Download A Lasting Peace?

A Lasting Peace?
The Paris Peace Conference
The Versailles Treaty
Wilson’s 14 Points
Peace, Diplomacy and Reparation
After the War
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What was Europe like after WWI?
What were the human and economic costs
of the war?
What was the 1918 Flu Epidemic?
1918
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Flu epidemic seizes the United States
Origin: France, brought by Chinese war
workers
¼ of Americans fall ill
500,000 Americans die
Estimated 40 million people die
worldwide
The Big Four
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Who were they?
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President Woodrow Wilson (U.S.A)
Prime Minister David Lloyd George (Britain)
Premier Georges Clemenceau (France)
Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando (Italy)
These men would meet at Versailles to determine
the fate of Europe after World War I
Who was not there?
Wilson’s 14 Points
“Peace without victory”
Wilson’s Plan for world peace
January 18,1918: Delivered 14 Points speech to
Congress
 Points 1-5
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Points 6-13
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Addressed issues Wilson had believed caused the war
Dealt with specific boundary changes
Based on principles of self determination
14th Point
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Called for the creation of an international organization to
address diplomatic crises like those that had caused the war
The Paris Peace Conference and
the Versailles Treaty
What did each leader want to accomplish at Versailles?
 Wilson
 Lloyd George
 Clemenceau
 Orlando
June 28, 1919
*Big Four gather at the Palace of Versailles to sign
the Versailles Treaty
The Versailles Treaty
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9 New nations established
Boundaries of nations shifted
Ottoman Empire surrenders 4 areas to Great Britain and
France as mandates
Demilitarization of Germany
Alsace-Lorraine returned to France
Germany forced to pay reparations in the amount of $33
billion to the Allies
War guilt clause : Germany must acknowledge that it is
responsible for WWI
Establishment of the League of Nations
Weaknesses of the Treaty
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Humiliation of Germany
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Germany cannot afford reparations
Bolsheviks feel ignored by Big Four
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Other nations just as guilty
Fought and died with Allies
Lost more territory than Germany
Germany stripped of colonial territories
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Could have helped to pay the reparations
Ignores claims of colonized people for selfdetermination
The League of Nations
Representatives from democratic nations
Consist of a council, an assembly, and a permanent
administrative staff
Promote peace by working cooperatively to settle disputes
and to reduce armaments
Each member nation would be represented in the assembly
by one vote
Council would have 4 rotating members elected by the
assembly and 5 permanent members
World Court settles disagreements
If nations do not follow decisions, penalties imposed
The League of Nations
The League of Nations was one of the 14 Points
incorporated into the Versailles Treaty
Opposition to the League in the U.S
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Americans don’t want to be involved in European affairs
U.S. Senators & Republicans not included in the delegation
accompanying Wilson to Paris
Wilson refuses to compromise
Many concerned with the use of military force to carry out
decisions; conflicted with Congresses power to declare war
Senate refuses to ratify Treaty: the United States never joins the
League of Nations
Wilson’s Last Days
The Legacy of World War I
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For America:
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America emerges as world power
Great Migration
American nationalism emerges
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Anti-immigrant/anti-radical sentiment
For the World:
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Propaganda= WWII
Weaknesses of Versailles Treaty=World War II
Establishment of 9 new nations
German and Austro-Hungarian Empires dismantled
Millions of deaths and widespread destruction in Europe
League of Nations