BARBARA KLEIN: More than twenty-five nations that helped win the war sent representatives to the peace conference in Paris. All took part in the negotiations.

However, the important decisions were made by the so-called "Big Four": Prime Minister David Lloyd-George of Britain, Premier Georges Clemenceau of France, Premier Vittorio Orlando of Italy, and President Woodrow Wilson of the United States.

Wilson hoped the other Allied leaders would accept his plan for a new international organization. The organization would be called the League of Nations.

Wilson believed the league could prevent future wars by deciding fair settlements of disputes between nations. He believed it would be the world's only hope for a lasting peace.

DOUG JOHNSON: Most of the other representatives did not have Wilson's faith in the power of peace. Yet they supported his plan for the League of Nations. However, they considered it less important than completing a peace treaty with Germany. And they did not want to spend much time talking about it. They feared that negotiations on the league might delay the treaty and the rebuilding of Europe.

Wilson was firm. He demanded that the peace treaty also establish the league. So, he led a group at the conference that wrote a plan for the operation of the league. He gave the plan to the European leaders to consider. Then he returned to the United States for a brief visit.

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