ABSTRACT
The war was over, but the challenge of formulating a peace settlement was just beginning. When the peace negotiations were completed, the United States faced a critical decision about its role in the world. “The simple man on the street cannot understand what has happened,” noted one German civilian when the Armistice was announced. The Armistice ended active fighting, but the details of the peace settlement took months to negotiate. Twenty-seven nations and four British Dominions sent delegates and huge staffs of experts to the Paris Peace Conference. The war’s outcome and peace settlement disappointed many Americans, giving rise in the 1920s and 1930s to a celebrated generation of writers who conveyed the anger and frustration of the “lost generation.” Their novels were scathing indictments of bureaucratic bumbling, mindless patriotism, the brutality of combat, and lying propaganda. Unable to find jobs in the postwar recession, veterans felt they had missed their chance to get ahead in life.
