Woodrow Wilson and the Treaty of VersaillesWoodrow Wilson, Prime Minister Clemenceau, Prime Minister Lloyd George and Prime Minister Orlando founded the Treaty of Versailles Committee. Wilson worked to gain Senate approval for the Treaty of Versailles upon his return to America in July 1919. Basically, the treaty placed the burden of reparations on Germany and taking full responsibility for the war. . Woodrow Wilson felt that the treaty was too harsh, imposing unrealistic goals on Germany. Wilson wanted to add his Fourteen Points, which were a less severe approach to punishing Germany. Unfortunately, not all points were added to the Treaty of Versailles, but some points were introduced into the treaty. The treaty President Wilson agreed to did not provide for freedom of the seas or reduced tariffs, but he hoped the Senate would accept the League of Nations. The Senate, much to Wilson's regret, annulled the treaty. This was mainly because the reservists, as they were called, could not support the treaty for many reasons. They did not want to subject the United States to foreign entanglements. They also did not want the Senate's constitutional power to declare war taken away. Wilson would have to compromise to gain the support of the reservists, but he refused to compromise. In fact, the more his advisors pressed him to compromise, the more rigid Wilson became. Although Wilson's ineptitude and stubbornness were detrimental to changing the Treaty of Versailles, it was not the only thing that led to its failure. Unfortunately for Wilson, many people opposed his ideas and those of the Treaty of Versailles. . A speech given by William Borah, a former member of the Se...... middle of paper ...... if the Fourteen Points, all of them, had been added to the treaty, and the treaty had been ratified, then the World War II probably would not have started. In my opinion, if Wilson hadn't been "stubborn" and "incompetent", none of his arguments would have been about the treaty, at least it eased the pressure on Germany, but unfortunately not by much. Wilson was trying to help the country, trying to help it through a difficult period, the post-war period. Yes, he was stubborn, and yes, part of the reason the treaty wasn't ratified was because of him. But he wanted to help the country, and I think he would have done anything to help the country. And if, for that, he had to persist in getting what he wanted, so be it. Unfortunately, the treaty was not ratified. If that were the case, his stubbornness wouldn't even be an issue; everyone would probably glorify him for being stubborn.