Question

At the Paris Peace Conference, what major differences of opinion existed between Woodrow Wilson, Georges Clemenceau, and Lloyd George?

Answer 1

Because all 3 had different views about what was best for their own country,themselves,and the post WW1 world in general.

Wilson wanted a peace based entirely on his own Fourteen Points.This would have made him look like the great international peacemaker,and the great statesman on the world stage.The US would then dominate the postwar world,dictating how it worked economically and diplomatically.The fact that this would be of great benefit to the USA and its economy was also an important factor.

Unsurprisingly Britain and France ,having done most of the fighting (and therefore the dying) in WW1,and having suffered huge losses in terms of manpower and material,weren't about to let the USA - which hadn't even entered the war until well into 1917 - dictate the terms of the subsequent peace treaty,particularly one which wasn't going to punish Germany for losing a long and destructive war they had been largely responsible for starting.

Had they accepted all Wilson's Fourteen Points,they'd have been stripped of their colonies,their militaries,and left defenceless against any future aggression from a major power,and would also have to totally reshape their economies.This was obviously unacceptable,so for France and Britain Wilson's Fourteen Points were mostly non starters.

The main concern of France was future security and prosperity,so their objective was a treaty that crippled Germany militarily and economically to the extent that it couldn't be a threat to France for the foreseeable future.

For Lloyd George of Britain,his original objectives were slightly different to those of France.He wanted Germany punished militarily,but not too much economically.Britain was a trading nation so needed trading partners,and a strong German economy meant a strong European economy that Britain could do good trade with.However,public opinion in Britain was more in tune with French views than those of Lloyd George,and a combination of this and his political position in Britain at the time meant he was more or less forced to side with France over the terms of the final treaty.

So,the Big Three had different objectives at the Paris Peace Conference because they all wanted different things from the final peace treaty.Wilson wanted to look good and create a postwar world dominated economically and diplomatically by USA,without having to spend lots of money on a strong military to achieve this.France wanted long term security from German threats,and Britain wanted a postwar world that recovered quickly economically,so that Britain could go back to dominating the world economically quickly,as it had done pre WW1.

Answer 2

Clemenceau demanded that Germany should be subject to a severe financial penalty , because France had been made to pay heavily following the Franco - Prussian War of 1870- 71 . Over the matter of reparations the US did not ratify the treaty and waived all claims to reparations , leaving France and Britain to settle the issue . Lloyd George ( the British Prime Minister )himself thought it was absurd to make Germany pay all the costs of the war , but shrank from explaining in public how absurd it was . Britain had suffered little damage , America none .Clemenceau argued that Germany had suffered no war damage , and should repair the damage they had caused in Belgium and northern France . The major difference of opinion between Wilson , Lloyd George , Clemenceau was the issue of reparations