Chapter 17 section 1
Search for Peace
Legacies of World War I
 More than 8 million—112,000 Americans—died in
WWI
 Federal government increased in size and authority
o Some believed it had overstepped its bounds with
Alien and Sedition Act
o Few believed the slogan that World War I made
the world safe for democracy
 Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
summed it up best
o “War to end war has proved a failure. The war is
won, yet nowhere is there peace, security or
happiness”
o Americans worried about being dragged into
another foreign conflict
o Sentiments led U.S. to following a policy of
partial isolationism
o No entangling alliances that could drag U.S. into
war
 U.S. shunned membership in international
organizations including—League of Nations and
World Court
o World Court was set up to resolve international
disputes
 President’s Hoover, Coolidge and Roosevelt
proposed U.S. should join—public opinion
against
o Senate set strict terms for joining—safeguard its
ability to make treaties
 World Court rejected terms
Promoting Peace
 U.S. used diplomacy to promote world peace
 American peace groups wanted leaders of world to
discuss disarmament
o Jane Adams
o Emily Greene Balch
o Jeanette Rankin
 Adams won Nobel Peace Prize in 1931
 Balch won in 1946
Washington Conference
 November 1921 focused on Naval disarmament and
security in Pacific
 Organized by Charles Evan Hughes—Secretary of
State
o Graduated from Brown University in 1881
o Received law degree from Columbia in 1884
o Elected Governor of New York in 1906
o Ran for President in 1916 losing by 23
electoral votes
o Supported U.S. entry into League of Nations
 Envisioned taking an active role in future
world affairs
o In 1930 Hughes was appointed Chief Justice of
Supreme Court—held until 1941—died in
1948
o Hughes surprises delegates with a bold
proposal
 Major powers destroy 66 major warships
 10 year Naval Holiday—no battleships or
cruisers built
 U.S., Great Britain, and Japan agree to
destroy or retire some warships to limit
their respective naval strength
 Japan’s navy would be 60% of U.S. and
Britain’s
 Italy and France would be ½ size of
Japan’s
o Became known as 5 power treaty
 Also developed 4 power treaty
o Britain, France, Japan, U.S. would respect each
other’s territory in Pacific
 Also developed 9 power treaty
o Added Belgium, China, Netherlands and
Portugal to 5 power treaty members
 Guaranteed China’s territorial integrity
and requires to uphold Open Door Policy
 Japan began withdrawal from China’s
Shadong peninsula—also from Siberia
Unsuccessful Efforts
 April 6 1927—10 year anniversary of U.S. entry into
WWI
 Aristride Briand—French Foreign Minister—proposed
that U.S. and France enter into pact to outlaw war
 U.S. Secretary of State Frank Kellogg suggests
inclusion of all countries
 Kellogg-Briand pact signed by 62 countries
o Outlawed war “as an instrument of national
policy”—allowed self- defense
 Lacked provisions for enforcement
 September 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria—part of
China
o Many Americans called for boycott of Japan—
U.S. leaders refused
 Led to abandonment of attempts to reach international
accords
 Delegates to World Disarmament Conference went
home w/o agreeing to reduce weapons
War Debts and Reparations
 Weakened efforts for peace
 At start of WWI U.S. banks lent money to France and
England
o U.S. government granted credit totaling $10
billion by 1920
 Debtor nations thought debts to U.S. should
be cancelled—because of amount of
sacrifices they made for war effort
 U.S. officials rejected idea—did cancel parts
of debt
o Only way Allies could repay debt was collecting
reparations from Germany—set in 1921 at $32
billion
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o German Chancellor paid for reparations by—
borrowing money from England and printing
more paper money—caused massive inflation
and devaluing of German Mark
German civilians looked for someone to blame and
someone to help them out of Depression
o Adolf Hitler—survived gas attack in Italy
 Blamed politicians not army for war
 Helped Munich Beer Hall Putsch in 1923—
attempt to overthrow provinces government
 Arrested and jailed—wrote Mein Kampf
while in jail—Blueprint for his rise to power
1924 Charles Dawes—Dawes Plan provided loans to
Germany and gave Germany more time to make
reparation payments
1931 worldwide depression increases—Hoover
declares 1 year moratorium on reparation and war debt
payments
by 1934 Finland only debtor to make token payments
on debts