World War I was settled by the victors at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. The “Big Four,” who made all the major decisions, were President Woodrow Wilson of the United States, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Great Britain, George Clemenceau of France, and of least importance, Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando. Each major power had its own agenda coming to the Conference and not every aim was represented in the final treaties.
Wilson, Clemenceau, and Lloyd George all had different points of view at the Paris Peace Conference. For instance, lloyd George of Britain wanted to build a postwar Britain "fit for heroes". British aims at the conference were focused on securing France, settling territorial disputes, and maintaining their colonial holdings. Clemenceau of France wanted to weaken Germany so it could never threaten France. Having witnessed two German attacks on French soil in the last 40 years, France’s main concern was to ensure Germany would not be able to attack them again, so they pushed to weaken Germany militarily, strategically, and economically. Wilson of the U.S. wanted "peace without victory" with his fourteen points. The Americans’ vision was set out in Wilson’s Fourteen Points, which emphasized free trade, self-determination, and the founding of a League of Nations to support territorial and political independence of member nations.
Explanation:
