Could The Treaties Be Justified at The Time
Could The Treaties Be Justified at The Time
Could The Treaties Be Justified at The Time
Extract from the diary of Edward M. House, an American diplomat, June 1919. Versailles?
To those who are saying that the Treaty is bad ... I feel like admitting it. But I would 2. Does Source 9 surprise you?
also say in reply that empires cannot be shattered and new states raised upon Explain your answer using
their ruins without disturbance. To create new boundaries is always to create new the source and your own
troubles. The one follows the other. While I should have preferred a different peace, knowledge.
I doubt whether it could have been made.
3. Does Figure 1.12 show that
Sources 8 and 9 were wrong?
SOURCE 13
Extract from a speech by President Wilson delivered to the League of Nations, Explain your answer using
September 1919. the sources and your own
Do not think of this treaty of peace as merely a settlement with Germany. It is that. knowledge.
It is a very severe settlement with Germany, but there is not anything in it that she 4. What message is the
did not earn. Indeed, she earned more than she can ever be able to pay for, and cartoonist trying to give in
the punishment exacted of her is not a punishment greater than she can bear, and Figure 1.13?
it is absolutely necessary in order that no other nation may ever plot such a thing
against humanity and civilization. 5. How far do Sources 8 to 10
and Figures 1.12 and 1.13
support the view that the
KEY POINTS Treaty of Versailles was a
compromise that satisfied
X
The aims and motives of Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Wilson between no-one?
November 1918 and the signing of the peace treaties.
X
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
X
The reactions of the “Big Three” to the Treaty.
X
How the Treaty affected Germany up to 1923.
X
The main terms of the treaties that dealt with Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey.
X
The range of contemporary opinions on the peace settlement.
Revision tips
● Make sure you know why the “Big Three” held the positions they did with
regard to Germany. You will find that the differences between the “Big Three”
reflected their different wartime experiences and defensive positions. You
will need to be familiar with Wilson’s Fourteen Points and the reasons Lloyd
George’s views changed after November 1918.
● The terms of the Treaty of Versailles have to be learnt. You will also need to be
able to identify which terms pleased or displeased each of the “Big Three”.
● You will need to be able to explain the various reasons why Germany objected
to the Versailles Treaty.
● You should also cover the terms that each of the minor treaties had in
common, together with an understanding of how Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia
were formed out of the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.
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