1. The US Between Wars The Roaring Twenties

2. Wilson’s 14 Points The first five points established general ideals 1.Open treaties, openly arrived at (No secret treaties) 2.Freedom of the seas 3.Reduction/elimination of trade barriers 4.Arms reduction 5.Impartial adjustment of all colonial claims

3. Wilson’s 14 Points The following eight points dealt with immediate political and territorial problems 6.Evacuation of German troops from Russia 7.Evacuation of German troops from Belgium and rebuilding of that country 8.Evacuation of German troops from France (& return of Alsace-Lorraine) 9.Readjustment of Italian boundary along recognizable lines of nationality

4. Wilson’s 14 Points The following eight points dealt with immediate political and territorial problems. 10.Limited self-government for peoples of Austria- Hungary 11.Evacuation of German troops from Romania, Serbia & Montenegro.Independence guaranteed for Balkan countries 12.Independence for Turkey 13.Independence for Poland

5. Wilson’s 14 Points The fourteenth point called for a “New World Order” 14.A general association of nations must be formed “There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power; not organized rivalries, but an organized, common peace”

6. The Paris Peace Conference 0f 1919 Possible formats:  Victors meet, agree on terms to be negotiated with Germany  Victors meet, agree on terms to be imposed on Germany Possible purposes:  Create a new structure for world affairs  Exact revenge on Germany

7. The Paris Peace Conference 0f 1919 The American Position:  Wanted to “discipline” Germany  Saw a stable and prosperous Germany as essential to European stability  Wanted Germany to remain:  Economically viable  Politically influential

8. The Paris Peace Conference 0f 1919 The French Position:  Potential German weakness was not the problem  Historically, German aggression was the problem  Wanted to render Germany incapable of military “adventures”  War had been fought on French territory  Wanted revenge for humiliation suffered in Franco- Prussian War

9. Versailles Treaty Placed severe sanctions on Germany:  War guilt  Germany had to accept sole responsibility for war  Reparations  Germany had to pay the entire cost of the war  $33 Billion  Payment schedule w/ interest, ran until 1987  Essentially disarmed Germany Harsh terms embittered the German population

10. Versailles Treaty Senate split into four camps:  Wilsonians  Mild Reservationists  Severe Reservationists  Irreconcilables

11. League of Nations Article X “The members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members of the League. In case of any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such aggression, the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled.”

12. The League of Nations US Senate Concerns  Could the Council commit the U.S. to military action?  If Article 10 meant what it said, it violated the U.S. Constitution  Committed U.S. to something no president would implement  Did Article 10 restrict U.S. sovereignty?  Seemed to align U.S. with colonial European powers

13. Wilson’s Coalition Dissolves  Disillusionment over WWI  Organized labor unhappy over strikes of 1919-20  Farmers dissatisfied w/ wartime price controls  Intellectuals disillusioned by prohibition & anti- evolution movements  Many of the major goals had been reached

14. The Election of 1920 Warren G. Harding  Republican  “Return to normalcy” James Cox  Democrat  Supported Wilson’s International agenda  Supported U.S membership in League of Nations

15. Harding as President  Lacked self-confidence, wanted too badly to be liked  Did pass important reforms  Created Bureau of Budget and General Accounting Office  Promoted diversity and civil rights  Fiscal policy laid foundation for later economic boom  Reduced government expenditures  Reduced taxes (most benefits to wealthy)  Raised tariffs (impact on debt repayment)  Relaxed regulation of business

16. The Election of 1928 Herbert Hoover  Republican  Quaker  middle-America  engineers, businessman  self-made millionaire, humanitarian, brilliant administrator Alfred Smith  Democrat  Son of Irish immigrants  Catholic  Anti-prohibition

17. The Stock Market Crash of 1929  Prices began to waver on September 4  Prices crumbled on October 23  October 29 –largest single day drop ever  Market lost 37% of its value in October  Market bottomed out in 1933 after losing over 85% of its value