When the Great War ended on November 11, 1918, the euphoria quickly
moved toward the post-war settlement.
Paris became the hub of the world as leaders and hangers-on flocked
there, pressing concerns and special interests.
The Big Four, the leaders of the United States, England, France, and
Italy, would have the pivotal role in drafting the Treaty of Versailles.
But there was scores of others, including Winston Churchill,
seeking to rebuild his reputation and promote the interests of the British
Empire; T.E. Lawrence, the legendary Lawrence of Arabia, with special interests
related to the Middle East; and Ho Chi Minh, trying to get support for the end
of colonialism in Indochina.
Woodrow Wilson arrived in Paris to a tumultuous welcome on
December 16. The articulator of the
Fourteen Points, his views would clash with Old World statesmen such as French
premier Georges Clemenceau. Wilson, then sixty-two-years old, would be entering
the last and most significant periods of his life: seeming triumph in Paris, an inability to compromise
and get the Treaty of Versailles ratified in the U.S. Senate, and his
debilitating stroke.
While the war which lasted four years—much less for the
United States—was a significant and tragic event, the post-war settlement had
profound impacts. Not only did the “war
to end all wars” not prevent a far greater conflagration twenty years later,
decisions were made and boundaries were drawn which affect us one hundred years
later, often to our detriment.
This image, meant to portray the Versailles confrees on June
28, 1919, is entitled “The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors" and was painted
by Irish-born artist Sir William Orpen.
Orpen had painted scenes of World War I.
By William Orpen - Imperial War Museum London,
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/20780, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22842011
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