American History 1: Chapter 10 – Section 3
I. America Turns the Tide for the Allies
A. Allied convoy system
B. Russian Revolution (1917)
1. Communists (led by Lenin) take over and create the Soviet Union
2. Soviets pull out of the war (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk)
3. Germans can now focus full attention on the Western Front
C. American forces led by General John “Black Jack” Pershing
D. Doughboys lead the Allied attack
1. Victories at Cantigny, Belleau Wood & Chateau-Thierry
2. Western Front pushed back
E. Germany surrenders – 11/11/1918
II. Wilson’s Plan for Peace
A. “Peace without victory”
B. Fourteen Points
1. End of secret treaties
2. Push for self-determination for ethnic groups
3. Creation of a League of Nations
III. Paris Peace Conference
A. Other Allied leaders seek to punish the Central Powers
1. Other Allied countries suffered much more damage and casualties than the
U.S.
2. Germany & Soviet Union lose land
3. Germany forced to pay millions to the Allies
4. Austria-Hungary dissolved into separate countries
5. Ottoman Empire dissolved into Turkey and other nations controlled by Allies
B. Most of Wilson’s goals are rejected, but some are kept
1. Some new countries are created (Czechoslovakia & Yugoslavia)
2. League of Nations created
C. Massive redrawing of international borders creates problems in the future
IV. Republican Opposition to the Treaty of Versailles
A. Fears over the U.S. joining the League of Nations creating long-lasting
entanglements between the U.S. and European conflicts
1. “Reservationists” – Wanted changes in the treaty’s language so that the U.S.
clearly had the last say on whether the U.S. went to war in the future, but
otherwise were willing to support a Treaty with the League of Nations in it
2. “Irreconcilables” – Completely refused to support the treaty because it had the
League of Nations in it
B. Wilson refuses to negotiate with Republicans
C. Wilson’s speaking tour to gain popular support for the treaty
1. Suffers massive stroke, almost completely debilitated
2. Unable to rally popular support for the treaty
D. Treaty fails to get 2/3 support in the Senate
1. U.S. does not ratify the treaty
2. U.S. does not join the League of Nations