Versailles #3: The House That House Built
When Diplomacy Fails Podcast
Zack Twamley
4.8 • 773 Ratings
🗓️ 17 November 2018
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Now THIS is exciting - click here to learn more about the aforementioned Delegation Game which I talked about for a great deal in this episode, and remember to connect with me if you have any questions! To everyone else, I hope you weren't too bothered by my rambling about it for ten minutes - I'm just super excited, and I think it could really be something special!
Onto this episode at hand though, and we come to Edward House, Woodrow Wilson's best friend; a man whom the president could truly talk to like no other man. Wilson and House had been friends for years, and this friendship had grown and blossomed ever since Wilson became President. Considering their relationship, it seems bizarre to me that Wilson would send his friend to a place like Paris in late October 1918, and task him with arranging the preliminary negotiations for an armistice. Not only that, House was also tasked with paving the way forward for a peace conference that upheld the Fourteen Points as its basis.
This was quite the mission, even for a formidable man like House, yet according to one source in particular (namely, House's diary), he was more than up to the task. From 26 October to 3 November, House represented his President to the British and French premiers, as the terms of an armistice, and an agreement about the foundations for a peace settlement were hammered out. House proclaimed a diplomatic triumph, but on closer inspection, the American diplomatic position was not as strong as the President may have liked to believe.
Listening to this episode, 'The House That House Built' is a must for those interested in the American diplomatic approach, and in characters like Edward House, who were to dominate the peace negotiations for the next six months. House is the first of many vibrant characters which the era threw up, and while he was far from perfect, his actions would create an indelible mark upon the proceedings which were to follow, for better and for worse...
Interested in reading Edward House's diary online for free? Click here, and thanksss again to Yale for making it all possible!
*******
The Versailles Anniversary Project is possible because of your support and interest - make sure to spread the word, engage with the debate, and look at the different ways you can help this project succeed!
->Visit the homeland for this new project!
->Support the podcast financially and access ad free episodes with transcripts from just $2 a month!
Get bonus content on PatreonHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi guys, Zach Twomley here with a somewhat very long plug. I apologize in advance for the length |
| 0:06.6 | of this plug, especially to those of you that are listening on Patreon and are like, but I thought |
| 0:11.2 | you said there was no plugs when we were on Patreon. Normally that is true, but this plug regarding |
| 0:16.0 | Patreon is very important for everyone. So I figured rather than taking my chances and announcing it through social media, I do it here. |
| 0:24.5 | We are launching something very special in when diplomacy fails for patrons at the $6 level and above, |
| 0:30.3 | the $6 level, which we just created. |
| 0:33.1 | It's called the Delegation Game. |
| 0:35.8 | And the way it works is that you essentially participate in a fantasy booking style version |
| 0:41.8 | of the Paris Peace Conference which will be beginning in January of 2019. |
| 0:47.8 | Literally the day when the real Paris Peace Conference opens, our fantasy booking style version |
| 0:53.1 | of the conference will also be launching. |
| 0:55.8 | I'm really excited about this, and if this sounds like something you might be vaguely interested |
| 1:01.8 | in, or if you'd like to hear more details, listen on. If not, if you don't think that you |
| 1:06.0 | want to participate in any fantasy booking stuff, you don't want to engage in a kind of role-playing |
| 1:10.7 | Dungeons and Dragons. |
| 1:12.2 | Super nerdy history game, obviously. |
| 1:14.8 | We're massive nerds here in case you didn't know. |
| 1:16.9 | If this doesn't sound like your cup of tea, if you're only here for the history, |
| 1:20.2 | fast forward about 15 minutes and we will then be on our way. |
| 1:24.6 | Everyone else, stay tuned and find out exactly what we're doing here at when |
| 1:29.0 | diplomacy fails and how you can take part. You see, in January 2019, we will of course be |
| 1:35.0 | analysing the Paris Peace Conference from its opening phases after taking some time in November |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Zack Twamley, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Zack Twamley and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.