Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was the agreement negotiated during the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 that ended WORLD WAR I and imposed disarmament, reparations, and territorial changes on the defeated Germany. The treaty also established the LEAGUE OF NATIONS, an international organization dedicated to resolving world conflicts peacefully. The treaty has been criticized for its harsh treatment of Germany, which many historians believe contributed to the rise of Nazism and ADOLF HITLER in the 1930s.

President WOODROW WILSON played an important role in ending the hostilities and convening a peace conference. When the United States entered the war in...