Chapter 29 Notes: Power and Authority - The Treaty of Versailles

Power and Authority: The Treaty of Versailles

Main Idea

The harsh peace settlement dictated by the Allies after World War I left many nations feeling betrayed, contributing to the rise of tensions that eventually led to World War II.

Setting the Stage

  • The Paris Peace Conference began on January 18, 1919, at the Palace of Versailles, outside Paris.
  • Delegates from 32 countries attended the conference to establish the terms of peace.
  • The Allied powers aimed to resolve their conflicting goals through various peace treaties.

The Allies Meet and Debate

  • Major decisions were made by the Big Four: Woodrow Wilson (United States), Georges Clemenceau (France), David Lloyd George (Great Britain), and Vittorio Orlando (Italy).
  • Russia was not represented due to the civil war, nor were Germany and its allies.
Wilson’s Plan for Peace
  • In January 1918, President Wilson proposed the Fourteen Points, a plan for a just and lasting peace.
  • First Four Points:
    • End to secret treaties.
    • Freedom of the seas.
    • Free trade.
    • Reduced national armies and navies.
  • Fifth Goal:
    • Adjustment of colonial claims with fairness toward colonial peoples.
  • Sixth to Thirteenth Points:
    • Specific suggestions for changing borders and creating new nations, guided by the principle of self-determination.
  • Self-determination: Allowing people to decide under what government they wished to live.
  • Fourteenth Point:
    • Proposed a “general association of nations” to peacefully negotiate solutions to world conflicts.
The Versailles Treaty
  • Britain and France were primarily concerned with national security and stripping Germany of its war-making power.
  • The Treaty of Versailles between Germany and the Allied powers was signed on June 28, 1919, five years after Franz Ferdinand’s assassination.
  • The treaty adopted Wilson’s fourteenth point, creating the League of Nations.
    • League of Nations: An international association to maintain peace among nations.
  • Germany faced significant penalties:
    • Loss of substantial territory.
    • Severe restrictions on military operations.
    • Article 231, the “war guilt” clause, placed sole responsibility for the war on Germany.
    • Germany had to pay reparations to the Allies.
    • All German territories in Africa and the Pacific were declared mandates, administered by the League of Nations until they were ready for independence.
  • Reparations: Money paid by a defeated nation to compensate for damage or injury during a war.
A Troubled Treaty
  • The Versailles treaty was one of five treaties negotiated by the Allies.
  • These agreements led to bitterness and betrayal among both victors and defeated nations.
The Creation of New Nations
  • Separate peace treaties were signed with Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire in 1919 and 1920.
  • These treaties resulted in significant land losses for the Central Powers.
  • New countries created from the Austro-Hungarian Empire:
    • Austria
    • Hungary
    • Czechoslovakia
    • Yugoslavia
  • The Ottoman Turks lost almost all of their former empire, retaining only modern-day Turkey.
  • Allies divided Ottoman lands in Southwest Asia into mandates:
    • British control: Palestine, Iraq, Transjordan.
    • French control: Syria, Lebanon.
  • Russia also suffered land losses.
    • Romania and Poland gained Russian territory.
    • Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania became independent nations.

“A Peace Built on Quicksand”

  • The Treaty of Versailles failed to establish a lasting peace.
  • The United States rejected the treaty, preferring to stay out of European affairs.
  • The U.S. later worked out a separate treaty with Germany and its allies.
  • The war-guilt clause in the treaty with Germany led to bitterness and hatred among the German people.
  • Mandated territories in Africa and Asia felt their desire for independence was disregarded, seeing European colonialism continue under the mandate system.
  • Allied powers like Japan and Italy felt cheated, having gained less territory than desired.
  • The League of Nations, lacking U.S. support, could not address these grievances.
  • The settlements at Versailles were described as “a peace built on quicksand,” ultimately contributing to another world war.

Treaty of Versailles: Major Provisions

  • League of Nations
    • International peace organization; enemy and neutral nations initially excluded
    • Germany and Russia excluded
  • War Guilt
    • Sole responsibility for the war placed on Germany’s shoulders
    • Germany forced to pay the Allies 3333 billion in reparations over 30 years
  • Territorial Losses
    • Germany returns Alsace-Lorraine to France; French border extended to west bank of Rhine River
    • Germany surrenders all of its overseas colonies in Africa and the Pacific
  • Military Restrictions
    • Limits set on the size of the German army
    • Germany prohibited from importing or manufacturing weapons or war material
    • Germany forbidden to build or buy submarines or have an air force

Key Figures

  • Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924): U.S. President, proponent of international peace, suffered a stroke during the political battle over the Treaty of Versailles.
  • Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929): French Premier, nicknamed “Tiger,” determined to punish Germany, often disagreed with Wilson.