Versailles Treaty Terms and SAQ's

Terms:

1. David Lloyd George was a member of the Big Four. He represented England, for he was Britain's prime minister. He guided their nation through much of WWI and had a major impact at the Paris Peace Conference.
2. George Clemenceau was a member of the Big Four. He was France's prime minister, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles.
3. Woodrow Wilson was the USA's president during WWI. He held out as long as possible before joining the war, and he was also a member of the Big Four. He wrote the Fourteen points as a way to establish and keep peace in the world. He had a large influence at the Paris Peace Conference.
4. Article 173 of the Versailles treaty declared that Germany could no longer make military services a requirement. All members of their army were their voluntarily, and the draft no longer existed, thus making Germany much weaker and less likely to start a war.
5. Article 227 of the Versailles treaty required the arraignment of the German Emperor, William II, for the offense against international morality, meaning he got punished for causing the war and so many deaths and damage. He was punished for poor judgement.
6. Article 231 of the Versailles treaty was also known as the War Guilt Clause, which forced Germany to accept complete responsibility for initiating the war. It stated that they were responsible for causing all of the loss and damage to the Allied nations, which meant that they were responsible for fixing the problem that they solved.

SAQ's:

1. Woodrow Wilsons goal was to completely avoid another World War. To do this, he came up with the Fourteen Points, which were ideas on how to achieve world peace. He wanted to punish Germany just enough to prevent them from starting another war.
2. George Clemenceau was completely against Germany. The war took place completely at the western front of France, and Clemenceau wanted Germany to suffer for what they did to France.
3. David Lloyd George wanted to punish Germany politically and economically for devastating Europe during the war, but he did not want to utterly destroy the German economy and political system the way Clemenceau and many other people of France wanted to do with their demand for massive reparations.

4. Many americans disliked the content of the treaty of Versailles, as many were recent immigrants who had never agreed to wanting America to join the war against Germany in the first place. Some were worried about the finanacial cost of joining. they thought that if they signed it would be a promise to resolve international problems no matter how much this cost. some business leaders believed that the USA had become as powerful as it had due to isolationism. Americans believed in freedom and did not believe in colonies or empires. some thought that the League would simply be taken over by the wants of the British and French. Others were simply bothered by the fact that troops may have had to be sent to every country around the world to settle their small disputes. So many had died in the first world war already and mnay did not want to see this happen again.

   
   

5. Article 231 put all of the blame for the problems of the war on Germany, and it put all of the guilt on Germany. It implied that Germany had to fix what it caused, and obviously, this upset Germany and the German people, which had them fired up and ready for another World War.

WWI Casualty Analysis

1. It is extremely interesting that they had the most soldiers although it was not their conflict. Perhaps they were trying to prove themselves to be world powers, or maybe it simply reflects their large population size.

2. Austria-Hungary is located right next to France, which is where the fighting took place, so that probably led to the high casualty rate, geographically speaking. They were right in on the action, causing more people to be killed.

3. It shows that Russian soldiers were optimistic, for they refused to believe that their men were dead, but simply taken prisoner. This may have led to their involvement in WWII.

4. It represents the large population of the United States, for it is much larger than Italy, and therefore it could afford to send more men, for there were simply more men available to send.

5. If you look at the numbers, you will notice that the allies have almost 5 percent less casualties than those of the central powers, which really basically explains how they won the war...they had more men alive at the end.

6. I think the main thing that jumps out is the sheer number of casualties. So many lives were loss during this war, which is simply tragic, but it does give credit to the new technology, and the effectiveness of the modern warfare. Men got better at fighting, but at men's own expense.

WWI Letter

Dear Mom and Dad,

I miss you guys so much. It has been 1 month since I arrived to the trenches in France. Sorry I was not able to write to you during boot camp in New York. It was so difficult and tiring, between all of the workouts, learning obedience, respect and even mastering a new language, I could never find the time to write before falling asleep. But, if I thought boot camp was exhausting, the trenches are even worse. The living conditions are terrible, and I am always scared for my safety. You never know when somethings going to happen, or who's going to lose their life next. I sure hope it isn't me. Two days ago, I lost my closest friend that I had here, Jim, we have been close since going through training, and his death really hit me hard. I just can't wait until we win this war and I can come home.

I love you and miss you!

Love Tori