End of WWI: Making Peace

1. End of WWI: Making Peace

2. War is Over! • Different sides had to come together to discuss peace agreements • Each side wanted different things • Different sides met at Versailles, in France

3. Palace of Versailles

4. Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points • Wilson had developed a fourteen point plan for world peace • Wilson delivered his “Fourteen Points” speech before Congress on January 18, 1918 outlining his plan for peace • 5 points discussed ways to prevent another war, 8 points dealt with boundary lines, and the last point called for the creation of the League of Nations

5. Major Points for a Lasting Peace • Wilson had five main points for avoiding a future war: • There should be no secret treaties between nations • Freedom of the seas should be maintained for all • Tariffs should be abolished or lowered to encourage free trade • Weapons should be reduced to the lowest amount possible • Colonial policies should consider the interests of the colonized people • Fourteenth point – “League of Nations” should be set up as a place where nations could talk about problems in order to avoid war

6. Allies Reaction • France and England were very angry, wanted to “make Germany pay” • French premier, Georges Clemenceau wanted to prevent future invasions of France • British Prime Minister David Lloyd George wanted to keep France and Germany balanced so that neither became too strong • United States, France, England, and Italy attended the peace conference • None of the defeated powers were invited • Russia, which had become communist was not invited either

7. Treaty of Versailles • Several new nations established by the treaty • Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia – taken from Russia and Germany • Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Jordan and Syria set up in the Middle East – controlled by Britain • Germany • Not allowed to have a large military • Had to return Alsace-Lorraine to France • Had to pay reparations (war damages) to the Allies

9. Weaknesses of the Treaty • Harshness on Germany • War-guilt clause made Germany take all the blame • Germany wasn’t able to pay huge financial war reparations • Germany lost all of its colonies, which could have helped pay the war reparations • Russia • Not included in the peace conference even though it had fought on the side of the Allies • Lost more territory than Germany did • Not happy at all • Colonized people weren’t given independence

10. Opposition to the Treaty • Some believed treaty was too harsh • Some didn’t like it because it simply exchanged one set of colonial rulers for another • Some ethnic groups did not like the new national boundaries that were created

11. Debate Over the League of Nations • People in the U.S. feared that the League of Nations would threaten U.S. sovereignty • People thought that Congress wouldn’t have the right to declare war anymore; thought they would have to go through the League • Wilson refused to compromise and make amendments to the treaty so it was never ratified • Eventually U.S. signed a different treaty with Germany in 1921

12. The Legacy of the War • Strengthened U.S. military and government power • Europe • Many countries had political and social problems • Communism was established in Russia, and Russia was determined to regain its lost territory • Fascism will come to power in Spain, Italy, and soon Germany • Many Europeans wanted to continue fighting • Some felt there were unresolved issues • Germany, in particular, wasn’t happy with arrangements • Neither was a young Austrian corporal by the name of Adolf Hitler