Versailles and Aftermath: Reading Flashcards
(17 cards)
What was the main goal of the Treaty of Versailles according to Wilson and what were his key ideals for peace?
The treaty was to create a new world order based on Wilson’s 14 Points and the League of Nations with his key ideals for peace being self-determination, open diplomacy, and collective security through viewing himself as moral leader of a “new diplomacy”
What did Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Orlando each want at the Paris Peace Conference?
- Security for France and punishment Germany
- British naval supremacy and imperial gains
- Territorial claims based on secret wartime treaties
How did Wilson’s ideals clash with the realities of the treaty?
Wilson’s push for open diplomacy conflicted with secret treaties and closed-door negotiations among the “Big Four”
What were the punitive terms imposed on Germany in the Treaty and who criticise these terms for being too harsh?
War guilt clause (Article 231), harsh reparations, territorial and colonial losses -> was criticised by John Manyard Keynes and Jan Smuts
Why did the US Senate oppose the Treaty and who led this?
Concerns over Article X of the League Covenant compromising US sovereignty -> opposition led by Senator Lodge
What was Wilson’s response to Senate opposition to the Treaty and what were the long-term consequences of this?
He refused to modify the treaty which led to its rejection -> the US never joined the League of Nations
What were the broader consequences of the Treaty of Versailles and how did Wilson’s legacy suffer as a result?
It failed to secure lasting peace, humiliated Germany, laying the groundwork for WWII -> Wilson lost international credibility and political support at home
What was the central foreign policy question for the US after WWI?
Whether commit to collective security and uphold Versailles or return to diplomatic detachment
What agreement embodied Wilson’s ideal of outlawing war?
The Kellogg-Brian Pact
Key criticism of Wilson’s foreign policy?
He ignored the enduring role of power politics in international relations
What movement gained strength in the US after WWI and what two figures pushed for it?
Isolationism which was advocated by Hiram Johnson and William Borah
Why did isolationists oppose the League of Nations?
Fear of losing US sovereignty and being drawn into permanent military commitments
What was the foreign policy stance of Harding and Coolidge, and what was the slogan for the Republican in the 1920s?
Harding and Coolidge rejected the League but supported selective international cooperation with the Republican slogan being “Peace with independence”
How did the US reconcile isolationism with international involvement and how did the US exercise global economic influence in the 1920s?
They avoided alliances but supported humanitarian efforts and international arbitration and they exercise global economic influence through heavy investment abroad, particularly in Europe
What policies contradicted US cooperative rhetoric?
High tariffs (i.e. Fordney-McCumber) and insistence on Allied debt repayment
How did the US support European stability economically?
Through the Dawes and Young Plans to aid German recovery
What challenges began to undermine the Versailles order in the 1920s and what security regions did the US fail to engage with meaningfully?
Rising threats from Germany, Russia, and Japan
