Source Sets / World History
Was the peace after World War I a fair one?
Wilson's Fourteen Points meet the actual treaty, its critics, and the new map of Europe.
Teach it
✓ Lesson readyA ready-to-run lesson for this set: Role-Play: The Paris Peace Conference. Slides include a hook, one slide per source, directions, a take-a-stand vote, an exit ticket, and a teacher script in the speaker notes.
1. Hook: look closely 3-5 min
Show: A Troubled Europe. Map of the Conflagration. (1914) (Raúl Pederneiras, 1914, Library of Congress)
Ask: A Brazilian artist drew this satirical map in August 1914, as the war began. The countries are drawn as angry characters. Who looks ready to fight whom?
2. Main activity: Role-Play: The Paris Peace Conference
Grouping: Five delegations of 4 to 6 students
Setup: It is 1919. The delegations must agree on three terms: (1) who is responsible for the war, (2) what Germany must pay or give up, and (3) whether to create a League of Nations. Each delegation argues from its own interests. Then the class votes on each term.
Materials (printables are in the Lesson Plan Doc)
- Delegation role cards (printable pages in the Lesson Plan Doc)
- Evidence cards for all 7 sources
- Treaty terms worksheet
- Assign delegations 5 min
Hand out role cards and evidence cards. - Prepare 8 min
Each delegation decides its position on the three terms and writes a 45-second opening speech. - Opening speeches 12 min
Each delegation speaks. Note: Germany may speak but cannot vote, as in 1919. - Negotiate 8 min
Delegations move around to trade support on terms. - Vote and compare 7 min
Vote on each term. Compare with the real treaty: Article 231, reparations, and the League. Note that the U.S. Senate never ratified the treaty and the U.S. never joined the League. - Exit ticket 5 min
Students answer on a slip before leaving.
Take a stand: Was the peace after World War I a fair one?
- Fair enough: Germany and its allies had fought a war that devastated France and Belgium; the treaty created new nations and a League to keep the peace.
- Unfair or unwise: Germany had no voice in the terms and had to accept responsibility for the war; Keynes warned the treaty ignored Europe’s economic recovery.
3. Pacing options
15-minute bell-ringer
- 3 min Hook: 1914 map
- 8 min Read Article 231 and Keynes side by side; pairs decide if the peace was fair
- 4 min Exit ticket question 1
Full 50-minute lesson
- 4 min Hook: map
- 5 min Assign delegations
- 8 min Prepare
- 12 min Opening speeches
- 8 min Negotiate
- 7 min Vote and compare
- 5 min Exit ticket
- 1 min Buffer
4. Exit ticket
- Was the Treaty of Versailles fair? Give one reason from a source.
- Which of Wilson’s ideas made it into the peace, and which did not?
5. Differentiation
Support
- Adapted Docs (easier reading) in this set: Wilson's Fourteen Points; Treaty of Versailles
- Give each delegation a short list of what it wants before it reads.
- Allow delegations to read their speech from notes.
Extension
- Read more of Keynes. Which of his predictions came true in the 1920s and 1930s?
- Compare the 1914 map with the 1919 maps of Poland. Which empires lost the most territory?
Suggested sequence
- Wilson's Fourteen PointsSpeech · National Archives · WWI (1914-1920) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 15 minWilson's 1918 peace program.Ask: What kind of peace did Wilson want?Open with this source to frame the question.
- Treaty of VersaillesDocument · Yale Avalon Project · WWI (1914-1920) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 20 minFull text of the 1919 peace treaty.Ask: Did the Treaty of Versailles set the stage for WWII?
- League of Nations CovenantDocument · Yale Avalon Project · WWI (1914-1920) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 30+ minThe founding agreement of the League of Nations.Ask: Why did the League fail to keep the peace?
- Keynes: The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1919)Document · Fordham University · WWI (1914-1920) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 20 minKeynes's warning that the Versailles treaty would wreck Europe's economy.Ask: Did the peace treaty set the stage for another war?
- A Troubled Europe. Map of the Conflagration. (1914)Map · Library of Congress · WWI (1914-1920) · Grades K-5, 6-8, 9-12 · ⏱ 10 minLibrary of Congress map: A Troubled Europe. Map of the Conflagration. (1914). A encrenca européa mappa conflagrado (A troubled Europe: Map of the conflagration) is a satirical map of Europe, published shortly after the outbreak of World War I. The map is dated August 22, 1914, and signed by Raul…Ask: How did alliances divide Europe on the eve of World War I?
- Maps of Poland (1919)Map · Library of Congress · WWI (1914-1920) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 10 minLibrary of Congress map: Maps of Poland (1919). "In preparation for the peace conference that was expected to follow World War I, in the spring of 1917 the British Foreign Office established a special section responsible for preparing background information for use by…Ask: How did the peace treaties redraw Europe?
- Forming the League of Nations (1918)Political cartoon · Library of Congress · WWI (1914-1920) · Grades 9-12 · ⏱ 5 minLibrary of Congress print: Forming the League of Nations (1918). President Woodrow Wilson points to easel, "League of Nations," while four of the six men in the room ignore him.Ask: Why did many Americans oppose joining the League of Nations?Close with this source before writing.
Culminating writing prompt
Using evidence from at least three sources in this set, write an argument that answers the question: “Was the peace after World War I a fair one?” Cite each source by title, explain how its author, audience, and purpose affect its reliability, and respond to at least one counterargument.
Printable writing sheet (make a copy)
Students can plan with the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning organizer.