Why did the victors not get everything they wanted Flashcards
Why was Clemenceau happy with the treaty?
Satisfied several demands that regarded Alsace-Lorraine and the transfer of German colonies
France was a big recipient of German reparations
Deprived Germany of a lot of land, money, and people.
Why was Clemenceau not happy with the treaty?
He was worried that what they did wouldn’t be enough
He wanted a Treaty of Guarantee which meant that Britain and the US would come to help France if it ever went into war again. This didn’t happen.
France was still dangerously exposed to the Germans
Why was Lloyd-George happy with the treaty?
Wanted a moderate peace that allowed the European economy to revive, he did manage to achieve this to a large degree.
Paris in a two-fold
Convincing Clemenceau to adopt a more moderate approach to the treaty by offering him an Anglo-American guarantee against Germany.
Promoting British interest by extending their colonies adding 1.8 million square miles to their land. As well as having an additional 13 million subjects.
The German navy threat had been removed.
Punished without destroying their economy. They could still contribute to the economy. Promoting good business for Britain reassuring those that feared communism.
Returned in Triumph.
Why was Lloyd-George not happy with the treaty?
German-speaking people being governed by Poland, or French rule.
Why was Wilson happy with the treaty?
He was pleased he could convince his partners to accept the Covenant of the League of Nations in the peace treaties.
He was somewhat pleased by the requirement of disarming the defeated countries. Represented one step towards disarming everyone.
He was relieved that the Rhineland was staying with Germany and wanted to become an independent state. It reduced the potential harmfulness of the treaty.
Happy that Germany wasn’t burdened with high reparations.
Very happy with the self-determination aspect of Poland, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia.
Overall he thought the treaty was too harsh towards Germany.
Why was Wilson not happy with the treaty?
Britain, France, and Japan had all awarded themselves with Germany’s former colonies even though officially they were supposed to be mandated by the League of Nations.
Notable exceptions of the self-determinations of Austria-Hungary.
Austria was not allowed to unite with Germany
The Sudeten Germans were not consulted about their future.
Failed to persuade the American congress to approve treaties with the League of Nations.
Why did they clash?
One of the reasons they didn’t all get what they wanted was because Clemenceau wanted a harsh treaty, while Wilson wanted a light treaty and Lloyd-George wanted a moderate one.
They all had way too different ideas about what kind of treaty they wanted to give Germany.
Clemenceau resented Wilson because he wanted to grant Germany some leeway when the US had suffered much less than France had.
This lead to Wilson giving way to the different issues regarding Rhineland and Saar. This meant that Clemenceau and Lloyd-George allowed Wilson to initiate self-determination in eastern Europe, despite them not being sold on the idea.
Clemenceau clashed with Lloyd-George for the same reason he did with Wilson- the fact that he wanted to go a bit easier on Germany.
He thought that the British were quite content with treating Germany fairly in the treaty, even though the French were most under threat.
Despite both Wilson and Lloyd-George both disagreeing with Clemenceau, both these leaders also clashed against each other.
