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Analysis Of Woodrow Wilson 's ' The Straw That Broke The War Peace Conference, And The Creation Of State

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Following WW1, Europe was left in a bad state. Empires were destroyed and states were being formed. The Minority question that arose following the war, albeit important, was not as much of a destabilizing force in this time as people like to think. It was only the byproduct of events that took place. These events include the publishing of the fourteen points, the settlements made during the Paris Peace conference, and the creation of state constitutions. The minority question was, in essence, the straw that broke the camel’s back, breaking the already damaged infrastructure of post war Europe.

In order to answer the question on why minority rights became such a destabilizing force after the war, we must first look at what caused this problem to become the forefront of many European minds. Two pivotal events took place following the war that left stains on Europe; stains that, to some, indirectly led to the start of World War 2. The first and most important event was the publishing of Woodrow Wilson 's fourteen points on January 8, 1918. These points were created in the hope to promote peace and harmony among the recently war stricken nations of Europe. One prominent point that came from this document was the idea of self-determination. This encouraged people to form their own nation where they could choose rulers and live amongst others who share the same culture. This piqued the interest of the millions of people living in the various, and heavily

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