12-4+USH

Abby Regan 2/15/12 Mr. Masterson USHCP

Key Terms: Bolsheviks: A radical group of Russian socialists that came to power and withdrew Russia from the war. The Battle of the Argonne Forest: Successful Allied effort to push back German troops from a rail center in Sedan, France. Fourteen Points: President Wilson's plan for organizing post WWI Europe and for avoiding future wars. League of Nations: International body of nations formed in 1919 to prevent wars. Big Four: Collective name given to David Lloyd George, Woodrow Wilson, Georges Clemenceau, and Vittorio Orlando during the 1919 peace conference for Versailles. Reparations: Payments Treaty of Versailles: Treaty ending WWI that required Germany to pay huge war reparations and that established the League of Nations.

Key People: David Lloyd George: The prime minister of Britain, one of the Big Four Georges Clemenceau: The premier of France, one of the Big Four Vittorio Orlando: The prime minister of Italy, one of the Big Four Henry Cabot Lodge: Head of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Wilson's long time enemy.

Summary:

The End of the War
 * In 1917, the Allies tried to end the deadlock, failed, and rebellions broke out in French units along the front.

Revolution In Russia
 * People in Petrograd who were unable to buy bread rioted in the streets and overthrew the czar.
 * In November, the Bolsheviks came under power and withdrew Russia from the war.

Germany's Last Bid For Victory
 * In May 1918, the German's launched a huge attack on the Allies and drove them back to the Marne River.
 * The US troops were placed under the command of Marshall Ferdinand Foch, and helped save Paris from being captured from Germany.
 * The Germans tried one last time to attack, but the Allies stood their ground.

Allied Victory
 * For three months the Allies pushed into German territory, and pushed the Germans back.
 * African Americans played a big role in the Argonne offensive, and were rewarded the Cross of War, a French military honor.
 * After losing several battles, the Central Powers force began to weaken.
 * Germany began to fall apart as the kaiser gave up his throne and German citizens demanded food, and eventually Germany surrendered.
 * At 11 am on November 11, the armistice, or cease-fire went into effect.

Wilson's Fourteen Points
 * Wilson knew that forging a just peace was going to be difficult.
 * He presented the Fourteen Points and a summary of his principles to Congress.
 * Nine of the points dealt with self determination, others dealt with the causes of the modern war, and the final one established the League of Nations.
 * Congress and Americans liked the idea, but the Allies and Germans didn't because they thought it would interfere with European affairs.

The Paris Peace Conference
 * Woodrow Wilson boarded the USS George Washington, and was welcomed warmly by the French, who saw him as a hero.
 * The Peace Conference was controlled by the Big Four.
 * After six months of debate, the delegates agreed to a peace treaty.
 * Germany's colonies and the Ottoman empire were divided on among the Allies, and many countries regained their independence, and Germany became disarmed and had to pay a lot of fines.
 * Wilson made sure that the treaty included an agreement creating the League of Nations, and to observe a waiting period before war, and whoever opposed this was subject to economic pressure.

The Treaty in the Senate
 * Many Republicans opposed the League of Nation policies.
 * Henry Cabot Lodge tried to stall the treaty in the Foreign Relations, and Wilson tried to campaign by going around to different cities and making speeches.
 * Wilson became sick and was isolated and increasingly out of touch with reality, and still refused to compromise.
 * Both the Republicans and the Democrats rejected Lodge's version of the treaty, and the League of Nations had already started up without US participating.

The Global Impact of the War
 * Europeans struggled to recover from the casualties of the war.
 * The war left the industry and agriculture in Europe in ruins.
 * The businesses still working couldn't produce enough to meet demand, therefore causing inflation.
 * European nations competed with one another over territories.