Chapter 27 Section
4
The Terms of Peace
The Fourteen Points
 President Wilsons idea that by joining the war
America was helping to safeguard democracy
 {When Russia signed a treaty with Germany it was
a huge blow to the allied forces}
 The war on the Western front had grown into a
stalemate and the people feared that the war
would last for many more years
 In January Wilson outlined the Fourteen Points
 {Six of the fourteen points dealt with were plans of
a general nature}
 The eight remaining dealt with specific regions
Force feeding the peace terms
Fourteen points continued
 The Six general points were
 1. no secret treaties (remember WWI started due to entailing
alliances)
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2. removal of economic barriers like tariffs
3. Freedom of the seas for all nations
4. Reduction of national armaments
5. adjustment of colonial claims so they are fair to
the imperialist powers and the colonial peoples
 6. The establishment of a general association of
nations to guarantee political independence and to
protect small and large stated alike
The Defeat of the Central
Powers
 {At the end of May the Germans reached the
Marne River just 37 miles from Paris}
 At the same time there were thousands of
American troops landing in France every day
 The Germans were stopped short and the allies
began to counter attack
 Allied forces were pushing the Germans back and
in September Bulgaria surrendered
 They were quickly followed by the Turks
 By October the Austria-Hungary Empire had
stopped fighting broken up and formed separate
governments
Continued
 Wilson told German leaders that he would only
deal with leaders that represented the German
people
 The Kaiser gave up the throne in November and a
German republic was announced
 {In 1918 the German Republic signed an armistice
that on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th
month 1918} all fighting would stop
 Germany had to turn over all of their munitions,
submarines and war prisoners
 And the allies would occupy the territory west of
the Rhine
The Costs of World War I
 The costs of WW I were very high
 {It left an estimated 8.5-10 million soldiers dead and
another 21million wounded}
 Germany suffered the most casualties with 1.8
million dead or wounded with Russia close behind
 France lost over 1.4 million soldiers
 Civilian casualties were also very high due to things
like Naval blockades, Military encounters, famine
and disease had all taken their toll
 The Financial loss has been estimated at more
than 300 billion dollars
The Paris Peace Conference
 In January of 1919 the allied leaders met at
Versailles outside of Paris in what became known
as the Paris Peace Conference
 The meeting was dominated by the four major
allied powers
 {Woodrow Wilson (U.S.), David Lloyd George
(U.K.) Georges Clemenceau (France) and Vittrio
Orlando (Italy)
 They came to be known as the Big Four}
Problems Facing the
Peacemakers
 Problems began immediately when some of the
countries were not included in the peace process
 Wilson spoke out about a treaty that was fair to all
but the European powers were not forgiving of
those who started the war
 Russia who was involved in a civil war was not
even invited to take part in the peace talks
 {The US and Europe argued about defeated
Central powers not being allowed almost a role in
writing the peace terms}
 This was one of the main causes of WW II
Hitler in WW I under the X
Continued
 The victorious nations had many conflicting
territorial demands
 France wanted their border to extend eastward to
the Rhine river gaining back the Alsace-Lorraine
region
 Belgium wanted German territories along their
border
 Great Britain wanted Germany’s African colonies
and the complete destruction of the German Navy
 Lastly Japan wanted German territories in the
Pacific
Reparations and
Peacekeeping
 The Destruction caused by the war brought about
questions about reparations or payment for war
damages
 The allied leaders wanted Germany to bear the
cost of the war
 And finally the conference considered Wilsons
proposal of the League on Nations a world
organization to maintain peace
 It had widespread appeal but many people
wondered how practical it would be
What Kind of Peace?
 Their were two differing viewpoints that emerged
in the Paris peace conference
 Wilson thought the peace settlement should be
fair not harsh as the others wanted
 The others felt Germany started the war and
should have to pay for it
 They did not officially object to Wilsons fourteen
points but they did not give up the aims of their
secret treaties to divide the territories of the
central powers amongst themselves
 {Long term peace they felt would only be
achieved if they kept Germany from being
powerful again}
Peace Continued
 France particularly wanted to make sure that
Germany wouldn’t be able to threaten their security
 Clemenceau admired Wilsons Ideals but thought
they were being Naïve trusting Germany
 He argued the only way for France to be secure in
the future was to break Germany up and have the
allied forces occupy the various regions
 The future of Germany was resting on the
decisions at the Paris peace conference
Review Questions
 When Russia signed a treaty with Germany it was
a huge blow to who?
 Six of the fourteen points dealt with what kind of
plans?
 At the end of May the Germans reached what river
near Paris?
 In 1918 the German Republic signed an armistice
for what day what month and what hour?
 What was the only way some felt long term peace
would be achieved?