Europe in 1919

1. Europe in 1919

2. Versailles Treaty 1919 • Winners: England, France, United States, and Italy. • Losers: Germany and Russia excluded. • Primary goals: • Prevent another world war by creating a liberal League of Nations) to manage national and international rivalries. • Allow the new countries which emerged from the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire to determine for themselves what kind of government • Prevent Germany from ever dominating Europe again.

3. Key Points of the Versailles Treaty: • A League of Nations: Open Diplomacy: No more secret treaties: disputes resolved through compromise. • National Self-Determination for all new nations. • Punishment of Germany: war guilt clause, reparations clause, and de-militarization orders, the 'war guilt' clause, the 'reparations' clause . • The Soviet Union was excluded. A cordon-sanitaire was created between the Soviets and the Western Democracies.

4. Europe in 1815

5. Key Goals of the Congress of Vienna Victors: England, Russia, Prussia and Austria Loser: France • Re-establish the authority of conservative government institutions (the monarchy, the aristocracy, and the church) and halt the slide towards anarchy caused by the liberal reforms of the French Revolution. • Suppress all liberal and nationalist movements. • Prevent France from ever dominating Europe again by creating a buffer zone: the Netherlands, Rhineland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. However,

6. Key Differences • League of Nations relied on open diplomacy and compromise to resolve problems but created no way to enforce its decisions; whereas the Congress of Vienna created a secret treaty requiring its members to come to each other’s aid in the event of revolution. • The Versailles Treaty relied on liberal principles of self-determination that allowed the people of new countries to choose whichever form of government they wanted: result-- anarchy, ethnic violence and rise of fascist governments; whereas, the Congress of Vienna suppressed nationalism and liberalism and opposed any reform which would give the people the right to vote. (popular sovereignty). Result: enforced peace and stability over a long period.

7. Key Differences 3. The Versailles Treaty punished Germany by erecting a buffer zone around it but also enforced disarmament and wrecked its economy. The Congress of Vienna created a buffer zone around France but did not punish the country monetarily. Instead, it relied on treaties which created a balance of power in the region. 4. In Germany, the Congress of Vienna created a loose confederation of provinces which could send representatives to a Diet (or Congress), but Austrian allies dominated the Diet and Prince Metternich retained veto power over its decisions. In essence, they created an economic union for Germany but granted it few political powers.

8. Quiz Question With the knowledge you now have of the contrasts between The Treaty of Versailles and the Congress of Vienna, what advice would you give to the United States as it seeks to maintain order in the Middle East?