AP EH CHAPTER 26 NOTES Essays - Politics, Nationalism, Europe

AP EH CHAPTER 26 NOTES AN UNCERTAIN PEACE: THE SEARCH FOR SECURITY A. the peace settlement at the end of WW I had tried to fulfill the 19th Century dream of nationalism by redrawing boundaries and creating new states 1. conflicts over disputed border regions between Germany and Poland, Poland and Lithuania, Poland and Czechoslovakia, Austria and Hungary, and Italy and Yugoslavia poisoned mutual relations in Eastern Europe for years 2. many Germans viewed the Versailles Peace Treaty as profoundly unfair to Germany, dictated by the allies, and worthy only of total repudiation by a strong Germany B. Woodrow Wilson recognized that the peace treaties contained unwise provisions that could serve as new causes for conflicts and had placed many of his hopes for the future in the League of Nations C. the weakness of the League of Nations and the failure of both the United States and Great Britain to honor their promises to form defensive military alliances with France left France embittered and alone D. in an effort to compensate, France formed a weak alliance system known as the "Little Entente" with 2nd rate military powers such as Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia E. The French Policy of Coercion (1919-1924) 1. the French strictly enforced the terms of the Treaty of Versailles on the defeated Germans (including strict collection of war reparations) 2. when Germany failed to pay its war reparations in a manner that was satisfactory to the French, France occupied German industries in the Ruhr Valley 3. the French occupation of the Ruhr led to a policy of passive resistance by the German government and its resorting to print money to pay war debts (ruined the economy by causing a huge spike in inflation) a. 4.2 German Marks = $1 US (1914) b. 130 Billion German Marks = $1 US (November, 1923) c. 4.2 Trillion German Marks = $1 US (December, 1923) 4. British and American pressure against the French policy toward Germany led France to take a more conciliatory approach to Germany by 1924 F. The Hopeful Years (1924-1929) 1. a new German government led by Gustav Stresemann (1878-1929) ended the policy of passive resistance and committed Germany to carry most of the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles while seeking relief on the issue of reparations 2. Dawes Plan (August, 1924) a. named after the American banker who chaired the commission which produced a new plan for reparations b. the plan reduced reparations and stabilized Germany's payments on the basis of its ability to pay c. granted a $200 million loan for German recovery d. opened the door for heavy US investment in Europe that helped create a new era of European prosperity between 1924 and 1929 but would cause a financial crisis after that time period 3. Locarno Pact (1925) a. treaty signed by Germany (Stresemann) and France (Briand) b. guaranteed Germany's western borders with Belgium and France c. pact was viewed by many as the beginning of a new era of European peace 4. Germany's entrance into the League of Nations in 1926 reinforced the new spirit of conciliation 5. Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) a. drafted by American Secretary of State (Frank Kellogg) and French foreign minister (Aristide Briand) b. sixty-three countries eventually signed the pact in which the signees "renounced war as an instrument of national policy" c. no provisions were made in the pact for would-be violators 6. numerous disarmament conferences failed to achieve anything substantial as states proved unwilling to trust their security to anyone but their own military forces (Note: Germany had already been disarmed) 7. the new peaceful coexistence between the West and Soviet Russia was another hopeful sign during the 1920s a. Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, and several other European nations established full diplomatic relations with Soviet Russia by 1924 b. the West remained suspicious of Russia due to its support of Comintern G. The Great Depression 1. two factors played an important role in the coming of the Great Depression: a. a downturn in domestic economies b. an international crisis created by the collapse of the American stock market in 1929 1. much of the European prosperity between 1924 and 1929 had been built upon American bank