The Legacy of the War
0 New Kind of War: New technologies, Global War
0 8.5 million soldiers died, 21 million wounded
0 Total cost: $338 billion
0 Sense of disillusionment
0 Flawed Peace Treaty=WWII
Paris Peace Conference
0 January 18, 1919 at Versailles
0 Decisions made mainly by Big Four:
0 Woodrow Wilson, President of the US
0 Georges Clemenceau of France
0 David Lloyd George of GB
0 Vittorio Orlando of Italy
0 Russia, Central Powers not represented!
Wilson’s Plan for Peace: The
Fourteen Points
0 In order to achieve a just and lasting peace, Called for:
0 end to secret treaties, freedom of the seas, free trade,
reducing militaries, more fairness for colonies, specific
border changes for creating new nations, and an
organization that would protect all countries, and
peacefully negotiate solutions to conflicts
0 Guiding idea was self-determination: allowing ppl to
decide for themselves their type of government
0 Unfortunately, his plan was not popular with the other
nation’s leaders, who were concerned with national
security, stripping Germany of war-making power
The Treaty of Versailles
0 Treaty of Versailles signed on June 28,
1919:
0 created a League of Nations: international
association with goal of keeping peace
0 punished Germany: lost territory,
restrictions on military
0 “war guilt” clause: sole responsibility for
war was Germany’s-made them pay
reparations ($) to Allies
0 all German territories in Africa and Pacific
were declared mandates, or areas to be
controlled by League of Nations until
judged ready for independence
The Creation of New Nations
0 Western powers signed separate peace treaties in 1919
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and 1920 with other defeated nations
New nations created out of AH: Austria, Hungary,
Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia
Ottoman Turks forced to give up most of empire, retained
only land that is now Turkey
Palestine, Iraq, and Transjordan went to Britain; Syria,
Lebanon to France
Russia lost land too: Romania, Poland gained Russian
territory; Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, all
formerly part of Russia, became independent
Post WWI Map
“A Peace Built on Quicksand”
0 US considered to be dominant power after the war-
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rejected treaty, especially because of League of Nationsthought it might draw US into European affairs
Germans were angry, especially because of war guilt clause
Ppl in mandated territories angry they weren’t given
independence-colonialism continued
Japan and Italy also angry because had gained less
territory than they wanted
League of Nations ineffective-no support from US, had no
power to resolve conflicts