The Big Three Flashcards
When was the Paris Peace Conference?
January 1919.
Who led the Paris Peace Conference?
-David Lloyd George
-Georges Clemenceau
-Woodrow Wilson
Give 3 reasons why the French wanted revenge:
-Much of the fighting took place in France, particularly the north-east
-The Germans destroyed many mines, railways, factories bridges and farmland
-The French suffered the most deaths
What 4 things did Clemenceau want?
-Cripple Germany so it was never powerful enough to attack France again
-Germany’s armed forces reduced
-Germany’s borders to be pushed back to the Rhine, taking away its defences
-For Germany to pay compensation
Why was Lloyd George elected by the British public?
As he promised to make ‘Germany pay’.
Why did many people of Britain want revenge?
As many young British men died in the trenches.
Give 4 reasons why Lloyd George was more cautious than Clemenceau:
-He didn’t want to be too harsh or Germany could want revenge
-He wanted to keep Germany quite strong so Britain could trade with it
-He wanted to stop other countries in Europe from becoming too powerful
-Lloyd George was determined to gain German colonies
What did Lloyg George see the peace talks as a good opportunity for?
To reduce the Germany navy to stop it from rivalling Britain’s.
Why did most Americans see no need for revenge?
During the war no fighting took place on American soil and America made lots of money selling weapons to the allies.
What was Wilson similarly concerned about with being too harsh on Germany?
That it could lead to another war.
What was Wilson?
An idealist, a dreamer who wasn’t very practical.
What did Wilson suggest be set up?
A world parliament called the League of Nations, where countries could work and trade together to make war less likely.
Give 2 themes Wilson believed in:
-Self-determination; allowing countries the freedom to rule themselves
-‘Freedom of the seas’; everyone could sail trading ships wherever they wanted.
What were the collection of Wilson’s ideas known as?
The Fourteen Points
What 5 factors affected the decisions of the Big Three at the Paris Peace Conference?
-The armistice
-Prior agreements
-Conflicts of interest
-Time constraints
-A changing Europe
How had the armistice caused conflict in their decisions?
Clemenceau used the fact that Germany had agreed to the principles (reparations, giving Alsace-Lorraine back and moving out of the Rhineland) in the armistice to argue that they should appear in the final treaty.
Give 2 examples of prior agreements which gave the Big Three more to argue over:
-Italy had been promised land from the Austro-Hungarian Empire
-Japan had been told that their claims on land in China would be supported
How long did the Paris Peace Conference last?
12 months.
Diplomats from how many countries were at the Conference?
32
Why were the Big Three pressured so much to come to a decision quickly?
Various countries were keen to be given reparations , so that they could start rebuilding their economies.
Give 2 ways Europe had changed which made it unstable:
-Countries were now breaking away and declaring independence from the Austria-Hungary empire
-A revolution had broken out in 1917 in Russia, where the Tsar (Russian Emperor) and his family were assassinated and the Communists had taken over
Give 4 other points of Wilson’s Fourteen Points:
-Disarmament
-No secret treaties
-Self-determination in the Austrio-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires
-An independent Polish state to be created, with access to the sea
