War has played a key role in the history of the United States, from the nation's founding

right down to the present. War made the U.S. independent, kept it together, increased its size,

and established it as a global superpower. Understanding America's wars is essential for understanding American history.

Welcome to Key Battles of American History,

a podcast in which we discuss American history

through the lens of the most important battles of America's wars.

Here is your host, James Early.

Music host, James Early. Hello and welcome back to the Great War, our 10,000-foot survey of the cataclysmic

conflict that changed the world forever.

I'm your host, James Early, as always.

And as always, I am joined by my co-host and my good

buddy, Sean McIver. In our last episode, Sean and I discussed the Paris peace settlement and the

series of treaties that formerly ended the First World War. We explored the goals and the

clashing priorities of the Big Four. That, of course, was Britain, France, the United States, and Italy.

We also discussed the key terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the dramatic, territorial,

military, and economic consequences imposed on the defeated powers.

Our discussion also covered the lesser-known trees with Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and the

Ottoman Empire, as well as the

creation and inherent weaknesses of the League of Nations. We concluded the episode by explaining

why the peace of 1919 reshaped the world while at the same time planting the seeds for future

conflict. In this episode, the penultimate episode in the series, I just love that word.

This is the second of the last one.

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