MAKING THE PEACEUnit 8.4

Wilson’s 14 Points

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

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The League of Nations may have never existed if…

The Treaty of Versailles

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

The Treaty of Versailles

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

The Treaty of Versailles

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.

The Treaty of Versailles

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

The Battle for Ratification

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

The Battle for Ratification

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

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

The Battle for Ratification

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

The Battle for Ratification

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

Postwar Problems

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

Postwar Problems

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

Postwar Problems

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

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

Postwar Problems

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

Postwar Problems

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

Postwar Problems

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

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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 ?