Cost of War 8.5 million dead Double that wounded/ handicapped for life Famine threatened the region 1918 influenza pandemic-the spread of disease across the entire country, nation, continent or world. The flu killed about 20 million ( twice as many as the war)
People were bitter about the war Losers had to pay reparations-payments for war damage. The Central Powers who thought the armistice was a cease fire as rather than a surrender They looked for scapegoats to blame their defeat Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Russia’s govt. collapsed due war
Paris Peace Conference W.W. was a symbol of hope who believed in self determination and democracy ON YOUR BOARDS……WHAT DID WOODROW WILSON BELIEVE ABOUT SELF- DETERMINATION?
ANSWER: ALL COUNTRIES HAD THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT
The Big Three That dominated the PPC Wilson, David Lloyd George, and Georges Clemenceau Wilson-14 points based on peace George-promised to build a post war Germany “fit for heroes” Clemenceau-aka “Tiger "for his anti-Germany war policy. His goal was to weaken Germany so they could never threaten France again. He was bored by Wilson’s 14 Points and wondered why God only had 10
Difficult Issues Crowds circled around the “Big 3” Vittorio Orlando demanded that Allies honor their secret agreement to give Italy lands that were ruled by Austria-Hungary This secret violated the Wilson’s self-determination principle Wilson had to compromise on the 14 Points Plan, but stood strong on creating a League of Nations plan This would be based on the idea of collective security- groups of nations act as one to preserve peace Now Wilson feels like any issue in Paris could be corrected in time
Stalin Roosevelt Churchill
Treaty of Versailles 1919 Peacemakers called representatives of the New German republic to the palace of Versailles outside of Paris Germans were told to sign a treaty drawn up by the Allies. It called for the Germans to assume full blame for the war and pay reparations Not only for the war but pensions for widows and for families The total cost was over $30 billion ( 2.7 trillion today) The treaty limited the size of the once feared German military It returned Alsace and Lorraine to France & removed 100’s of miles of territory from Germany and stripped Germany from its overseas colonies Germans signed because they had no choice This poisoned the international climate for over 20 years
Widespread Dissatisfaction Read page 476 Describe the job of the mandate system
Paris Peace Conference and the League of Nations More than 50 nations joined the league They agreed to negotiate disputes rather than resort to war The U. S. never joined. Why? Pg. 476
Answer: He faced resistance from his senate and they refused to ratify the treaty