Chapter 27 Section 4 The Terms of Peace

The Fourteen Points President Wilsons idea that by joining the war America was helping to safeguard democracy {When Russia signed a treaty with Germany it was a huge blow to the allied forces} The war on the Western front had grown into a stalemate and the people feared that the war would last for many more years In January Wilson outlined the Fourteen Points {Six of the fourteen points dealt with were plans of a general nature} The eight remaining dealt with specific regions

Force feeding the peace terms

Fourteen points continued The Six general points were 1. no secret treaties (remember WWI started due to entailing alliances) 2. removal of economic barriers like tariffs 3. Freedom of the seas for all nations 4. Reduction of national armaments 5. adjustment of colonial claims so they are fair to the imperialist powers and the colonial peoples 6. The establishment of a general association of nations to guarantee political independence and to protect small and large stated alike

The Defeat of the Central Powers {At the end of May the Germans reached the Marne River just 37 miles from Paris} At the same time there were thousands of American troops landing in France every day The Germans were stopped short and the allies began to counter attack Allied forces were pushing the Germans back and in September Bulgaria surrendered They were quickly followed by the Turks By October the Austria-Hungary Empire had stopped fighting broken up and formed separate governments

Continued Wilson told German leaders that he would only deal with leaders that represented the German people The Kaiser gave up the throne in November and a German republic was announced {In 1918 the German Republic signed an armistice that on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month 1918} all fighting would stop Germany had to turn over all of their munitions, submarines and war prisoners And the allies would occupy the territory west of the Rhine

The Costs of World War I The costs of WW I were very high {It left an estimated 8.5-10 million soldiers dead and another 21million wounded} Germany suffered the most casualties with 1.8 million dead or wounded with Russia close behind France lost over 1.4 million soldiers Civilian casualties were also very high due to things like Naval blockades, Military encounters, famine and disease had all taken their toll The Financial loss has been estimated at more than 300 billion dollars

The Paris Peace Conference In January of 1919 the allied leaders met at Versailles outside of Paris in what became known as the Paris Peace Conference The meeting was dominated by the four major allied powers {Woodrow Wilson (U.S.), David Lloyd George (U.K.) Georges Clemenceau (France) and Vittrio Orlando (Italy) They came to be known as the Big Four}

Problems Facing the Peacemakers Problems began immediately when some of the countries were not included in the peace process Wilson spoke out about a treaty that was fair to all but the European powers were not forgiving of those who started the war Russia who was involved in a civil war was not even invited to take part in the peace talks {The US and Europe argued about defeated Central powers not being allowed almost a role in writing the peace terms} This was one of the main causes of WW II

Hitler in WW I under the X

Continued The victorious nations had many conflicting territorial demands France wanted their border to extend eastward to the Rhine river gaining back the Alsace-Lorraine region Belgium wanted German territories along their border Great Britain wanted Germany’s African colonies and the complete destruction of the German Navy Lastly Japan wanted German territories in the Pacific

Reparations and Peacekeeping The Destruction caused by the war brought about questions about reparations or payment for war damages The allied leaders wanted Germany to bear the cost of the war And finally the conference considered Wilsons proposal of the League on Nations a world organization to maintain peace It had widespread appeal but many people wondered how practical it would be

What Kind of Peace? Their were two differing viewpoints that emerged in the Paris peace conference Wilson thought the peace settlement should be fair not harsh as the others wanted The others felt Germany started the war and should have to pay for it They did not officially object to Wilsons fourteen points but they did not give up the aims of their secret treaties to divide the territories of the central powers amongst themselves {Long term peace they felt would only be achieved if they kept Germany from being powerful again}

Peace Continued France particularly wanted to make sure that Germany wouldn’t be able to threaten their security Clemenceau admired Wilsons Ideals but thought they were being Naïve trusting Germany He argued the only way for France to be secure in the future was to break Germany up and have the allied forces occupy the various regions The future of Germany was resting on the decisions at the Paris peace conference

Review Questions When Russia signed a treaty with Germany it was a huge blow to who? Six of the fourteen points dealt with what kind of plans? At the end of May the Germans reached what river near Paris? In 1918 the German Republic signed an armistice for what day what month and what hour? What was the only way some felt long term peace would be achieved?