instability after ww1
- 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