Wilson and Fourteen Points
Mr. Williams
10th Grade U.S. History
Armistice
• Late 1918 war crippled German
economy
• Civilians lacked food and supplies
• Food riots and strikes
• Revolution swept Austria-Hungary
• November 11, 1918 WAR OVER
• “What we demand…is that the
world be made fit and safe for
every peace-loving nation which,
like our own, wishes to live its
own life, determine its own
institutions, be assured of justice
and fair dealing by the other
peoples of the world as against
force and selfish aggression.”
-Woodrow Wilson 1918
14 Points Plan
•“Just and Lasting Peace”
•Plan for Peace at the end of
The Great War
•Self-Determination
•League of Nations
Wilson the Fortune Teller
• “I can predict with absolute
certainty that within another
generation there will be
another world war if the
nations of the world do not
concert [agree upon] the
method by which to prevent
it” –Woodrow Wilson
Self-Determination
• The right of people to decide
their own political status
• Wilson wanted the different
ethnic groups within AustriaHungary to be able to form
their own nation
League of Nations
• League would be an
organization of nations that
would work together to settle
disputes, protect, democracy,
and prevent future wars
• Precursor to United Nations
Arguments for and Against
• Three Groups
• 1: Democrats who supported
immediate ratification of the
treaty
• 2: Irreconcilables who urged
outright rejection of U.S.
Participation in the League
• 3: Reservationists who focused
their criticism of the charter
that required its members to
use military force to carry out
the League’s decisions.
• Republicans felt it interfered
with Congress powers to
declare war
Paris Peace Conference
• BIG FOUR
• Woodrow Wilson
• British Prime Minister David Lloyd
George
• French premier Georges Clemenceau
• Italian Prime Minister Vittorio
Orlando
Conflicting Views
• Wilson’s Vision
• Nations deal with each other
openly and traded fairly
• Reducing their arsenals of
weapons
• 14 POINT PEACE PLAN
14 Points Role?
• League of Nations established
• Very Weak due to U.S. not
joining
• Nine new nations would be
created Czechoslovakia,
Poland, Yugoslavia……..
Treaty of Versailles
• Germany forced to accept sole
responsibility for starting the war
• Reduce the size of its military
• Give up territory won during and
years before war
• Reparations: payments for
damages and expenses caused
by the war
• What was the goal of
Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Points?
How was this going to be
achieved? What was the goal
of the other countries who
were part of the “Big 4”? How
did they achieve their goal?
3.8 Format
Impact in Europe
• European Countries lost entire
generation of young men
• France was in ruins
• G.B. deeply in Debt to U.S.
• Reparations on Germany
crippled its economy
Political Impact
• Overthrow of monarchies in
Russia, A-H, Germany, O.E.
• Bolsheviks rose to power
• Revolts against colonialism, in
the Middle East and Asia
Social Impact
• More than a million women
went into the workforce
th
• 19 Amendment Passed
• African Americans moved to
northern cities and led to new
and often uneasy race
relations
Economic Impact
• U.S. emerged as world’s leading
economic power
• Farmers hit hard because European
markets no longer needed to buy
their food or could really afford it
• For years all of Europe’s resources
went to the war effort, this left
most of Europe’s economy in
shambles