The Treaty Of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles

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THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES

What was the Treaty of Versailles? Reason for its Introduction Why The United States of America Chose to Ratify the Treaty? Death of the Treaty.

The Treaty of Versailles

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The Treaty of Versailles and the reason for its introduction

The Treaty of Versailles was proposed in 1918 by U.S. Senator, Woodward Wilson, during an address to Congress which included fourteen points as a guide for peace settlement. The treaty was introduced on January 10th 1920 with its governing body headquartered in Geneva. The Treaty of Versailles, signed during the Paris Peace Conference was the most important one among 5 treaties that were signed which led to disarmament after World War I.

Out of the fourteen proposed points by Woodrow Wilson, nine points covered new territorial consignments and the final point was establishment of the League of Nations as a governing body to overlook peace amongst participating countries.

The Treaty of Versailles led to the formation of the League of Nations, a body that comprised of 42 members that would “help promote international peace and security by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war by the prescription of open, just, honorable relations between nations by the firm establishment of the understanding of the international law as the actual rule of conduct among Governments, and by the maintenance of justice and scrupulous respect for all the treaty obligations in the dealings of organized people’s with one another. Agree to this Covenant of the League of Nations” 1.

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The Covenant of the League of Nations.

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The Treaty of Versailles

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From the definition we understand that this World Body was set-up with an aim to establish World Peace and a Governing body that helps to do just that and more. The league intended to promote collective security, in which the security of each league member was guaranteed by the entire league membership.

The League was organized into 3 main Branches, the Council was the main peace-keeping agency with a membership that varied from eight to fourteen members during its existence. France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and the Soviet Union held permanent seats during the years they were members and the remaining seats were held by smaller countries on a rotating basis. Peacekeeping recommendation had to be made by a unanimous vote.

When a threat to one nation was felt, a two-thirds vote along with a unanimous vote was needed to proceed with action against the attacking country. The official language for the League of Nations was French, English and Spanish.

Reason for refusal of ratification of the Treaty by The United States of America

Although formation of the League of Nations which was the integral part of the Treaty of Versailles was the proposal of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson who intended to end the long cycle of war and peace in Europe, the United States refused to consent to it. It was the opinion of the isolationists of both major political parties of the United States who agreed that the U.S. should not interfere with European

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The Treaty of Versailles

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affairs, and by Republicans specifically who did not want to commit the United States to supporting the league financially, hence the refusal to ratify the treaty.

The culmination of the League Of Nations

The Second World War led to the culmination of the League of Nations.

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The Treaty of Versailles

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References http://www.answers.com The Covenant of the League of Nations

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