6.3 - Presentation - Treaty of Versailles

U.S./VA History

Unit 6.3:
The Treaty of
Versailles

1

11th Grade

Today’s Question:

3

Was the Treaty of Versailles more costly or beneficial to American Diplomacy?

Objectives:

3

1. Understand what the Treaty of Versailles was and assess its impact.

2. Examine the cost of the war for different countries.

3. Assess the United States' response to the Treaty and its impact on the future of American diplomacy.

TABLE: Military & Civilian Deaths resulting from WWI

Allies of WWI

Population
(millions)

Military deaths

Civilian deaths
from military
action

Civilian deaths
from famine/
disease

Total deaths

Total deaths as
% of population

Military wounded

UK

45.4

886,939

2,000

107,000

995,939

2.19%

1,663,435

Remaining British Empire

228,658

2,000

230,658

426,777

Beligium

7.4

58,637

7,000

55,000

120,637

1.63%

44,686

France

39.6

1,397,800

40,000

260,000

1,697,800

4.29%

4,266,000

Italy

35.6

651,000

4,000

585,000

1,240,000

3.48%

953,886

Romania

7.5

250,000

120,000

330,000

680,000

9.07%

120,000

Russia

175.1

1,811,000

500,000

1,000,000

3,311,000

1.89%

4,950,000

Serbia

4.5

275,000

150,000

300,000

725,000

16.11%

133,148

United States_

92.0

116,708

757

117,465

0.13%

205,690

Totals

806.0

5,712,397

821,757

2,853,000

9,397,136

1.19%

12,809,280

Multiple Choice

Which country had the largest number of military deaths during WWI?

• France

• Russia

• UK

• United States

TABLE: Losses of Property (in millions)

5

Capitalized
value of war
deaths

Property
losses on land

Shipping and
cargo losses

British Empire

$3,477

$1,750

$3,930

France

$4,818

$10,000

$453

Russia

$8,104

$1,250

$933

Italy

$2,385

$2,710

$431

United States

$518

$365

Other allies

$3,215

$11,500

$525

Total allies

$22,517

$27,219

$6.637

Horses and men of 1st Anzac Corps on their way past the
ruins of the Cathedral and Cloth Hall in Ypres, France.
Credit: Courtesy IWM

Source: Bogart (1920: 269-299)

Multiple Select

Based on the number of military casualties and property damage, which two Allied countries lost the most during WWI?

• France

• UK

• United States

• Russia

But…The Central Powers had losses, too…

7

Central Powers

Population
(million)

Dead soldiers

Direct civilian

casualties

Total number of

dead

Austria-Hungary

52.6

1,460,000

400,000?

1,860,000

Bulgaria

4.7

88,000

300,000

388,000

Germany

67.8

2,037,000

700,000

2,737,000

Turkey

17.3

325,000

2.000,000

2,325,000

Central Powers

Capitalized value of
war deaths (millions)

Property losses on

land (millions)

Shipping and cargo
losses (millions)

Germany

$6,751

$1,750

$121

Austria-Hungary

$3,080

$1,000

$15

Turkey and Bulgaria

$1,203

-

$163

Property
Losses

Casulaties

Incalcuable Loses: PTSD

2.Freedom of the Seas

3.Removal of Economic Barriers
4.Reduction of Armaments

5.Adjustment of Colonial Claims

6.Handle the conquered territories of

Russia

7.Preservation of Belgian sovereignty.
8.Restoration of French territory.
9.Redrawing Italian frontier.

10.

Division of Austro-Hungarian empire.
11.

Redrawing of Balkan boundaries.

12.

Limits on Turkey

13.

Establishment of independent Poland.

14.

Creation of the League of Nations.

8

Review: Wilson’s 14 Point

Plan

1.Open Diplomacy

2.Freedom of the Seas

3.Removal of Economic Barriers
4.Reduction of Armaments

5.Adjustment of Colonial Claims

6.Handle the conquered territories of

Russia

7.Preservation of Belgian sovereignty.
8.Restoration of French territory.
9.Redrawing Italian frontier.

10.

Division of Austro-Hungarian empire.
11.

Redrawing of Balkan boundaries.

12.

Limits on Turkey

13.

Establishment of independent Poland.

14.

Creation of the League of Nations.

8

Match

Match the following points of Wilson's Fourteen Point Plan with Allied issues during WWI

• Freedom of the Seas

• Creation of the League of Nations

• Open Diplomacy

The sinking of the merchant ships by German U-Boats

The domino effect of nations joining the war

The difficulties the US had remaining neutral

• The sinking of the merchant ships by German U-Boats

• The domino effect of nations joining the war

• The difficulties the US had remaining neutral

Clemenceau

France
4.29% dead

Lloyd George

United Kingdom

2.19% dead

Wilson

United States
0.13% dead

Participants of Paris Peace Conference

Orlando

Italy

3.48% dead

In 1919, the Big Four met in Paris to
negotiate the Treaty: Lloyd George of
Britain, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of
Italy, Georges Clemenceau of France, and
Woodrow Wilson of the U.S.

And the answer is….

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Punishment 1: War Guilt

12

Article 231, the
“War Guilt Clause,”
required Germany to
take full
responsibility for
WWI.

Punishment 2: Reparations

13

Germany had to pay significant
reparations (132 BILLION gold
marks-about $269 BILLION today) to
France and Belgium for damages.

*Remember…Germany had significant
losses, too.

Punishment 3: Loss of Territory

14

New countries and borders….

15

Germany lost Alsace-Lorraine
to France and parts of the east
to Poland.

New countries are created
from Germany, the
Austro-Hungarian Empire,
and Russia, including Poland,
Latvia, Lithuania, and
Yugoslavia.

Others had changes in their
borders as the losers lost
territory.

Another Condition: Mandate System

16

Ottoman Empire is broken
up.

France and Great Britain
given territories in the
Middle East to oversee their
transition to independence.
France and Great Britain
were not to make them part
of their empire.

Punishment 4: Demilitarization

17

Germany’s armed
forces are reduced to
100,000.

Germany could not
have troops in the
Rhineland.

The League of Nations is formed…

18

Members of the League of Nations convene in Geneva, Switzerland in 1920.
PHOTOGRAPH BY HULTON ARCHIVE, GETTY

The League of Nations was part of Wilson’s
14 point plan and intended to resolve
international disputes in order to maintain
peace.

Wilson was very invested in getting the
League of Nations formed. Most important
for Wilson, the League would guarantee
the territorial integrity and political
independence of member states, authorize
the League to take “any action…to
safeguard the peace,” establish procedures
for arbitration, and create the mechanisms
for economic and military sanctions.

WHAT HAPPENS

WHEN WILSON

RETURNS TO THE U.S.?19