After the Versailles settlement, the Kaiser Wilhelm II was to be tried for being a war criminal, and the settlement blames Germany and its allies for being responsible for starting WWI. The German army was also restricted, such as that the German army could not have more than 100,000 troops and no import/exports of weapons allowed.
In 1919 there was an assassination attempt on Clemenceau but failed to kill him. In 1920 Clemenceau was replaced by Alexandre Millerand as the French President.
Woodrow Wilson
Governor of New Jersey, President of Princeton University, 28th President of the US 1913-1921.
Woodrow Wilson was often in poor health, and in his early life had difficulties reading. He was a car enthusiast, and this also made him a supporter of funding for more motorways to be constructed. Wilson was also known to enjoy sporting activities such as baseball and golf. He admired the Parliamentary system of the UK and saw the US as open to corruption. Wilson served as the president of the US during WWI.
Many of the US public wanted the US to withdraw from intervening in European affairs as soon as possible, and Wilson did not want to treat Germany too harshly as he wanted the US to be able to trade with Germany afterwards. Wilson also put forward the Fourteen Points, and called for no more secret treaties between countries, countries should seek to reduce their weaponry and no country should be allowed to govern another country. He also wanted a League of Nations created in order to ensure peace and settle any disputes between countries.
The League of Nations was created soon after the signing of the treaty, and Germany’s army was reduced significantly.
Wilson eventually retired at 1921 and eventually died in 1924. He was buried at the Washington National Cathedral, making him the only president to be buried in Washington DC.
Vittorio Orlando
Italian diplomat & political figure, Prime Minister of Italy 1917-1919
Orlando supported Italy entering into WWI and supported the Allies as a secret treaty promising land for Italy had been made. During the Versailles Settlement he was known for crying and writhing on the floor when Italy did not get what they were entitled to. Clemenceau called him ‘The Weeper’. Orlando served as Prime Minster of Italy during WWI.
From the Versailles settlement, Orlando wanted to gain land that had been promised to Italy for declaring war on Germany and Austria and fighting on the side of the Allies (the Treaty of London).
Orlando ended up being forced to resign as his demands in the Versailles settlement were not met. Orlando resigned as Prime Minister of Italy in 1919.
After his position as Prime Minister, he was elected speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, and was a candidate for presidency but was defeated.
David Lloyd George
Leader of the Liberal Party, MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Prime Minister of UK 1916-1922
Lloyd George was encouraged to look for a career in law and politics from his early life, and campaigned for the Liberal Party.
Many of the British public wanted revenge for the heavy casualties suffered from WWI and so wanted the Kaiser to be tried for being a war criminal in the Versailles settlement, in order to maintain his own public image and have the support of the public. He was also concerned that communism would spread from Russia to western Europe and so did not want Germany to be treated too harshly as it was the only major barrier that stopped communism from spreading into Europe, or for war to start all over again because of the harsh punishments.
Britain gained some more colonies for the British Empire from the Versailles settlement, and the limited German Navy meant Britain still had a large amount of control at sea.
The coalition government between the Conservatives and the Liberals which Lloyd George led was eventually broken apart. Later on, Lloyd George met Adolf Hitler, praising him as the “greatest living German”, and that every previous cause for war had been solved and believed that Germany was rearming only for defence. He later died in 1945.
