Name _________________________
Day 68
The Treaty of Versailles: A Peace Built on Quicksand
World War I was over. The
killing had finally stopped. On
January 18, 1919, a conference to
establish the terms of peace began
at the Palace of Versailles, outside
of Paris. U.S. President Woodrow
Wilson’s plan for peace was
known as the Fourteen Points. The guiding idea behind
Wilson’s Fourteen Points was self-determination, which
meant allowing people to decide for themselves how they
wanted to be ruled and governed. Wilson’s 14th point
established a League of Nations, which was to be an
international organization whose goal would be to keep
peace among nations. (The League of Nations was the
precursor to the United Nations.)
Although there were heated disagreements between
the U.S. and European leaders about the terms of the
treaty, a compromise was reached and the Treaty of
Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, five years to the day after Franz Ferdinand’s assassination
in Sarajevo.
1. What was Woodrow Wilson’s plan for peace called? __________________________
2. Which populations of the world would be very excited about Wilson’s idea of selfdetermination? Explain.
1. Who did the Treaty of Versailles place all of the war guilt on? ____________________
2. How does the Treaty of Versailles punish Germany for WWI? (List at least 5 ways!)
3. Do you think the Treaty of Versailles was fair to Germany? Why or why not?
4. Which of these punishments do you think is going to have the greatest impact on
Germany’s future? Explain.
Which countries lost the most territory after WWI? ______________________________
What country does the Ottoman Empire become? _______________________________
The Treaty of Versailles, in particular the war-guilt clause, left a legacy of bitterness and
hatred in the hearts of the German people. However, many other countries felt cheated and
betrayed by the peace settlement as well. Throughout colonized Africa and Asia, people were angry
at the way the Allies disregarded their desire for independence, despite Woodrow Wilson’s call for
self-determination. The European powers, it seemed to them, merely talked about the principle of
self-determination. European colonialism, disguised as what was now called the mandate system,
continued in Asia and Africa.
Some Allied powers, too, were embittered by the outcome. Both Japan and Italy, which had
entered the war to gain territory, had gained less than they wanted. Even in the United States, the
U.S. Congress refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, and thus the League of Nations did not
have the U.S. support so crucial to its effectiveness. The settlements at Versailles represented, as
one observer noted, “a peace built on quicksand.” Indeed, that quicksand eventually would give
way. In a little more than two decades, the treaty’s legacy of bitterness would help plunge the world
into another catastrophic war.
1. Why were colonized people of the world upset with the Treaty of Versailles?
2. Why was the League of Nations not able to be effective at keeping peace in the world?
3. Imagine that you are a German citizen after WWI. Why might you consider the Treaty
of Versailles a “peace built on quicksand”?