- He felt that the treaty was too harsh on Germany. Particularly the reparations demanded of Germany in the treaty were excessive and unpayable. He believed that this would only lead to resentment and revanchism in Germany, risking another war in the future.
- He was unhappy with the lack of self-determination for various ethnic groups within the newly created nation-states. Wilson had championed the principle of self-determination for all peoples, but the treaty did not always live up to this ideal. For example, the treaty assigned German-dominated areas of Bohemia to the new state of Czechoslovakia, and it left millions of ethnic Germans within the borders of Poland.
- He was disappointed by the failure to create a strong international organization to prevent future wars. Wilson had hoped to establish a League of Nations that would provide a forum for resolving disputes peacefully, but the league that was created was weak and ineffective.