The End of World War I

Treaty of Versailles and Wilson’s 14 Points

The War Ends1. The United States joined the war in 1917. One year later, the war comes to a close.

2. With the help of the Americans, the Germans and Germany’s allies are defeated.

3. On November 11, 1918, the Germans surrendered thus ending a 4 year war.a) What do we celebrate on November 11th each year??b) Veteran’s Day (or Armistice Day. Armistice means a truce)!c) This holiday has been celebrated every year on November 11th since the end of WWI.

4. Now the world is tasked with cleaning up Europe after billions of dollars in damages and most tragically, the loss of 37,466,904 lives. It was the bloodiest war the world has ever seen.

5. To see specific casualties per country: http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop.html

The Blame1. The entire blame for the War was placed on Germany.

2. The winners of World War I got together to discuss Germany’s punishment.

3. This discussion led to the Treaty of Versailles (pronounced Ver-sigh).

4. The Big Three got together to discuss the details of the treaty.

The Big Three

1. The Big Three was a group of leaders from the three main countries that helped win WWI.

2. The Big Four consisted of: a) David Lloyd George (Britain)b) George Clemenceau (France) c) Woodrow Wilson (U.S.)

Britain and David Lloyd George

1. Britain lost many men during the war so the country was eager for revenge on Germany.

2. David Lloyd George spoke for the people but he was worried about dropping a massive punishment on Germany.

France and George Clemenceau

1. Clemenceau was nicked named “The Tiger” because of his aggressive nature.

2. He and France wanted Germany to pay dearly for the damages France had suffered over the war.

America and Woodrow Wilson1. The United States did not

experience all the terrors of war like Britain and France had experienced since they were only in the war for one year compared to four years.

2. Wilson made a plan called the 14 Point Plan that would help restore peace and give Germany a fair chance at recovering.

3. Remember the 14 Point Plan, we’ll come back to it.

14 Point Plan

1. President Wilson presented a plan that consisted of fourteen plans for the post-war world.

2. In summary, the points stated that: a) There would be no more secret treaties.b) Countries must downsize their weapons and armies.c) There should be freedom of the seas in peacetime

and wartime. d) All nations should join the League of Nations.

The League of Nations

1. This formation of nations gathering together had the power to settle fights between countries and tried to minimize any potential outbreak of war threats in the world.

Response to 14 Points and League of Nations

1. Britain and France rejected the 14 points and went ahead with punishing Germany harshly as we learned.

2. The United States people did not want the United States involved in the League of Nations because then America would be tied with European countries.

3. The American people wanted to remain isolated and neutral in future conflicts.

4. Wilson was very upset over the rejection of his plans.

Treaty of Versailles

1. The treaty was a peace deal that was signed on June 28, 1919 which was exactly 5 years after the war began (June 28, 1914).

2. The treaty was signed at the Palace of Versailles.

Treaty of Versailles Details

1. Since the United States’ requests were ignored, the treaty stated that Germany would have to:a) Give up certain territoriesb) Pay ALL war reparations (damages)c) Not allowed a strong armyd) Claim full responsibility for the war

2. Germany had no say in this treaty. This was a horrible punishment for Germany.

Results and Conclusion1. The Germans had no choice but to agree to

the terms of the treaty.

2. Germany collapsed into a state of severe economic and social depression.

3. A man named Adolf Hitler, a veteran of World War I, would rise up to power in Germany because people needed someone who would lead the country out of a deep depression.

4. This would lead into an even larger world problem we will learn about in a future lesson. Stay tuned!