The Covenant of the League of Nations was an integral part of the Treaty of Versailles concluding World War I. The Covenant of the League of Nations is the first section of the treaty and differs markedly from the main treaty itself, which is distinguished by its unmitigated vengeance toward the defeated Germany. The Covenant’s preamble and twenty-six articles define the scope, objectives, organization, and operations of a world body that would prevent future wars. The League of Nations, as described, would have representatives from all nations, though it at first excluded those nations that had lost the recent war. The League was to be a permanent organization that would bring into practice the principles of negotiation, arbitration, respect for treaties, and international law. Although the Covenant was a compromise document, it basically had a single author, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Wilson was the leader of the Treaty of Versailles discussions, and it was the last of his Fourteen Points that had called for an international peacekeeping organization.