The Futile Search for Stability after WWI
The Futile Search For Stability After WWI
* Uneasy Peace, Uncertain Security * The peace settlement at the end of World War I had tried to fulfill nineteenth century dreams of nationalism by creating new boundaries and new states. President Woodrow Wilson placed many of his hopes for the future in the League of Nations. This however was not very effective. One major reason it failed is that the United States didn’t want to join the league. They didn’t wish to be involved in European affairs. The U.S. senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles. Between 1919 and 1924 desire for security led the French government to demand strict enforcement of the treaty. Inflation then led to workers going on strike and the government paid their salaries by printing paper money.
* The Great Depression * The Great Depression had two major factors. One was a series of downturns in the economies of individual nations. The second was an international financial crisis involving the U.S. stock market. During 1932, the worst year of the depression, nearly one British worker in every four was unemployed. Over six million Germans were out of work.
* Democratic States after the War * Germany: The imperial Germany of William II had come to an end in 1918 with Germanys’ defeat in war. A German democratic state known as the Weimar republic was then created. * France: The popular front started a program. The French new deal gave workers the right to collective bargaining. * Great Britain: Political leaders in Britain largely ignored the new ideas of a British economist, John Mayard who published his general theory of employment, interest, and money in 1936. * United States: Under certain circumstances, the democrat, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was able to win a landslide victory in the 1932 presidential election.
The Rise of Dictatorial Regimes
* Fascism In Italy * In the early 1920’s, Benito Mussolini established the first European
* Uneasy Peace, Uncertain Security * The peace settlement at the end of World War I had tried to fulfill nineteenth century dreams of nationalism by creating new boundaries and new states. President Woodrow Wilson placed many of his hopes for the future in the League of Nations. This however was not very effective. One major reason it failed is that the United States didn’t want to join the league. They didn’t wish to be involved in European affairs. The U.S. senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles. Between 1919 and 1924 desire for security led the French government to demand strict enforcement of the treaty. Inflation then led to workers going on strike and the government paid their salaries by printing paper money.
* The Great Depression * The Great Depression had two major factors. One was a series of downturns in the economies of individual nations. The second was an international financial crisis involving the U.S. stock market. During 1932, the worst year of the depression, nearly one British worker in every four was unemployed. Over six million Germans were out of work.
* Democratic States after the War * Germany: The imperial Germany of William II had come to an end in 1918 with Germanys’ defeat in war. A German democratic state known as the Weimar republic was then created. * France: The popular front started a program. The French new deal gave workers the right to collective bargaining. * Great Britain: Political leaders in Britain largely ignored the new ideas of a British economist, John Mayard who published his general theory of employment, interest, and money in 1936. * United States: Under certain circumstances, the democrat, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was able to win a landslide victory in the 1932 presidential election.
The Rise of Dictatorial Regimes
* Fascism In Italy * In the early 1920’s, Benito Mussolini established the first European