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

1914 1920

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