1. End of the Great War and the Treaty of Versailles

2. November 11, 1918: Armistice!

3. Paris Peace Conference, 1919

4. Paris Peace Conference
Where – Versailles (outside of Paris)
When – January 1919
Why – To arrange terms of peace
Who –
British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
French Premier Georges Clemenceau
Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson

5. Treaty of Versailles Between Allies and Germany
Signed in Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles, June 28, 1919

6. Woodrow’s Plan 1918 Woodrow proposed his Fourteen Points
Outlined a plan for maintaining peace
Proposed the following points:
1st Point: End all secret treaties
2nd Point: Freedom of the Seas
3rd Point: Free trade
4th Point: Reduce national armies (trying to stop militarism)
5th Point: Colonial Fairness (trying to stop harsh imperialism)
6th-13th Points: Rearranging borders (self-determination)
14th Point: Create a general association of nations that would negotiate solutions to world conflicts (The League of Nations)

7. Unsatisfied with Wilson’s plan
Plan threatened national security
Plan was too nice– GB and France thought it lacked punishment against Germany
Wanted to take away Germany’s power
Clemenceau wanted Germany to pay for France’s suffering
France lost more than 1,000,000 soldiers and civilians during wartime. This was about 11% of the population.
France’s land was destroyed and devastated.

8. Treaty of Versailles Crucial Terms: Clause 231: “War guilt” clause:
“The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.”
Clause 232: reparations, eventually calculated at $33,000,000,000 (1921)
Covenant of the League of Nations

9. Things soon begin to fall apart
US Congress rejected Versailles Treaty
Henry Cabot Lodge
Sept. 1919: Wilson's 8000 mile tour, 40 speeches; 29 cities (22 days)
Wilson collapsed
Nov. 2, 1920: Warren Harding elected US President
Aug. 1921: US signed a separate Treaty with Germany

10. Post-WWI new nation-states

11. Unlasting peace U.S. rejected the treaty
Americans thought that if they wanted peace, they should get themselves out of European affairs.
Germany is upset
War-guilt clause caused them to hate the Allies.
Economically devastated
Militarily restricted
In their point of view, unfairly sanctioned
Colonies were unsatisfied that they could still not gain independence
Japan and Italy did not get what they wanted out of the war—land, so also backed out.
Without consent or support of U.S., the League of Nations could not do anything to amend or take any action.
Observer at Versailles noted the treaty was merely, “a peace built on quicksand.”