Chapter 13 Section 4A Flawed PeaceObjective: Summarize the Treaty of Versailles & its effects on European powers

Vocabulary: Woodrow Wilson, Georges Clemenceau, Fourteen Points, Self-Determination, Treaty of Versailles, & League of Nations

Setting the Stage•On January 18, 1919, a

conference to establish the terms of peace had begun

•The Paris Peace Conference had delegates representing 32 countries

•The Allied powers struggled to solve their conflicting aims in various peace treaties

The Allies Meet & Debate•The meetings major

decisions were decided by the Big Four: President Woodrow Wilson of the United States, Georges Clemenceau of France, David Lloyd George of Great Britain, & Vittorio Orlando of Italy

•Russia was dealing with the civil war

•Germany & its allies weren’t invited

Wilson’s Plan for Peace• Fourteen Points – series of

proposals in which President Wilson outlined a plan for achieving a lasting peace after WWI

• The peace treaty included an end to secret treaties, freedom of the seas, free trade, & reduced national armies/navies

• Wilson’s plan also included the idea of self determination – the freedom of a people to decide under what form of government they wish to live

The Versailles Treaty• Britain & France shows little sign of

agreeing to Wilson’s vision of peace• Treaty of Versailles – a peace

treaty signed by Germany & the Allied powers after WWI

• The treaty created the League of Nations – an international association formed after WWI with the goal of keeping peace among nations

• Article 231 of the treaty stated, Germany had to accept SOLE responsibility for starting the war

• Germany had severe restrictions

A Troubled Treaty•The agreements

created feelings of bitterness & betrayal among the victors & the defeated

•The Versailles Treaty was just one of five treaties negotiated by the Allies

The Creation of New Nations• The Western powers

also signed treaties with the other defeated nations

• Austro-Hungarian was divided into Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, & Yugoslavia

• The Ottoman Turks were forced to give up almost all of their former empire

• Russia also had land losses as well

“A Peace Built on Quicksand”• Americans objected the

peace settlement & especially to the League of Nations set up by President Wilson

• The United States worked out a separate treaty with Germany several years later

• Germany & other countries felt cheated/betrayed by the peace settlements

• Japan & Italy had gained less than they wanted