The Treaty of Versailles

When President Woodrow Wilson and the other world leaders met in France at the Paris Peace Conference, they had many important decisions to make. If they made the best possible decisions, maybe the world would stay at peace for a long time to come. If not, conflicts could begin again that might lead to another war.

President Wilson had a plan in mind, called the Fourteen Points, that he thought would lead to world peace. Other people still had their minds more on the conflicts of World War I. There were still conflicting claims to land that had to be settled. European countries needed billions of dollars to repair the damage done by the war. Countries that had been invaded by Germany wanted to be sure that it would not happen again. Some people felt that the country of Germany should be punished for starting the war.

The leaders at the peace conference discussed and argued and finally came up with some plans. They created several treaties, each one dealing with one of the defeated Central Powers. The main one was the treaty with Germany called the Treaty of Versailles.