A Survey of the Leading Newspaper Coverages of the Treaty of Versailles

The end of World War I saw the nations of Europe devastated. After four long years of constant warfare, hostilities were finally ended on October 4, 1918 when an armistice was agreed upon by Germany. They agreed to it with the understanding that the subsequent peace be based on President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points. At the heart of Wilson's famous Fourteen Points stood the principle of self-determination, which was viewed as the key to an equitable, long lasting peace and as the foundation for the continuous progress of humankind. In 1919 the Allied leaders; Prime Minister David Lloyd George for Britain, Monsieur Clemenceau for France, President Wilson for the United States, and Senor Orlando for Italy, along with their respective aides, met in Paris-to prepare individual peace treaties with each of the former Central Powers. Although at one time or another representatives of all the belligerent nations were present at the Peace Conference, it was the representatives of the United States, Great Britain, and France who determined the content of the treaties. They were the principal characters in this real-life drama. The treaties themselves were named after the Paris suburbs in which they were signed. Of all the treaties that were prepared, the one which attained the most fame or infamy, depending on one's point of view, was the treaty made especially for Germany; it became known as the Treaty of Versailles