Shaping the Peace after World War I

With the end of the war, the struggle began to determine how to shape the peace. Wilson's ideas for the postwar world found opponents both abroad and at home.

THE FOURTEEN POINTS

Even before the war ended, President Wilson had presented his peace plan, known as the Fourteen Points, to Congress. He framed his plan in idealistic terms, saying he hoped to prevent future wars. The first five points dealt with the factors that led to the war. Wilson wanted to eliminate secret international agreements. He called for freedom of the seas, free trade among nations, and a sharp reduction to the world's military forces. 

Points 6 thru 13 dealt with specific territorial issues arising from the war. Wilson wanted to turn a specific point from this section into a call for self-determination. Self-determination is the right of a group to decide its own form of government. Wilson knew that one of the causes of World War I was the struggle of different nations to rule themselves. He hoped self-determination would help to end that struggle.

For President Wilson, Point #14 was the most important. It called for setting up an international organization of nations to guarantee world peace. Wilson hoped this would help all nations to cooperate with one another, avoiding another war like World War I.

Click on the link below and write down two of President Wilson's points for the Fourteen Point Plan:

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1324.html

PEACE CONFERENCE IN PARIS

The victorious allies organized a peace conference in Paris after the war. 

Click on the link below to learn more about the peace conference:

http://history1900s.about.com/od/worldwari/p/Versailles-Treaty.htm

(Make sure you scroll through all three pages of information)

One of the most important parts of the Peace Conference was the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty forced Germany to accept full responsibility for the war and to pay the Allies huge reparations. Reparations are payments to cover war damages. It also limited Germany's size and military.

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Once he returned to the U.S., President Wilson urged the Senate to adopt the Treaty of Versailles. President Wilson backed the treaty's most controversial part- creating the League of Nations. The United States would use the League of Nations (which was the organization of nations Wilson had proposed in his Fourteen Points) to lead the world onto a new path.

Many Senators opposed the treaty. Leading the opposition was Henry Cabot Lodge, a powerful Republican from Massachusetts. Lodge's main objection was the proposal of the United States to join the League of Nations.
Lodge argued that membership in the League would restrict the right of the United States to act independently in its own interest.

Lodge asked for major changes that would reduce the United States ties to the League, but President Wilson refused to compromise.

Look at the political cartoon below, and explain what you think the cartoon means:

WILSON'S LAST BATTLE
In early September, Wilson set out on a nationwide tour to stir up public support for the League of Nations. Traveling 8,000 miles by train in three weeks, he gave 40 speeches across the country.

On October 2, Wilson suffered a massive stroke that paralyzed his left side. His wife and physician kept his illness a secret. From the White House sickbed, Wilson continued to reject all compromise on the treaty.
In November 1919, the Senate voted to reject the treaty. The United States would no longer be part of the League of Nations. This led to the League of Nations being very unable to settle the issues left behind from World War I.

POSTWAR TROUBLES
The United States did not easily adjust to the return of peace. The postwar years brought a variety of troubles.

INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC	Toward the end of the war, troop movements contributed to a worldwide influenza epidemic. In the United States alone, the disease took more than 500,000 lives in 1918 and 1919. Worldwide, the epidemic killed more people than had died all four years of the war.
LABOR UNREST	During the war, unions and businesses had cooperated to meet production goals needed for the war. But peacetime brought high unemployment, as soldiers came home to seek jobs. With prices rising, unions demanded for higher wages, but they were not given what they wanted. In 1919, four million laborers, 20 percent of the American workforce, went on strike.
RED SCARE	Many Americans feared that Communists, or “Reds” were behind the labor unrest. After all, in Russia, Lenin had called for a worldwide workers’ revolution. From 1919 to 1920 a “Red  Scare,” or fear of Communist revolution, gripped the nation.   Many immigrants in America suspected of being communist were deported, or returned to their home countries.

 

Culture Changes in Europe: Art, Literature, Music, and Architecture

Culture was changing in Europe during the late 1800s. Innovations in literature, visual arts, and music helped others to develop new worldviews. Between 1870 and 1914, many writers and artists rebelled against the traditional styles of art that had been around since the Renaissance. These changes contributed to a movement known as MODERNISM.

LITERATURE:

-Western novelists and poets who followed the “naturalist” style felt literature should be realistic and address social problems

-Two writers, Henrik Ibsen and Emile Zola, explored the role of women in society, alcoholism, and the problems of urban slums in their work

 

-Symbolist writers had a different idea about what was real. They were inspired by psychologist Sigmund Freud, believing that the external world, including art, was a collection of symbols reflecting the human mind. Art, the symbolists believed, should not be used to criticize or seek to understand society

 

PAINTING, ART, ARCHITECTURE, and MUSIC
The table below gives specific examples of artists and people who made advances in the categories above. Fill out your worksheet and make sure you follow instructions on what to do with Google at the end of each section:

CLAUDE MONET	Best known for being: an impressionist artist   - Impressionism was a movement that began in France in the 1870s, when a group of artists rejected traditional indoor studios and went to the countryside to pain nature directly.   -Monet’s paintings aimed to capture light, water, and sky   Google the following paintings, and describe them in your worksheet:   -Impression Sunrise by Claude Monet -Women in the Garden by Claude Monet   -San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk by Claude Monet
VINCENT VAN GOGH	Best known for being: a postimpressionist artist   -Postimpressionism was mostly used to express a mood and spirituality   -Van Gogh was especially interested in color and believed it could be its own language   -Felt “artists should paint what they feel”   Google the following paintings, and describe them in your worksheet:   -The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh   -Starry Night over the Rhone by Vincent Van Gogh   -The Potato Eaters by Vincent Van Gogh
PABLO PICASSO	Best known for being: a modern artist   -Picasso was from Spain and eventually moved to Paris to start painting in a variety of styles   -Picasso created his own artistic style called cubism- which used geometric designs to re-create reality   -Picasso is described as being influenced by Albert Einstein   Google the following paintings, and describe them in your worksheet:   -Plaster Head and Arm by Pablo Picasso   -Dora Maar by Pablo Picasso
Wassily Kandinsky	Best known for being: an abstract painter   -Kandinsky was a Russian and was one of the first artists to use abstract styles   -He wanted to avoid visual reality altogether   -Kandinsky believed paintings should only contain lines and color   Google the following paintings and describe them in your worksheet:   -Yellow Red Blue by Wassily Kandinsky   -Composition IV by Wassily Kandinsky   -Sketch for Composition II by Wassily Kandinsky
Frank Lloyd Wright	Best known for being: a modern architect   -Wright believed buildings should be functional, or easy to use. He built a series of American homes with long geometric lines and overhanging roofs   -Wright was influenced by the idea that extra ornaments and decorations on homes and buildings should be done away with   Google the following house built by Frank Lloyd Wright and describe them in your worksheet:   -Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, Oak Park, IL
Igor Stravinsky	Best known for being: a Russian composer of music   -Stravinsky used new expressive sounds and bold rhythms in his music   -His most famous work was called “The Rite of Spring.” When it debuted in Paris in 1913, the sounds and rhythms of the music and dance caused a near riot by an outraged audience

Emergence of Mass Society across the World

During the 1800s, a large number of people migrated to cities. The increasing urban population led governments to improve public health and sanitation services. Women began advocating for their rights, leisure time increased, and many Western governments began to finance public education.

Growth of Urban Populations

With few jobs available in the countryside, people from rural areas migrated to cities to find work in the factors, or later, in blue-collar industries. As a result of this vast migration, more and more people lived in cities. Cities grew tremendously in industrialized nations. Between 1800 and 1900, the population in London grew from 960,000 to 6,500,000.

 

 

Improvements in Public Health and Sanitation

Cities also grew faster int he second half of the nineteenth century because of improvements in public health and sanitation. Because of this, more people could survive living close together. Improvements came in the 1840s after a number of urban reformers demanded something be done about filthy living conditions that caused deadly diseases in the cities. City governments, in response, created boards of health to improve the quality of housing. Buildings were now inspected for health hazards. Running water and draining systems were required to be installed in new buildings.

Clean water and an effective sewage system were also critical to public health. Dams and reservoirs began to store water and newly created tunnels carried the water into the cities. Sewage was improved by building underground pipes that carried raw sewage far from the city for disposal. This allowed for much cleaner conditions across many cities around the world.

New Social Classes and Structures

In this new society, between the few who were rich and the many who were poor, several middle class groups existed...

THE NEW ELITE	THE DIVERSE MIDDLE CLASS	THE WORKING CLASS
-Made up 5 percent of the population   -Controlled about 40 percent of the wealth   -Consisted of merchants, bankers, industrialists   -Became leaders in government and military	-The wealthier members of this class included lawyers, doctors, members of civil service, architects, accountants, and business managers   -The medium-income members of this class system included salespeople, bookkeepers, department store workers, and secretaries   -Believed in hard work, which was open to everyone	-Made up about 80 percent of the population   -Included peasants, farmers, and sharecroppers   -Conditions for this class system improved by the 1870s   -Began earning enough money to buy things beyond just food and shelter

Women's Experiences

Before the Industrial Revolution, women were mainly defined by their roles in the family and in the household. Most women didn't have a legal identity apart from their husbands. During the Second Industrial Revolution, women struggled to change their status.

 

NEW JOB OPPORTUNITIES: The Second Industrial Revolution opened up new opportunities in terms of jobs for women. There were not enough men to fill the low-paying jobs being created. Employers began to hire women to fill jobs, including clerks, secretaries, and typists.

 

Women were beginning to see changes in ideals in the following three areas:

THE MARRIAGE IDEAL

Throughout the 1800s, marriage remained the only honorable and available “career” for most women.  There was also one important change. The number of children born to the average woman began to decline—which led to changes in the modern family. A decline in the birthrate was tied to improving economic conditions, as well as increased use of birth control. The first birth control clinic was founded in Amsterdam by the mid-1800s.

 

THE FAMILY IDEAL

Family had become the center of middle class life. Because families were having fewer children, mothers could devote more time to child care and leisure. The middle class family began to spend more time together as a family. As far as working class society went, some women had to earn money to help support families. Because of this, childcare became a concern. Often times, older siblings, older relatives, or neighbors would provide childcare for families that needed it.   Families were striving also to buy new consumer products with more money that was being earned. Families could now purchase things like sewing machines and stoves.

 

WOMEN’S RIGHTS

In the nineteenth century, feminism, which was a movement for women’s rights, began to spread. During this time, women advocated equality for women based on natural rights.   Women began to demand the right to own property, the right to go to college, and perhaps most famous, the right to vote. Women moving for the right to vote was called suffrage. Women believed suffrage was the key to improving women’s rights. Eventually after World War I, many governments and states in the U.S. finally granted women the right to vote.

 

Education and Leisure

 

 This new society promoted the right to education for all regardless of race, gender, or social class. By providing children with free education, they would learn the skills and knowledge necessary to being successful later on in their jobs. Also, since many more people were now granted the right to vote, politicians thought that voters needed to receive an education to be informed on who they were voting for.

One of the quickest results of public education was an increase in literacy, or the ability to read. By promoting education and reading, several began to become more informed on current events through the reading of newspapers and journals.

New Forms of Leisure
The following forms of leisure began to spring up all across the world with the spread of industrialization, rights, education, and new family roles.






In addition, people were now working shorter hours and able to spend more time freely doing things for fun. People were able to take more vacations and bring families along to activites. Dances, picnics, and town fairs became more and more popular, and team sports participation also increased as people found more free time.

CONCLUSION:
Through the Industrial Revolution, several changes took place all across the world in the form of new class systems, increase in women's rights, and a rise in education and leisure activities. The old way of life was slowly changing to allow people more opportunities for fun and enjoyment.