Wilson Fights for Peace

Wilson’s Fourteen Points

● Wilson's plan, presented to Congress before the end of the
war, outlined a new world order to preserve peace.
● Among the main points of the plan were:
● There should be no secret treaties among nations and
freedom of the seas should be maintained for all.
● Free trade should be established between all nations and
arms should be reduced to just ensure domestic safety.
● Groups who claimed distinct ethnic identities were to form
their own nation-states.
● The fourteenth point called for the creation of the League
of Nations to provide a forum for nations to discuss and
settle their grievances without having to go to war.
The Allies Reject Wilson’s Plan
● Wilson went to Europe himself (a first for a
president) to participate in the peace process.
● The leaders of France and Britain did not care about
moralistic ideals. They wanted to ensure their own
security and prevent Germany from ever threatening
the peace of Europe again. They wanted to make
Germany pay.
● Wilson conceded most of his Fourteen Points in
return for the establishment of the League of Nations.
Debating the Treaty of Versailles
● The Big Four (USA, GB, France and Italy) and the
leaders of the defeated nations gathered at the Palace
of Versailles to sign the peace treaty. Everyone hoped
that the treaty would create stability for a rebuilt
Europe. Instead, anger held sway.
● The Treaty created nine new nations, shifted the
boundaries of other nations, carved up the Ottoman
Empire, banned Germany from maintaining an army,
took the Alsace-Lorraine region and gave it to France,
required Germany to pay war reparations to the
Allies and accept blame for the war.
The Treaty’s Weaknesses
● The harsh treatment toward Germany weakened the
ability of the Treaty of Versailles to provide a lasting peace
in Europe. Several basic flaws in the treaty sowed the
seeds of postwar international problems that eventually
would lead to WWII.
● The treaty humiliated Germany and weakened them to the
point where they could not pay the Allies what they were
obligated to. This would create economic hardships and
resentment among the German people and allow the
Nazis to rise to power.
● It also took territory away from Russia (now the Soviet
Union) which left the communist nation determined to
regain lost territory in the future.
Opposition to the Treaty
● When Wilson returned to the U.S., he faced strong
opposition to the treaty.
● Some thought the treaty was too harsh. Others
considered the treaty a sell-out to imperialism
because it simply exchanged one set of colonial rulers
for another.
● Some ethnic groups objected to the treaty because
the new national boundaries it established did not
satisfy their particular demands for
self-determination. For example, before the war many
Poles had been under German rule. Now many
Germans were under Polish rule.
Debate Over the League of
Nations
● The main domestic opposition centered on the issue
of the League of Nations. A few opponents believed
that the League threatened the U.S. foreign policy of
isolationism.
● Conservative senators, led by Henry Cabot Lodge,
were not happy with the provision for joint economic
and military action against aggression-they wanted to
keep the power to declare war in Congress' hands and
not a foreign League of Nations.
Wilson Refuses to Compromise
● Wilson unwisely ignored the Republican majority in
the Senate and did not allow them to offer any input
or have any representation at the Paris Peace
Conference.
● He also refused to accept any compromises on the
League of Nations-demanding it be accepted as is by
the Senate.
America Doesn’t Join the League of
Nations
● While Wilson was traveling around the country trying to
rally support, he suffered a severe stroke. He was
paralyzed on one side of his body and confined to his
bedroom. His wife, Edith, hid the extent of his illness-his
cabinet and members of Congress were not allowed to
meet with him. America, in a sense, was without a proper
president.
● When the Senate voted on the Versailles Treaty, Lodge
offered an amendment keeping the power to declare war
in Congress' hands, but Wilson refused any changes. The
treaty failed to pass and the US signed a separate peace
treaty with Germany after Wilson left office.
Consequences of WWI
● Allied Victory
● End of German, Russian, Ottoman, and
Austro-Hungarian Empires
● Formation of new countries in Europe and the Middle
East
● Germany loses her colonies and must pay for the war
● 38 million deaths (the deadliest in history up to this
point)
● America only lost 117,465 people (about 20% of Civil
War deaths).