When World War I ended, there was a brand new hope for the world, especially in Europe. Numerous people had new homelands, as several new countries were carved out of the German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Ottoman Empires. The "evil" German Empire had been squashed and would trouble no one any further (yeah...right...). The countries of Europe...and the United States...had gone back to the practice of isolationism, staying out of each other's hair for the most part, and eliminating the alliance problem that fueled the War. And, of course, the League Of Nations was put in place and would protect the world from the ravages of war for the rest of time.
Not quite....
The League of Nations
Despite the fact that the United States practically DEMANDED the creation of the League of Nations, we stayed completely out of it once it was put into place. Why? What happened? Congress (and more specifically, the Senate) refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles. Of course, since the League of Nations had been created by the Treaty of Versailles, we couldn't join the League since we didn't recognize the Treaty! Of course, there were reasons that the Senate Republicans, who held the majority of that chamber of Congress, didn't want in the League. The biggest reason was the League didn't have it's own armed forces to deal with international problems, so it would have to call on its members for military support...which could mean American troops would have to go back into a war-like situation, possibly even against our own allies. Plus, we desired to return to a more isolationist existance and, once again, wanted to stay out of Europe's problems as much as possible. Some political scientists also say our three-branch government set-up wouldn't have allowed us to enter the League effectively, anyway, because (essentially) it would be our Executive Branch taking action in League affairs, which it couldn't do without the Legislative Branch first allowing it to do so. Got that? Big mess, I know... In the end, regardless of the reason, we stayed out...
However, it should be noted that the United States excluding itself was not the only issue that weakened the League of Nations. As mentioned above, there was no military force for taking action if necessary. France still didn't trust England, and vice versa, so there was always some tension there, especially in regards to Germany, who was eventually allowed to join in 1926...and then pulled out in 1933...the League of Nations. Japan left the League in 1933, as well. (Hmmmmm....Germany and Japan...Germany and Japan...seems those two countries ring a bell about this time in history, but I can't recall why just now...)
Anyway, the weakness of the League was tested almost immediately, by one of it's key members...France. France was upset that Germany was not able to reparations payments, so they sent troops into Germany's Ruhr Valley region, which was the main mining region Germany had retained after the Treaty of Versailles, and started "paying themselves" by helping themselves to the mines and factories in the region. Of course, the League did nothing about this occupation which, if you look at it, should probably have been against League of Nations rules....
Germany Struggles
As any conscious person could have predicted, Germany was beginning to struggle in a BIG way. German workers were going on strike because they wanted more pay, so the government gave them more pay...by just printing up more money. This, of course, made their money WORTHLESS. According to our text, in 1914, at the start of World War I, it took 4.2 German marks to equal one U.S. dollar. By November 1, 1923, it took 130 BILLION marks to equal a dollar! By the end of November of that same year, it now took 4.2 TRILLION marks to equal a dollar!!! It should not be surprising that people were rather upset with their government and lots of political frustration and unrest began to grow during this period.
American tried to come to the rescue...sort of. An international commission, which was headed by an American banker, came up with what is called the Dawes Plan (named after that American banker) to come up with a better way for Germany to repay her debts AND rebuild its own economy at the same time. Americans began to invest, rather heavily for a time, in Germany and the rest of Europe, which improved things fairly significantly from about 1924 until 1929.
On top of this, the Treaty of Locarno was drawn up in 1925, which firmly established the new post-World War I boundaries of Germany, Belgium, and France. This was huge because it was done peacefully and out of goodwill towards each other...including Germany! It was at this time that Germany was even invited to join the League of Nations, as previously mentioned.
Times were actually good for Europe...and the United States, as well...during this period, often referred to as the Roaring Twenties.
This, of course, wouldn't last, as the Great Depression would hit not only the United States, but the entire financial world, in 1929, ushering in the Dirty Thirties.
Not quite....
The League of Nations
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| What is the artist trying to say here about the United States and the League of Nations? |
However, it should be noted that the United States excluding itself was not the only issue that weakened the League of Nations. As mentioned above, there was no military force for taking action if necessary. France still didn't trust England, and vice versa, so there was always some tension there, especially in regards to Germany, who was eventually allowed to join in 1926...and then pulled out in 1933...the League of Nations. Japan left the League in 1933, as well. (Hmmmmm....Germany and Japan...Germany and Japan...seems those two countries ring a bell about this time in history, but I can't recall why just now...)
Anyway, the weakness of the League was tested almost immediately, by one of it's key members...France. France was upset that Germany was not able to reparations payments, so they sent troops into Germany's Ruhr Valley region, which was the main mining region Germany had retained after the Treaty of Versailles, and started "paying themselves" by helping themselves to the mines and factories in the region. Of course, the League did nothing about this occupation which, if you look at it, should probably have been against League of Nations rules....
Germany Struggles
As any conscious person could have predicted, Germany was beginning to struggle in a BIG way. German workers were going on strike because they wanted more pay, so the government gave them more pay...by just printing up more money. This, of course, made their money WORTHLESS. According to our text, in 1914, at the start of World War I, it took 4.2 German marks to equal one U.S. dollar. By November 1, 1923, it took 130 BILLION marks to equal a dollar! By the end of November of that same year, it now took 4.2 TRILLION marks to equal a dollar!!! It should not be surprising that people were rather upset with their government and lots of political frustration and unrest began to grow during this period.
American tried to come to the rescue...sort of. An international commission, which was headed by an American banker, came up with what is called the Dawes Plan (named after that American banker) to come up with a better way for Germany to repay her debts AND rebuild its own economy at the same time. Americans began to invest, rather heavily for a time, in Germany and the rest of Europe, which improved things fairly significantly from about 1924 until 1929.
On top of this, the Treaty of Locarno was drawn up in 1925, which firmly established the new post-World War I boundaries of Germany, Belgium, and France. This was huge because it was done peacefully and out of goodwill towards each other...including Germany! It was at this time that Germany was even invited to join the League of Nations, as previously mentioned.
Times were actually good for Europe...and the United States, as well...during this period, often referred to as the Roaring Twenties.
This, of course, wouldn't last, as the Great Depression would hit not only the United States, but the entire financial world, in 1929, ushering in the Dirty Thirties.
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