Unit 8.4

 In January 1918, Wilson presented Congress with the following:  Several of the points Wilson made were specific to certain territories of the Allies  Others were as follows:  Recognition of freedom of seas  Reduction of national arms  No secret treaties  Self-determination for Austria-Hungary  A “general association of nations”  Would eventually become the League of Nations

 The League of Nations may have never existed if…

 Paris, France in January 1919: Every nation that fought on the Allied side was present  The Big Four:  David Lloyd George- Great Britain  Georges Clemenceau- France  Vittorio Orlando- Italy  Woodrow Wilson- U.S.  The other three leaders argued with Wilson for months  Wanted both revenge against Germany and compensation in the form of indemnities and territories  Wilson reluctantly compromised on most of his 14 points  Still insisted that the other delegates accept his plan for a League of Nations

 Conference adjourned in June, 1919: 1. Germany disarmed and stripped of its colonies in Africa and Asia; forced to admit guilt for the war; France occupies the Rhineland for 15 years; Germany must pay huge reparations to Great Britain and France

2. Applying the principal of self-determination, territories once occupied by Central Powers were taken by the Allies, independence was granted to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and Poland, and the new nations of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were established.

3. Signers of the treaty would join an international peace-keeping organization called the League of Nations  Each member nation must stand ready to protect the independence and territorial integrity of the other nations

 President Wilson needed to win approval of two-thirds of the Senate for all parts of the Treaty to be passed  Republicans argued involvement in the League of Nations would give up U.S. sovereignty and might also violate the Monroe Doctrine  Republicans in the House and Senate refused to vote for the Treaty  In 1918, Wilson encouraged American voters to vote Democratic as their “patriotic loyalty”  This backfired as Republicans won a solid majority in both houses of Congress  The next year in 1919, Wilson would need Republican approval for the Treaty

 Irreconcilables: Republicans who would not accept U.S. involvement in the League no matter what  Reservationists: Larger group led by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge; would accept entry into the League if certain restrictions were added  Wilson chose not to give into any proposed changes to the Treaty

 What if Wilson had made a more bi-partisan effort to get the Treaty ratified in the U.S.?

 Wilson’s Western Tour: Wilson boarded a train and went on a long speaking tour through the West trying to seek approval for the League of Nations  September 25, 1919: Wilson collapses after giving a speech in Colorado; suffered a massive stroke which he never fully recovered from

 Rejection of the Treaty:  The Treaty was voted on twice by the U.S. Senate in November 1919  Defeated both times, with and without reservations  It wasn’t until after Wilson left office in 1921 did the U.S. officially end the war and sign a separate treaty with Germany  Never ratified the Treaty of Versailles; never joined the League of Nations

 Demobilization: Bringing 4 million soldiers back home after the war was a difficult task for America  The wartime business went flat as factory orders for war production fell off  African Americans and women were being forced to leave the work place  European farm products back on the market- crop prices fall

 The Red Scare (1919): There were growing fears of Communism being spread from Russia to the U.S.  The anti-German hysteria during the war suddenly turned into anti-Communism hysteria

 Palmer Raids: A. Mitchell Palmer, attorney general of the U.S., established a special office under J. Edgar Hoover to gather information on anarchists, Socialists, and labor organizers  From November 1919 to January 1920, over 6,000 were arrested based on limited criminal evidence  A loss of Palmer’s credibility and rising concerns about civil liberties caused the hysteria to recede

 How would American post-war society been different had there not been a Communist revolution in Russia?

 Labor Conflict:  In a nation of free enterprise and individualism, most of America did not trust unions  This antiunion attitude softened during the Progressive era  Offered a square deal under Roosevelt  Protected from lawsuits under the Clayton Antitrust Act (1914)  During the war, unions made important gains  Strikes of 1919 and fears of revolution turned public opinion against Unions once again

 Strikes of 1919: Strikers were active all over America in 1919  February- 60,000 unionists in Seattle join shipyard workers in a peaceful strike for higher pay  September- police in Boston went on strike to protest the firing of a few officers who tried to unionize  M.A. governor Calvin Coolidge sent in the National Guard to break up the strike  September- workers for the U.S. Steel Corporation struck  State and federal troops called in; after considerable violence, the strike was broken in January 1920

 Race Riots: Whites in the North resented the increase in competition for housing and jobs after the war  In 1919, racial tensions led to violence in many cities  Increased in lynchings in the North  Worst race riots occurred in Chicago, where 40 people (black and white) were killed and 500 were injured

 After WWI, a flat economy was made worse by a surplus labor supply. Had the U.S. been better prepared for demobilization and economic conditions were better, what is one alternative society would’ve faced ?