The first stage of the conference was the Council of Four, Prime Ministers of Britain, France, Italy, and the United States President. They directly acted as the primary decision makers for the first six months, after which foreign ministers and ambassadors took over.$^{14}$
There were many treaties that came out of the conference. The purpose of the conference was to find a way forward for Europe and the rest of the world peacefully. Each of the Big Four had different ideas as to how this should be done. US president Woodrow Wilson was big on his 14 points which was considered very idealistic. In contrast the France wanted revenge against the Germans as the Western front of the war was largely fought in french territory.$^{15}$
The Treaty of Versailles was the treaty signed by the Allied Powers and Germany. The treaty contained the following points:
This means that Germany was held responsible for the war itself. The argument for this was that Germany was quick to escalate and mobilise troops. It was fast enough that many consider that as an act of premeditation. The Schlieffen plan supports that.
Because the guilt of the war was laid on Germany, it followed that Germany must hold the economic burden of the war. They had to pay the Allied Powers. This wasn’t just in cash, it was in gold and other resources. It is estimated that they owed roughly $400 billion.
The Allied Powers did not want to see another war. To do this, they imposed a limit to the size of the German army. They limited the number of troops to 100 thousand. Just in many battles during World War 1, there were 200 to 300 thousand troops per side. They also restricted the military from having any heavily equipment such as artillery, submarines, battle ships, air planes, and tanks.
Germany lost many territories. The country of Poland was created. This resulted in the Germany being split in two. France gained the Alsace–Lorraine area which was very mineral rich. They also lost all of their colonies.
The Treaty of Versailles laid the foundation for the League of Nations. However, the United States did not ratify this treaty. They disagreed with the idea of handing over territories from one empire to another. They were in general suspicious of the treaty.