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Peace Treaties and New Nations After WWI Background to Peace Settlements • 1918- U.S. President Woodrow Wilson gave his famous “Fourteen Points” speech to Congress, his basis for a lasting peace settlement between nations. Wilson’s Fourteen Points • Main points included… • Open agreements between countries. No secret diplomacy. • Reduction of national military forces or weapons. • Self-determination of people. • League of Nations to prevent future wars. • These points will create “collective security,” collective meaning “all together.” Paris Peace Conference 1919 • Twenty-seven nations met at the Paris Peace Conference housed in the Versailles Palace. • Most important decisions made by President Wilson, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and French President Georges Clemenceau. • Germany and the Central Powers not invited to attend. • Russia not there because of its civil war. Hall of Mirrors Paris, France Conference held at Versailles Palace. Conflicts • President Wilson had a long term vision of peace in Europe. • France and Britain wanted to punish Germany. • Both nations wanted Germany to pay for the war. • France wanted real security for itself since the majority of the war was fought on French soil. • France’s demands included creating a separate state in Germany’s Rhineland province to be a buffer between Germany and France. Compromises • Compromises by the Allies had to be made for there to be a peace agreement. • January 25, 1919, the Paris Peace Conference accepted the idea of a League of Nations. • President Clemenceau gave up the idea of a Rhineland state in exchange for a defensive alliance with the U.S. and Great Britain. Treaty of Versailles June 28, 1919 • Article 231 of treaty, the “war guilt” clause. Declared Germany and Austria were responsible for the war. • Germans were to pay reparations (payment for damages and suffering caused by the war) to the Allied nations. • Germany was to cut down its army to 100,000. • Alsace-Lorraine region in Germany returned to France (France had lost it in in the late 1800s). • Some territory of East Prussia rewarded to new country of Poland. • The Rhineland province was to be demilitarized (no army or weapons allowed). • The new German government was outraged. • German leaders eventually signed the treaty knowing they could not go back immediately to war. Other Peace Treaties from the Paris Conference • Austro-Hungarian Empire completely broken apart. • Austria and Hungary forced to become separate countries. • Between Russia (also lost major territory), Germany, and Austria-Hungary, many new countries were created based on the majority nationality that lived in the region. New Countries in Central-Eastern Europe after 1918 • Poland created from Germany, Russia, and AustriaHungary. • Czechoslovakia created from Germany and AustriaHungary. • Danzig was created from Germany as an international city and port run by the League of Nations. • Yugoslavia (Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia) created from Austria-Hungary and Serbia. • Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland created from lost Russian territory. • Romania was awarded a huge chunk of Hungary, mainly Transylvania. Europe Map After 1919 Ottoman Empire Breakup • Also broken up after the peace settlement. • Western Allies had promised during the war to recognize Arab states in the Middle East since they helped them fight the Turks. • Promises were broken once the war ended. • Iraq, Transjordan, and Palestine went to the British and Syria went to France. • President Wilson complained this was against the principle of self-determination. • League of Nations decided these areas would be mandates (governed by France and Britain but not made colonies of those countries) Success and Failures of the Paris Peace Conference • Success • Self-determination. Many democratic nations in Europe were created out of the empires. • League of Nations formed. • Failures • Wilson failed to achieve peace without victory. Germany dealt a severe financial punishment it could not afford. • Major failure was enforcement of the Treaty of Versailles. -U.S. Congress voted against America’s participation in the League of Nations. -U.S. Congress rejected the defensive alliance with Great Britain and France. -British Parliament also rejected the alliance. -France by itself had to take stronger actions against • Germany’s resentment grew! • To be continued…