1 / 12

Postwar Democracy

Postwar Democracy. Postwar Germany. With the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II on Nov. 9 th , 1918, Germany became a republic under the leadership of the Social Democrats. This came as a shock to most, since they believed Germany was winning the war.

pules
Télécharger la présentation

Postwar Democracy

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Postwar Democracy

  2. Postwar Germany • With the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II on Nov. 9th, 1918, Germany became a republic under the leadership of the Social Democrats. • This came as a shock to most, since they believed Germany was winning the war. • The republic faced its first challenge with the Spartacist Revolt in Jan. 1919.

  3. Weimar Republic • German voters chose democracy as the National Assembly met in Weimar to draft a constitution. • It created a two house parliament (elected by proportional representation) and a president. • Despite this, many conservative nationalists remained in positions of power and resented the republic.

  4. Economic Problems • The reparations debt of 132 billion marks ($33 billion) crippled Germany. • Default allowed the French to occupy the industrial Ruhr Valley in 1923. • The industrial workers there refused to work for the French. • To support them, Germany printed money, causing rapid inflation.

  5. Economic Recovery • Gustav Stresemann, replaced the old mark with a new one, stabilizing the currency. • Passive resistance was ended in the Ruhr and the reparations issue was addressed. • The Dawes Plan had Germany pay variably depending on economic strength • In 1925, the Ruhr occupation ended. • The infusion of foreign loans and investment led to recovery in the late 1920s.

  6. France • Northern France is devistated by the war. • 1919 elections have the center-right National Bloc take power led by Aristide Briand. • National Bloc took a hard line against Germany. • National Bloc government occupied the Ruhr when Germany defaulted in 1922.

  7. France • In May 1924, coalition of Socialists and Radicals won elections as the Left Cartel • Edouard Herriot became premier. • The government was ineffective in dealing with economic problems and there was considerable infighting in the coalition. • The government had 6 different cabinets in less than two years.

  8. Britain • Wartime trend toward greater social equality continued, helping maintain social harmony. • Representation of the Peoples Act (1928): women over 21 gained the right to vote. (Representation of Peoples Act of 1918 had given women over 30 the right to vote). • Unemployment was Britain's biggest problem in 1920s: about 12% • Did not recover from economic losses suffered during WWI

  9. Britain • 1926, General Strike: support of miners who feared a dramatic drop in their low wages swept the country. • Gov’t outlawed such labor actions in 1927 • Gov’t provided unemployment benefits of equal size to the unemployed and supplemented those payments with subsidized housing (200,000 units), medical aid, and increased old-age pensions. • Liberals and Conservative governments lost power to a new Labour government in 1926.

  10. The Irish Question • After Easter Rebellion (1916) the extremist Sinn Fein faction gained prominence in Ireland. • Prompted a civil war between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Black and Tan, England’s special occupation forces there. • October 1921, London created the Irish Free State, from which Ulster withdrew, as part of the British Commonwealth (Northern Ireland) • In 1922, Britain granted southern, Catholic Ireland full autonomy after failing to suppress a bitter guerrilla war.

  11. Disarmament • The Washington Conference 1921-1922 • Produced the Five Power Treaty • Limited tonnage on battleships. • Locarno Pact of 1925 • France and Germany agreed on borders • Germany accepted permanent demilitarization of the Rhineland. • Britain and Italy acted as guarantors. • Germany given seat in League of Nations.

  12. Disarmament • Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 • 60 countries signed agreement renouncing war. • London Conference of 1930 • U.S., Britain and Japan limit construction of cruisers, destroyers and subs. France and Italy do not participate. • Geneva Conference of 1932 • Meant to limit land araments, conference broke down in 1933.

More Related