Ending the “War to End All Wars”

“To the victor, go the spoils” “He who wins the war writes the history”

November 11, 1918 @11am

A Plan for Peace: Wilson’s Fourteen Points Designed to solve the problems that caused the war to happen in the first place Outlined a plan for creating a “just and lasting peace” Points 1-4: Ending secret treaties, freedom of the seas, free trade, and reducing national armies and navies Point 5: Adjustment of colonial claims with fairness toward colonial peoples Point 6-13: Specific suggestions for changing borders and creating new nations Point 14: Proposed a “general association of nations” that would protect “great and small states alike”

Paris Peace Conference David Lloyd George (GB) Woodrow Wilson (USA) Vittorio Orlando (Italy) Georges Clemenceau (France) Where’s Russia?

Hall of Mirrors

Treaty of Versailles Other Allied nations felt Wilson’s plan as too lenient League of Nations: Member nations would help preserve peace and prevent future wars (diplomacy and negotiation) Losses for Germany: Officially blamed for the war Stripped of its military Its territories were split up Required to pay reparations of $33 billion!

Inflation: The general rising of prices over time Effects for Germany Inflation: The general rising of prices over time Hyper-inflation: An extreme increase in prices over a short period of time The German reichsmark became virtually worthless

When trouble rears its ugly head, people need… A Hero? A Hero!

American Reaction to the Treaty of Versailles Senate must approve Treaty of Versailles for it to take effect “Irreconcilables” : Senators that id not want the Treaty passed Article X: required the US to help a League nation if it were attacked Would entangle the US in European affairs Could take away Congress’ war powers

American Reaction to the Treaty of Versailles Senate adds amendments to keep their power Wilson ends up asking the people to vote against the Treaty Treaty isn’t ratified and America doesn’t join the League of Nations America retreats into isolationism

Forging Peace Washington Disarmament Conference: was Discussed a limitation on weapons to be held by each country, in hopes of preventing future wars, but had no method of enforcement. Kellogg-Briand Pact: Outlawed war; nice idea, not gonna happen. Dawes Plan: Would provide loans to stabilize the German economy; realistic repayment plan Charles Dawes, an American banker and current VP, gave a $200 million loan from US banks would help stabilize the German economy It set a more realistic repayment plan than the German reparations plan under the Treaty of Versailles They could pay back Britain and France, who could then repay the US

Home Front Effects Isolationism and Conflict

The Red Scare Cause: Bolshevik Revolution and Russia’s retreat from WWI The Red Scare: A fear of the rise of communism, socialism, and anarchists destroying the American way of life. Fearful of workers revolutions (unions) and immigrants from undemocratic countries (South and Eastern Europe). Xenophobia: An irrational or unreasoned fear of anything perceived to be foreign or strange.

The Red Scare Letter bombs sent by anarchists to government officials (AG A. Mitchell Palmer) Bureau of Investigation formed, (early FBI) led by J. Edgar Hoover The Palmer Raids: A series of well-publicized, violent raids on suspected anarchists and socialist sympathizers by the BI Many arrested, few actually deported (little to no evidence) November 7, 1919, (the 2nd anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution)

Postwar Labor Disputes Many laborers went on strike following the end of WWI Deals under the WLB no longer valid Strikes were only mildly successful; fear of Communist revolution limited their success

The Red Summer of 1919 Causes of racial tension: The Great Migration and the end of WWI Chicago Race Riots: A week-long riot between black and white citizens over the death of a black teenager and police inaction. Red Summer of 1919: A wave of violence and riots that occurred during the summer following WWI. On July 27, 1919, an African-American teenager drowned in Lake Michigan after violating the unofficial segregation of Chicago’s beaches and being stoned by a group of white youths. His death, and the police’s refusal to arrest the white man whom eyewitnesses identified as causing it, sparked a week of rioting between gangs of black and white Chicagoans, concentrated on the South Side neighborhood surrounding the stockyards. When the riots ended on August 3, 15 whites and 23 blacks had been killed and more than 500 people injured; an additional 1,000 black families had lost their homes when they were torched by rioters.