2. Presented to Congress before war ended
Plan made in idealistic terms
Hoped to prevent future wars
1st 5 Points
Factors that led to war
Wanted to eliminate secret international agreements
Freedom of seas
Free trade among nations
Sharp reduction in world’s military force
Settlement of colonial claims
3. Points 6-13
Dealt w/ specific territorial issues
Self rule for national minority groups in A-H & OE
Later turned into call for self-determination
Right of a group to decide its own form of government
Point 14
Setting up an international organization to guarantee
world peace
4. Wilson, Lloyd George, & Clemenceau
organized in Paris for peace conference
Wilson’s 14 Points thrilled Europe’s population
The Big 4
Wilson, Georges Clemenceau, David Lloyd George,
& Vittorio Orlando
Made major decisions at conference
All did not agree w/ Wilson’s idealistic goal of peace
Wanted to punish Germany
Secret treaties were also signed during the war dividing
up the territories & colonies of Central Powers
5. Dealt w/ Germany severely
Territory on Germany’s borders & colonies stripped away
Forced to accept full responsibility for war & pay Allies
huge reparations
Placed limits on size & nature of Germany’s military
League of Nations formed
Provided place for countries to meet, settle disputes
peacefully, & punish any nation that broke the peace
June 28, 1919 Germany reluctantly signed treaty
Anger at Treaty of Versailles would set the stage for
WWII
6. Treaties arranged w/ other Central Powers
Applied principle of self-determination for people of
Eastern Europe
Did not apply to non-Europeans
Britain & France divided Germany’s African colonies
Ottoman Empire dissolved, became Turkey
7. Wilson urged Senate to ratify Treaty of
Versailles
Forcefully backed League of Nations
U.S. must accept its destiny to lead the world on a
new path
Lodge Opposes
Many Senators opposed treaty
Henry Cabot Lodge
Opposed U.S. joining LON
Would restrict the right of U.S. to act independently
8. September
Wilson set out on a tour to gain public support
8,000 miles in 3 weeks, giving 40 speeches
October 2
Suffered major stroke, paralyzed left side
Continued to reject all compromise on the treaty
November 1919
Senate voted to reject the treaty
Absence of U.S. crippled LON to stem the crises that
came in the 1930s
9. U.S. didn’t adjust easily to peace after war
Influenza Epidemic
Took 500,000 lives in 1918 in the U.S.
Labor Unrest
High employment rates as soldiers came home to seek jobs
Union’s demanded higher wages w/ stiff resistance from
management
1919 4 million laborers went on strike
Red Scare
Americans feared Communists were behind labor unrest
Fear of Communist revolution gripped the nation
General A. Mitchell Palmer ordered immigrants suspected of
radical views to be rounded up and deported
