I. The Treaty of Vienna prevented future aggression after the Napoleonic Wars by realistically dealing with defeated France.
a. Congress of Vienna met in 1815 in order to construct a lasting peace settlement.
b. First Peace of Paris gave France the boundaries it possessed in 1792
c. Metternich, Talleyward and Castlereagh believed that a balance of power in Europe would prevent future aggression by France and other countries
i. Low Countries were united under the Dutch monarchy ii. Prussia received territory on the Rhine- France’s eastern border iii. Polish kingdom created
d. France lost very little territory and had to pay only 700 million Francs in reparations
e. Quadruple Alliance agreed to meet occasionally and discuss interests in Europe and maintain peace
II. The Treaty of Versailles after World War I sought unnecessarily harsh demands on an already crippled Germany and ultimately led to the breakdown of the Treaty and peace in Europe.
a. Met at Versailles in 1919 with intentions of a peace settlement and high German reparations
b. Unrealistic goals of the Treaty were unable to be ratified or enforced
i. League of Nations proposed by Wilson, meant ot maintain peace in Europe and avert future wars. Unable to enforce peace in Europe ii. France made defensive Alliance with Britain and U.S.; U.S. adopted isolationism, Britain backs out.
c. Harsh Punishment for Germany
i. Germany lost a large amount of territory
1. Alsace-Lorraine to the French
2. All of Germany’s overseas colonies were distributed among France, Britain and Japan ii. German military was contained to 100,000 men. Demilitarization of Rhineland iii. Sole war-guilt was placed on Germany, and Germany paid large reparations out of an already failing economy.
d. Germany accepts Treaty on June 28th, 1919
Moderation in the agreement of the Treaty of Veinna proved to create a far more effective negotiation than the terms brought against Germany at the close of WWI. The Treaty of Vienna created a balance of power in Europe, and did not totally decimate France through reparations. On the other hand, the Treaty of Versailles demanded a weak German military, and ultimately destroyed their economy through the large war reparations. The weak politics and failing economy caused a power vacuum within Germany that eventually gave rise to the Nazi regime. The balance of power in the Treaty of Vienna created a realistic and achievable peace in Europe.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The Treaty of Versailles took important land away from Germany, Reduced Germany’s military significantly, made Germany pay all the war reparations alone, and the treaty put all the blame of the war on Germany. Germany was being punished harshly and severely, and as Hitler came into power he turned the German people against the Treaty of Versailles and they eventually fought back. The Treaty of Versailles helped cause World War II by punishing Germany to the severity that they…
- 749 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The end of World War I was finalized by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. It was signed by Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan but not the United States, as the U.S. drafted its own treaty with Germany in 1921. Many historians argue that the Treaty of Versailles was the major cause of World War II which occurred twenty years later. On the Treaty's most superficial level, the extreme punishment and fines that were levied by the Allied Powers on the Germans were causes enough for war. Historians argue that this and the international fallout that resulted most notably with the United States were simply too powerful to avoid war at all. The ramification of the Treaty sent the German economy into a severe depression…
- 1292 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
The Treaty of Versailles brought World War I to an end. It was signed on 28 June 1919 in Versailles. The main structure in the treaty was for Germany and her allies to accept the responsibility for causing all the “loss and damage" during the war. The clause of the treaty stated Germany as the antagonist in the war and therefore made Germany responsible for making amends to the Allied nations in payment for the losses and damage they had sustained in the war. The Treaty called for the formation of a League of Nations in which the promise of mutual security would avoid another major world war…
- 464 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty that was drawn up by the Allies and Germany after the First World War. It was made to prevent Germany from starting a war again and to pay back the Allies for the money they had spent. The Germans had hoped that the Allies would treat them fairly in the negotiations for the treaty, but the Allies, in particular France, believed that Germany should be brought to its knees. France was not as satisfied as it would have liked, because Woodrow Wilson, who stood for America in the peace conferences, wanted those in power in Germany to be punished, rather than the German people. In the end, the treaty stated that Germany had to pay £6000,600,000,000 in reparations, they lost a lot of land (including the Ruhr Valley), they were stripped of their aircraft and air force, they only had six battleships and nothing else, they had no modern weapons, and they were only allowed 100,000 soldiers. The western part of Germany called the Rhineland was de-militarized (taken over by British and French troops and controlled by the Allies). Finally, Germany was made to accept that they were the ones who started the war.…
- 740 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The Treaty of Versailles stripped Germany of its armed forces. It also made Germany pay war reparations to the allies. The Treaty of Versailles basically put the full blame on Germany for starting and corrupting World War I. As Germany signed the treaty, it formally ended World War I and was agreeing and understands that all the things, just mentioned, would happen. Also, after the end of World War I, the four empires, the Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire, The German Empire, and the Austria-Hungary Empire dissolved out of the Europe map. All for empires fell apart and was either split or renamed as a new country.…
- 576 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
When World War 1 ended, there was many casualties and damages throughout the four years. Most importantly, it left a doubt on who caused World War 1 and who was going to pay for the damages made. To settle this arguement there was a conference that united twenty seven countries and excluded 5 countries, Russia and the Central Power, called the Paris Peace Conference . The conference took place in Paris, France in June 28, 1919. In the conference, the Treaty of Versailles was created to end conflict between the Allied power and Germany. The Treaty of Versailles was not justified because the Allies blamed Germany for igniting the spark to the war and forced them to pay for all the damages that the war left.…
- 559 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
First of all, the Reparations' clause of the Treaty of Versailles was one of the 440 clauses in the treaty that were not readily forgotten. Article 232 of the treaty stated that the Allied and Associated Governments would require Germany to pay reparations to those countries that suffered damage in World War I ("Treaty of Versailles"). The final amount was not readily agreed upon, for the sums desired varied from each of the Big Four. As Margaret Macmillan states in her book Paris 1919, "The British were asking for £24 billion ($120 billion), the French were asking for £44 billion ($220 billion); while the American experts recommended £4.4 billion ($22 billion)." Even after identifying Germany would be unable to immediately pay these reparation fees, the Big Four felt that they needed to weaken Germany economically in an effort to prevent them from completely recovering from World War I. They believed "that a smaller Germany, and poorer Germany, would be less of a threat to its neighbors" (Macmillan 162). This was one of four main clauses that greatly angered…
- 969 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
Treaty of Versailles was signed by all the allies of Germany on June 28, 1919. Germany was the one that surrendered because they pretty much knew they could not win the war. President Woodrow Wilson listed five thing for the peace he ended the secret treaties between nations. The nations are free to sail any sea and ocean they wanted to in the world. The armies and navies had to decrease its size they had to get smaller.…
- 472 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Even though the Treaty of Versailles was meant to end future conflict, all it did was Influence a World War.Some of the reasons why include Germany wanting their land back, wanting a full army, having to pay billions of dollars to all the allied nations, and how the treaty made Germany feel as a whole.…
- 690 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
b. The failure to ratify the Treaty of Versailles was mainly due to the lack of ability to compromise between Lodge and Wilson.…
- 1136 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The ending of the war created many treaties. The allies entered treaties with different areas of Europe. All the treaties combined were called the Peace of Paris. The treaty of Versailles is the most well known and was hard on Germany. The allies felt Germany was responsible for World War One. The treaty of Versailles limited Germany's ability to have a standing army and navy, also to manufacture war goods.…
- 746 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The reason for this idea of collective security was because it would help keep the balance between powers in terms of influence and land. Also, the countries at the congress learnt from their mistakes. Their main mistake was allowing Napoleon to invade other European countries and as a result, he became so powerful that the other powers could do nothing to stop him.…
- 859 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
On June 28th 1919, the “Big Three”, Georges Clemenceau, Woodrow Wilson, and David Lloyd George, on behalf of Great Britain, the United States, and France, had formulated a peace treaty called Versailles Treaty to end the four-year-long First Word War, establishing the famous “Versailles System”. The purpose of the system is to build a peaceful world dominated by the victor countries, such as Great Britain, the United States and France. Therefore, the treaty harshly punished the losing countries, like Germany, Austria, and Hungary, making them decline in power. Every country participated in the Paris Conference with its own goals, and all countries, especially the three biggest victor countries, want to maximize their own interest. In this case, conflict was inevitable. Unfortunately, the treaty failed to make a perfect negotiation to solve problems, such as the placements new borders between countries, the amount of reparations the losing powers had to pay, and therefore, the treaty finally could only build a kind of illusive peaceful system, which was instability, and directly led to the Second World War. Why the Versailles treaty failed to bring peace and stability after the First World War? It’s no denying a fact that only when the most of delegation countries feel satisfied about an international treaty, or there are some powerful dominant country both have the willing and ability to sustain the treaty, the treaty can really take effect in a long term. However, in my opinion, all countries involved in the system, included the losing powers, the colonial countries, and even the victor powers, felt disappointed about the Versailles Treaty more or less, and unfortunately, at that time, the world system was an unstable one. The leading countries neither had the willing to protect the system in long term, nor had the ability to maintain it. Consequently, the collapse of the Versailles System was only a…
- 2063 Words
- 9 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Soon after World War I, the Treaty of Versailles was written. The diplomats of this treaty only intended to end all wars and redraw Europe, but this treaty marked the beginning of a disaster for Germany. After six months prior to the war, the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919. The overall purpose of the treaty was to punish Germany for damages done during WWI so that they could realize the pain they inflicted on other countries. Germany was forced to sign the treaty, because if they had not France and Britain would continue a war Germany could not afford to fight. Germany was running out of food, raw material, men and ammunition, so there was a great chance of them losing the war. The Treaty of Versailles weakened Germany economically, socially, and politically. It left them in financial ruin, humiliated, and caused them greater animosity against allies.…
- 1642 Words
- 4 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty put into place at the end of world war one (Schultz, 2014). The treaty involved Germany, France, Britain and the United States. Although the Treaty was envisioned to create peace between these countries, it wasn't entirely fair on Germany but rather punitive (Schultz, 2014). Germany was banned from the negotiations. Some believed this made the Treaty unfair from the beginning, as it appeared the 'Big Three' (France, Britain and the United States) could negotiate the conditions of the Treaty to increase their personal benefit (as a nation) (Schultz, 2014). French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau was mainly concerned with protecting France from future German invasion. While negotiating the terms…
- 344 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays