Transcript Global Depression Between the Wars

Global Depression Between the
Wars
Destruction
• WWI destroyed
homes,
factories, and
roads from
France to Russia
– Many people
became
refugees
– Reconstruction
was slow &
expensive
WWI caused governments to collapse
• Russia became the
communist Soviet Union
• Italy became fascist
• Germany, AustriaHungary and Ottomans
lost empires
• Great Britain & France
developed coalition
governments
– Ex. France’s government
changed 40 times from
1919-1939
• Many colonial lands freed
WWI drained Europe’s resources
• France’s coal/iron industries flooded by
Germany
WWI left every major European nation
bankrupt
• Germany, Great Britain, and
France had most debt
• Only 2 nations remained creditor
nations: U.S. and Japan
– Why? Both expanded trade to
supply the Allies & WWI wasn’t
fought on their land
• European nations could not repay
loans to US (over $10 billion
owed) so they tried to raise
revenue
– Ex. Germany printed more money
– Ex. Great Britain created protective
tariffs and offered low interest
loans to restart industry
• Inflation (1921: 64 marks = $1;
1923: 4.2 trillion marks = $1)
• Big Four nations went on gold
standard to raise value
WWI left the world skeptical &
disillusioned
• Modern warfare caused many
to lose enthusiasm and add
doubt
• France build Maginot Line to
prevent German invasion
• 65 million served in WWI with
9 million battle deaths and 38
million casualities (dead and
wounded)- 3x population of
NC- change in your notes!
• US experienced Roaring
Twenties (escapism) and Red
Scare (fear of communism)tried to choose isolation but
center of power had shifted
from Europe to the US
Peace Attempts
• League of Nations (1920)
– What? Peacekeeping
organization of 40 nations
(US did not join- although
it was Wilson’s idea)
– Purpose? Aimed to settle
conflicts without violence
and to protect smaller
nations against attack by
stronger ones
– Why failed? No power to
stop attacks or prevent war
(no military to back up
claims)
Peace Attempts
• Locarno Treaties (1925)
– What? Agreement signed by 7 European nations
that settled German borders with France,
Belgium, Czechoslovakia, & Poland
– Purpose? Promised to respect borders and avoid
war
– Why failed? Didn’t permanently end German
attacks
Peace Attempts
• Kellog-Briand Pact (1928)
– What? Agreement signed
by most nations (including
US) to outlaw war
– Purpose? To solve
problems by peaceful
means & limit size of many
navies
– Why failed? No
agreements about limiting
armies and no
enforcement
Role of the United States
• World depended on US
economy
• Dawes Plan allowed US
investors to lend money to
foreign nations to help
economies grow; US investors
lent $7.8 billion ($4 billion to
Germany)
• Great Depression caused by:
– Unequal distribution of wealth
– Overproduction (farms &
factories)
– War debt
– Stock Market Crash of 1929
• To keep money in the US, the
government called in loans &
passed protective tariffs
• US economy collapsed
• 25% unemployment until
WWII begins
Results of the Great Depression
• US- creditor until
depression; FDR’s New
Deal took in public $ to
use for welfare/relief,
create jobs
• Great Britaindependent on exports
so left gold standard &
exports increase;
unemployment cut in
half by 1937
Results of the Global Depression
• France- kept going with
$33 billion in German
reparations until prices
rose & wages dropped
• Italy- angry over Treaty of
Versailles; highest
unemployment until
Mussolini built military
and industry
• USSR- Lenin used NEP
(New Economic Policy) to
restore economy then
Stalin replaced with Five
Year Plans to collectivize
farming and factories
Results of the Global Depression
• Japan- creditor until crop
failures; urban
unemployment & rural
poverty; militarize &
industrialize while looking
for more resources
• Germany- 30%
unemployment;
hyperinflation; people
blamed Weimar Republic
for accepting Treaty of
Versailles; Hitler built
military & industry