The Paris Peace Conference and Versailles Treaty were designed to prevent Germany from ever threatening the world again. This treaty had many strengths and weaknesses. Each state yearned for different things to come out of the treaty of Versailles. Everyone wanted to blame Germany for starting the war, but was Germany really the ignition that started the fire of war?.
The Allies successfully captured a victory over the Central Powers during World War I. On January 8th, 1918, Woodrow Wilson presented a peace program called the 14 points to Congress. "The idealism expressed in them was widely acclaimed and gave Wilson a position of moral leadership among the Allied leaders (Encarta 2003)". The Fourteen Points were designed to give Alsace-Lorraine back to Germany, to redraw Austria-Hungary's borders, to declare Belgium as being independent, to restore Poland as a state, to enforce arms reduction, and to require all treaties to be open and transparent. The most important point was the Fourteenth point which called for the creation of a League of Nations.
On October 4th, 1918, the German government asked Wilson for a cease of fire. Peace negotiations began in October of 1918 and Wilson insisted that they be based upon his Fourteen Points. The German government easily accepted Wilson's peace program, but the French and British were timid. The French and British did not want Germany to have any power and desired to keep Germany on the side lines. Wilson decided to change the reparations section of the treaty, and as a result, an Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. The Armistice ended fighting on the western front.
After the Armistice was signed, France and Britain continued the blockade to Germany. The Armistice was designed to prevent Germany from being able to harm France. There were many positive and negative aspects of the Armistice. Italy was also able to receive the territory that they were promised, but they were not fully satisfied because they wanted a port city that became independent.
