The Economic Consequences of the Peace

Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929) was a French journalist and statesman. As the leader of France (1917-1920), Clemenceau brought his country to victory in World War I. As a result, he was one of the key negotiators during the Paris Peace Conference along with Britain’s Lloyd George and America’s Woodrow Wilson.

In his youth, Clemenceau was an activist who commemorated the Revolution of 1848 and was briefly jailed for this act. He spent time in the United States in the 1860s and was impressed by the country’s political system. In the 1870s, he remained an activist and participated in the Paris Commune unrest.

As a journalist, Clemenceau wrote as a member of the opposition. For instance, he was critical of French colonialism. Clemenceau also defended Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer, by writing hundreds of articles during the Dreyfus Affair—known today as a famous case of antisemitism.

In the early 1900s, Clemenceau became a senator with the Independent Radicals. Between 1906-1909, he served as Prime Minister. He began his second term as Prime Minister in 1917. During the Paris Peace Conference, he was quite hawkish toward France’s opponent, Germany, advocating for the return of Alsace-Lorraine (Alsace–Moselle) to France, reparations, and demilitarization. These provisions appeared in the Treaty of Versailles. Keynes’s descriptions of Clemenceau’s appearance and behavior in Paris are one of the noteworthy aspects of this book.

David Lloyd George (1863-1945) led Britain as the country’s Prime Minister between 1916 and 1922. This period concluded World War I and set the terms of the postwar order at the Paris Peace Conference. As one of the three victors setting the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Lloyd George plays an important role in this book.

Working as a lawyer, George became interested in politics. His political career spanned decades as a member of Parliament (1890-1945). From there, George served in different roles in the cabinet, including Chancellor of the Exchequer (1908-1915) and War Secretary in 1916. He became Prime Minister as H. H. Asquith resigned and introduced tough measures such as conscription to win the war.

Keynes accompanied Lloyd George to the Paris Peace conference as a representative of the British Treasury and his economic advisor resigning before the event was over. The economist’s description of his boss was one of the reasons this book received wide acclaimed when it was initially published. Keynes specifically focused on Lloyd George’s behavior during the negotiations in Paris as a seasoned leader, albeit one who faced significant constraints at home during the 1918 election.

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (1860-1952) was the Prime Minister of Italy (1917-1919) during the critical time discussed in this book: the end of First World War and the Paris Peace Conference.

He grew up in Sicily during the unification of Italy completed in 1871 and was educated in law. Orlando’ political career began by writing about the role of the government. In 1897, he joined the Chamber of Deputies. Orlando continued to climb the political ladder and consecutively served in the Italian cabinet as a Minister of Education (1903-1905) and a Minister of Justice (1905-1907).

The statesman supported Italian participation in World War I as the country joined the future victors in 1915. In fact, Orlando rode on a populist, patriotic wave to become Prime Minister after the Italian loss in the Battle of Caporetto (1917).

At first, the victory in the war gained him domestic support. However, Orlando did not get his territorial claims for Italy at the Paris Peace Conference. In fact, he resigned as Prime Minister before signing the Treaty of Versailles.

For Keynes, Orlando plays a smaller role compared to the other members of the Big Four at the Paris Peace Conference. The author notes an important issue that plagued the Italian leader’s participation at the event: Orlando did not know English and could not play a more assertive role at the conference. For example, he could not communicate with the American President Wilson directly.

Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Hohenzollern (1859-1941) was the ruler of Germany during World War I. He was also the last Emperor of Germany (1888-1918). Wilhelm II abdicated in November 1918 as the war came to an end and lived to see the rise of Nazi German leader Adolf Hitler.

Kaiser Wilhelm II ruled Germany after its Bismarckian unification (1871), oversaw its rise to become an industrial powerhouse, and acquire colonial possessions in places like Africa challenging France and Britain in the region. Some of Germany’s colonies included parts of present-day Nigeria, Chad, and Rwanda. Despite Chancellor Otto von Bismarck’s accomplishments, however, Wilhelm II let him go in 1890. In 1900, Wilhelm sent his troops to crush the Boxer Rebellion in China which fought against foreign influence.

Wilhelm II promoted German militarism and strengthened his country’s armed forces. Germany had an amicable relationship with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1914, Germany, the Astro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires, and Bulgaria began fighting the Triple Entente, Britain, France, and Russia. Italy was formally allied with Germany but switched sides in 1915.

The Kaiser led his country into the first devastating conflict of the 20th century and escaped to the Netherlands as Germany surrendered. Wilhelm II, the former Emperor, spent the rest of his days in exile.