lots of problems the league of nations couldn’t handle

• lots of compromises that left a lot of countries unhappy

us senate didn’t ratify the treaty of versailles, which meant they couldn’t join the league.

• americans didn’t want to be involved with european affairs

• league was weaker w/out the us

german government paid its first payment of reparations in 1921, a financial crisis immediately followed

• german government announced it couldn’t pay any more

• france sent troops to collect anyway

workers went on strike following french occupation

• government paid them by printing more marks

• massive inflation: german mark was now worthless

dawes plan briefly saves the day

• reduced reparations

• annual payments were based on german ability to pay

• $200 million loan to germany, opening door for american investing in europe

• very short prosperity in europe

foreign ministers of germany and france sign the treaty of locarno (1925)

• guaranteed german borders w/france and belgium

• viewed as beginning of peace

kellogg-briand pact (1928)

• signed by 65 countries

• pledged to renounce war

• no one said what would happen if someone went against the pact

great depression (1924)

• overproduction of wheat led to collapsed prices (farmers hit hardest/first)

• coal slump due to expanded use of oil and hydroelectric power

• us stock market boomed, which led investors to pull out of germany

• us stock market subsequently crashed, they withdrew more funds, trade slowed

governments made it worse

• raised tariffs to exclude foreign goods from markets

• increased government presence in economies

• people were more likely to follow politicians who made promises to end the crisis (leading to more dictatorships)

weimar republic (german state after the fall of imperial germany)

• lots of economic problems- runaway inflation, loss of life savings

• tons of unemployment: lots of fear, rise of extremist parties

france

• more balanced economy: didn’t really feel the effects until 1932

• formed six different cabinets in 19 months- the one that stuck was the popular front (socialists, communists, and radicals)

• created the french new deal- unions could negotiate salaries/hours, 40 hour workweek, and a minimum wage

great britain

• labour party failed to solve the problem, fell from power in 1931

• new conservative government claimed credit for bringing britain out of the depression using tardiffs/balanced budgets

• ignored john maynard keynes (british economist, believed unemployment came from decline in demand, not overproduction). he said governments should create jobs through deficit spending (if necessary).

united states (affected the most)

• over 12 million unemployed

• roosevelt elected by a landslide, created the new deal

• established the wpa (creating jobs), social security act (supporting old people)

• still tons of unemployed who only got jobs through ww2

arts and sciences (this doesn’t make sense, so why should art?)

• dadaism- life has no purpose

• surrealism (more important)- portraying the unconscious to show that there’s more than physical experiences

• “heroic age of physics”- rev started prewar by einstein continued, brought in the uncertainty principle