Securing Peace

Questions from Reading: Securing the Peace, pgs. 12 - 21

1. Why did Woodrow Wilson not take any Republicans with him to Europe for the Peace Conference?
Wilson had a strong dislike for Lodge, a republican, he was also bitter about midterm elections.

2. Why was Wilson welcomed in Paris?
Wilson was an American and the citizens of Paris saw Americans as heroes because they had helped defeat the Germans.

3. The idea of self-rule, which Wilson advocated, was not included in the Treaty to the extent Wilson had hoped. Why not?
The other countries did not like they idea because it was not harsh on Germany and did not want "a peace without victory".


4. The Allied Big Four - Wilson, Lloyd George, Orlando, and Clemenceau - discussed the question of whether to invite the conquered Germans and the new Russian Bolsehvik government to the Versailles Conference and its negotiations but decided against it. Was the decision justified? Explain your reasoning.
I do not think it was justified because the decision was made only for the sake of revenge. It was not a very diplomatic move and could only give Germans more reason to dislike those countries. Creating a treaty that would have such a drastic impact on both countries and not allowing them to be a part of it can not be logically justified.

5. Which Big Four leader showed up at the Paris Conference with the most strenght to influence the proceedings? Which was the weakest? Why?
Clemenceau, Wilson and George were all very powerful, with Wilson probably in the highest position. Italy was the weakest. Wilson was the only head of state. Italy was smaller than the other countries and had originally been a central power.

6. Why did Wilson have such difficulty seeing his Fourteen Points written into the Peace Plan?
The other countries were set on revenge on Germany.

7. Explain Article X of the League of Nations Covenant. What problems with the covenant did some Americans have?
Article X essentially said that the boundaries decided upon at the conference would need to be maintained. Many Americans disapproved because they felt it would threaten U.S. isolationism and cause the U.S. to get tangled in European affairs,