Stalemate
 By 1917 both sides were fighting a defensive war
 Neither could put together a massive attack
 Trench warfare was wearing on the soldiers health and
morale
 Mutinies in French, British, and German armies
Trench warfare
Russia exits war
 Political problems in Russia
 People hate the Russian czar
 Russian revolution removes the czar
 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed in 1918 to end the war
between Russia and Germany
 Russia gives up a massive amount of land
Germany’s breakdown
 Failure at the 2nd battle of the Marne (July-August
1918)
 Turning point for allies
 They began to have food shortages and soldiers were
losing willingness to fight
Armistice
 An armistice is an agreement between parties to stop
fighting before a treaty is composed
 Germany agrees to an armistice on November 11, 1918
 The allies win (Great Britain, France, and the U.S.)
 The central powers lose ( Germany, Belgium, AustriaHungary)
Paris Peace Conference
 Delegates from nations all over the world meet in Paris
to negotiate the terms of the peace treaty
 Russia and Germany were not invited to attend
 Purpose of the conference was to negotiate a lasting
peace to avoid a war of this magnitude from ever
happening again
The Big 4
1. The United States: represented by President Wilson
2. Great Britain: represented by Prime Minister David Lloyd George
3. France: represented by Georges Clemenceau
4. Italy: represented by Vittorio Orlando
Goals of the Big 4
 France
 Security
 Revenge
 Great Britain
 Balance of power
 Remove threat of
German navy
 Italy
 Gain territory
 United States
 Advocate Wilson’s 14
points
 Create League of
Nations
Wilson’s 14 points and
League of Nations
 An outline to maintain peace after WWI
 Promote free trade
 Promote freedom of the seas
 No secret alliances
 League of Nations will act as a
governing world body
Treaty of Versailles
 Signed on June 28, 1919
 Germany was forced to pay allies $33 billion in
reparations to the allies over 30 years
 Germany was forced to take full responsibility for the
war
 Germany’s military is limited
 Germany loses territory
Germany after the Treaty of
Versailles
Results of peace treaty
 Germany, Russia, Italy, and Japan feel cheated by
peace treaty
 U.S. becomes more isolationist
 Large reparations destroy German economy
 The stage is set for WWII
WWI’s effects on Texas
 Soldiers were offered new experiences in Europe
 Many were eager to find better lives after their serviec
 Women helped with the war effort as nurses, factory
workers, and farmers
 Ranchers had prospered because Texans had produced
products like cotton and wool for tents and uniforms
for the military
 After the war cotton prices fell
Effects continued..
 Texas was on it’s way to becoming an urban state
 Many were moving away from the rural countryside
 School attendance laws became more strict and there
was greater enforcement of child labor laws
 Fewer children worked outside the home