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The following text is adapted from the special edition LIFE. World War I: The Great War and the American Century
From where he was at the time the armistice began, Harry Truman was able to see a German gunner. At 11 o'clock, the man took off his helmet, bowed and went away. Truman wrote that "great joy reigned over the line". When he tried to go to bed that night, "members of the French drums insisted on walking around my cradle and shaking hands. They would screamLong live the American Captain! Long live President Wilson!& # 39; "
Celebrations erupted in Paris, London and New York, as well as in small cities in Europe and America. People were dancing with joy and crying. the New York Times reported that in London, "the soldier reigned everywhere and the American boys in khaki had the time of their lives" …
But even as the armistice was celebrated, peace still had not been proclaimed. For Wilson, the war revealed the madness of military alliances and peace. He had already told the Congress of his vision of the future when, in January 1918, he had expressed his hopes for peace. His plan of fourteen points called for free trade, freedom of the seas and the end of secret treaties. Most importantly, the President proposes to create a League of Nations guaranteeing "political independence and territorial integrity". [of] big and small states. "
That is why, believing in the divine destiny of the United States, he sought to realize his dream of a harmonious post-war era. He sailed for Europe to attend the Paris Peace Conference. As his train approached Paris, citizens knelt to pray. Upon his arrival in the capital, the Parisians threw flowers in his way and applauded:Long live Wilson! Long live Wilson!"
The peace conference began January 18, 1919. Differences of opinion quickly emerged: even though the United States wanted to leave Germany in a viable economic situation, many other countries began to punish their former adversary. In the Treaty of Versailles that resulted, this last camp had its way. The conditions of peace eviscerated Germany, stripped her of her entire territory, demilitarized the Rhineland and limited her army to 100,000 soldiers. Since the victors felt that a settlement required pecuniary compensation, the "guilt-of-war" clause in Article 231 makes Germany responsible for "all the losses and damages" of the war and demands crushing reparations.
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Despite the resentment of the war guilt clause, the Germans had no choice but to sign the treaty on June 28th. Five years exactly – five very long years – had passed since the assassination of the archduke Franz Ferdinand.
With the Kaiser gone, the new Weimar Republic ruled Germany. Many former soldiers who have not been able to return to their previous lives have joined paramilitary societies, opposing the liberalism of the new government. At a meeting of the German Workers Party on September 12, 1919, a person handed over an anti-Semitic and prominent nationalist pamphlet to a young Adolf Hitler, who was working as a counterintelligence for the army. Hitler was attracted by what he was reading and soon joined the party, recalling at that time that there was no possibility of turning back. The following February, the group changed its name to the National Socialist (Nazi) Workers Party.
In the meantime, although the treaty no longer contains most of Wilson's fourteen points, he included his pact for the League of Nations. The revolutionary organization called on members to respect the territories of other nations and penalized those who started a war. When Wilson returned to Washington in July, he submitted the treaty to the Senate for approval and eventual ratification by the United States.
There was intense opposition to the agreement. The most fervent critic was Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, who had opposed his call for collective security, which he said would encroach on American sovereignty. And while Lodge was seeking to amend the document, Wilson – who had received the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in founding the League of Nations – was opposed to any changes.
Hoping to gather bipartisan support, Wilson and his wife Edith headed for the Mayflower, a presidential car on the back of a Pennsylvania Railroad train. The nearly 15,000-kilometer journey has crossed cities such as Columbus, Ohio; Omaha; Spokane, Washington; and San Francisco. Along the way, hundreds of thousands of people gathered to see him, and Wilson told a crowd of 20,000 people in St. Louis: "I returned from Paris with one of the largest documents of the history of humanity. President. He had had a series of minor strokes over the years, and during the 22 days that followed his treatment, he had endured headaches so severe that he almost blinded him. Upon his return to the White House, he suffered a massive stroke that paralyzed his left side.
Too weak to fight, Wilson still refused to compromise on the treaty amendments. The Senate rejected the treaty on November 19. The following March, the chamber rejected a new version. It was not until August 1921 that the Berlin Treaty officially ended the war between the United States and Germany. At that time, Warren G. Harding was occupying the Oval Office and the country was trying to put the war back into the past.
More information in the special edition of LIFE, World War I: The Great War and the American Century, available on Amazon.
