Wilson Woodrow attempted to bring the Americans to rally with the efforts of war. His promise was that of a war that would put an end to the other wars in a precise manner. He sought to restore democracy to every corner of the world even as other countries such as Russia and Europe engaged in limited freedom, with the leaders struggling to avenge the damages thereof, with little regard to the dire implications to the common citizenry. Wilson envisioned that; the United States ought to serve as a moral compass to the rest of the universe. These sentiments came from the realizations that; every other state in the country had elements of vengeance while engaging in the war; hence, there was the lack of moral guidance in the whole affair. With considerations of the maturity of democracy in America, in comparison to the rest of the world, there was the realization that; it was the United States that was most suited for the task of setting the pace in moral obligations of the nations, particularly in matters of democracy.
In agreement with the fourteen points of Wilson, the difference between the engagements of the United States and the other countries in the war would be in the goals. Whereas other States entered into war with intentions of vengeance and all manner of gains, the United States would not seek to attain such goals. The sole purpose of the United States in engaging in the war would be to restore democracy in nations. There would be no intentions of gaining wealth or any territory. There would be a focus to create an international climate that is suitable for the right being and continued growth and development of democracy. These sentiments emanated from Wilson’s considerations that; if there existed democracy in the United States, with the absence of the same in the neighborhood, there would not be the right kind of relations and the local practice of democracy would be in vain. There was a positive response to the ideologies of Wilson at home.
The Americans rallied behind his efforts. It was from the enactment of Wilson’s fourteen points of peace that the United State’s troops arrived in Europe in the year 1917 in a bid to support the allied powers. Towards the end of the war, Wilson realized that there would be a lack of focus with the cessation of the fighting. It was that time that he came up with the fourteen points of peace, which came to be famously known as Wilson fourteen points of peace.
Policies for preventing US involvement
Despite the cordial intentions of the United States to engage in the war, there were efforts of combating their participation. There was the enactment of policies that did not support the involvement of United States in the international disputes. It is essential to note that; most of the policies were not in a linear perspective. For example, the Treaty of Versailles did not auger well with the advancement of the Wilsons quest in the establishment of freedom for states and free trade. Many of the entities in the treaty of Versailles had convictions that the intentions of the United States in as far as free trade was concerned, was to advance their interests. However, the goal was to see the existence of free trade for very nation hence sustenance of economic and political freedom. The treaty also did not favor the efforts of the United States in advancing military disarmament. However, Wilson did not give up in the quest for establishing democracy through the war and promoting free trade and military disarmament. He believed in the powers of the League of Nation.
Wilson believed that the League of Nations, in its conventions, would have the authority to solve the issues that the US was advancing through arbitration and negotiation. Although the signing of the Treaty of Versailles by Wilson was greeted with applause in the global arena, in the United States, he did not get a reception with anticipation. The Americans back home felt that there would be much more advancement in the world entangles instead of peace. The Americans did not hold much confidence in the League of Nations. From then on, there has always been much connection of the United States with non-interventionism. This aspect denotes a situation whereby; there are deliberate efforts to prevent a state from engaging in alliances with other nations so as to avoid fighting in wars.
Conclusion
Since the agreement in Versailles, there has been a debate over whether the move was a beneficial one or not concerning gaining substantial peace. Those who take the positive side argue that the treaty brought arbitration, even if for a moment. Another side argues that the agreement paved the way for the eruption of the Second World War.