6.2.4 - Wilson and His Opponents.
For this section of ERA 6, we had to write an essay on what ended World War 1.
End of the War and Beyond.
By Brittany Priester.
World War 1 began July 28th, 1914, after the assassination of Austria-Hungary’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The war was fought for three years until America decided to enter in the spring of 1917, due to unrestricted submarine warfare, along with the Zimmerman Note. Soon after America had entered the war, it comes to an end. On November 11th, 1918, Germany pulled itself out of the war and surrendered. All of the nations that were involved in the war agreed to stop fighting while a peace negotiation occurred. The treaty that ended World War 1 was called the “Treaty of Versailles”. The treaty officially ended it when the alliance powers signed the peace document on June 28th, 1919 in Versailles, France. The Treaty of Versailles ended World War 1 in the year 1919, and was meant to punish Germany. Woodrow Wilson, who was the 28th President of the United States, wanted to include his goals that he had for the war. President Wilson came up with “14 Points” that he believed should be put into the treaty. There are five key elements to Wilson’s fourteen points. One of the key elements was self determination, that nationalities should be able to have their own countries. Second, no one should be blamed for the war. Third, there should be freedom to sail and trade anywhere. Another key point was the taking away of many of the world’s weapons, mainly Germany’s weapons, and their use of submarines. Also, Wilson asked that an international organization to be created. Lastly, Wilson proposed that no one should be blamed or punished for the war, due to the fact that blame would just cause many hard feelings between the nations. Not all of the points that President Wilson proposed were added into the treaty. The Treaty of Versailles was divided into fifteen different parts. Within the first part of the treaty, the League of Nations was created. It was created as an effect of Wilson’s fourteen points. Other parts of the treaty included the terms of military limitations, prisoners of war, finances, access to ports and waterways, and reparations. Wilson’s request for self determination never ended up existing. The League of Nations was created as an international organization to ensure there was not another world war. The idea of the League of Nations was first proposed in Wilson’s fourteen points. Though the idea was wildly popular, it was very difficult to form it. The idea went through great opposition from the United States Senate. There were a lot of debates regarding the League of Nations. Wilson had to leave office never having convinced that the United States would join. “Most historians consider that the League operated much less effectively without U.S. participation than it would have otherwise.” (The League of Nations, 1920). The United States never ended up joining the League of Nations. There were some lasting impacts of World War 1. The first being the worldwide spiral for the arms race began, wars before were viewed only in a specific area. Now, every nation had to be on guard against every other nation. Another lasting impact was the League of Nations being formed. Though it was ineffective itself, it set up the groundwork for the United Nations. Also, the legwork for the Second World War was laid out. The hostile actions Germany took, from the Treaty of Versailles, gave Adolf Hitler the forward movement needed to assume power and start another war. When Germany surrendered in World War 1, the Allies forced sanctions which impelled Germany into severe depression and poverty. This set the stage for World War 2. War was a seemingly practical way to get the country to make a comeback. To the right, you will see a drawing that Brittany created for her 'square deal' assignment that is required for each ERA.
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By Annabelle Bistue.
The first world war, beginning July 28th, 1914, was fought for three whole years before America joined in 1917. After about a year, the war had ended. Germany formally surrendered on November 11th, 1918, and the other nations involved agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were being negotiated. A little after seven months, on June 28th, a treaty was created which Germany and the allied nations signed, formally ending the war. The treaty that ended the war was the 'Treaty of Versailles," being signed in Versailles, France. The president at the time, Woodrow Wilson, came up with the 'Fourteen Points', which he wanted most to follow by to end the war. In the Treaty of Versailles, Some of the points were added, but not all. Wilson had five key elements to the fourteen points. One of which was no one should be blamed for the war, yet Germany was blamed. Another was to take away many of the worlds weapons, mainly Germans and their submarines. The third was self determination, as in nationalities should be able to have their own countries. The fourth was that there should be freedom to sail and trade anywhere, and the last one is Wilson proposed that no one should be blamed nor punished for the war, saying it would just create hard feelings between the nation. Wilson also stated that an organization should be created. The organization was created to provide a forum for resolving international disputes. This was called the League of Nations. Other parts in the treaty were terms of finances, military limitations, prisoners of war, access to ports and waterways, and reparations. The League of Nations was created to ensure there would not be another world war. The idea of the league was extremely popular, yet very difficult to actually form. There was a large amount of debates regarding the idea, and it went through great opposition from the United States Senate. President Wilson had to leave office, never having convinced that the United States would join. In the end, the United States ended up never have joining the League of Nations. There were some lasting impacts of World War I. The first one was the worldwide spiral for the arms race began, wars before were viewed only in a specific area. Now, all the nations had to be on guard against all the other nations. Another lasting impact was the formation of the League of Nations. Though itself it was ineffective, it set up the groundwork for the creation of the United Nations. In addition, the legwork for World War II was laid out. Adolf Hitler was given the forward movement needed to assume power and start another war from the hostile actions Germany took from the Treaty of Versailles. When Germany surrendered in World War I, the Allies forced sanctions, which impelled Germany into severe depression and poverty. This is what set the stage for World War II. |