How Did Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points Affect The United Nations Of Today

The end of World War I left much of America confused on the country’s role in world affairs. Many people believed that the United States should primarily worry about its own issues and problems, and let the world handle their own problems. But President Woodrow Wilson was not one of those people. He believed that the United States should be directly involved in the issues affecting all of the countries of the world. He also wanted the United States to be the country to make a push for a League of Nations. “The people of the United States could act upon no other principle; and to the vindication of this principle they are ready to devote their lives, their honor, and everything that they possess. The normal climax of this the culminating and final war for human liberty has come, and they are ready to put their own strength, their own highest purpose, their own integrity and devotion to the test.” Wilson believed that if the United States needed to be a part of a League of Nations in charge of keeping peace around the world, this would keep America

Woodrow Wilson, our 23rd president, became involved in a war that he did not want any part of. Wilson wanted to remain neutral and have peace as in his first term of office. During World War I Wilson’s roles in the war became well known in all countries. Wilson wanted peace more than anything else. In seeking for peace Wilson asked Congress for the U.S. to enter World War I. which may not sound like a peace strategy but Wilson felt it was the only way to stop Germany and gain peace. Wilson wrote his speech for world peace, Fourteen Points, that he was probably most famous for. He attended and played an integral part in The Treaty of Versailles. He was the founder of the League of Nations,

Everyone dreams of being a great leader, but little did Woodrow Wilson know that he would lead the United States through the Great War. Initially, he preserved the United States’ neutrality, but later asked Congress for a declaration of war, though he still wished for peace. Wilson was a strong leader throughout World War I, but he knew that there needed to be a long-lasting peace. While his European allies were looking for power to change hands, Wilson was only looking for peace. Woodrow Wilson proved that peace was possible if the steps presented in his Fourteen Points speech were followed.

Wilson define America’s goals in the war by giving his Fourteen Points speech; this speech outlined the fourteen elements that Wilson felt were essential to a lasting peace. Some points included freedom of the seas, some an end to secret treaties and negotiations, and some establishing equal. The Fourteen Points were based on a sense of liberalism that was new to international politics. One of Wilson's primary reasons for entering the war–aside from the immediate threat to American shipping and sovereignty–had ironically been to establish peace.

Shawn Esho History 271 Professor Blodgett 2/22/2018 Paper One Woodrow Wilson was a man who struggled to achieve a successful leadership and also he wanted to be really effective during his presidency throughout the democracy. Wilson proposed a huge expansion of the powers throughout the administration and also the responsibilities however, he felt sometimes his ideas were risky. While he was a president he wanted an increase in overall administer power during World War I. By the end of his term he wanted to dismantle the structure from the war.

On Sunday, 28 June 1914, at approximately 10:45 am, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Gavrilo Princip. The assassination of Ferdinand and his wife set off a chain of events that would lead to the start of World War I. When the war began the United States proclaimed a united policy of strict neutrality. After multiple U-boat attacks that killed hundreds of American civilians and the transmission of the “Zimmerman Telegram”, America declared war on Germany in 1917. In an address before a joint meeting of Congress, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson discusses the aims of the United States in World War I and outlines his famous “Fourteen Points” for achieving a lasting peace in Europe.

On April 6, 1917 the United States reluctantly entered World War I. In an attempt to bring peace President Woodrow Wilson gathered numerous advisors and had them put together a plan. He considered this war to be “the war that ends all wars”. This plan later became known as the fourteen points. The sole purpose of the fourteen points was to outline a strategy for ending the war. Wilson wanted to establish exactly what they were fighting for, if U.S. soldiers were going to risk their lives. On January 8, 1918 President Wilson gave a speech on war aims and peace terms. With this speech president Wilson set down fourteen points as a “blueprint” for world peace that was then used for peace negotiations after world war one. He directly addressed the issues he thought were the cause of the world war. Through this speech and the fourteen

America’s stance in world affairs was usually a neutral one until it’s involvement in World War I during the 20th century. Through the sources, “War Message to Congress” and “Ways to Serve the Nation” by President Woodrow Wilson, we can study on why America decided to step into the war and how the country's position changed for the war effort.

The principle behind the formation of his Fourteen points was to ensure that the conditions that gave rise to WWI and the conflict in Europe wouldn’t happen again. Thus, the Points included measures such as the elimination of secret alliances, reduction of armaments in various nations, clarification of the national borers based on self-determination and the formation of an international forum which could ensure solving conflicts in a peaceful, non-aggressive, just and transparent way. Wilson also made proposals that would ensure world peace in the future, such as freedom of seas, removal of economic barriers between nations and the promise of ‘self-determination’ for those oppresses minorities and a world organization that would provide a system of collective security for all nations. [Ap. 1]

In his book, “Woodrow Wilson Revolution, War, and Peace” by Arthur Link, Link walks step by step through President Woodrow Wilson’s career beginning from the time he was born and focuses on his role during and after World War I. Through his entire book, Link acts as an apologist for the actions of Wilson as well as argues against the opinions of other historians. Link speaks about Wilson almost as if he idolizes him; as if despite what other historians and public opinion might say that he can do no wrong.

The outcome of the first World War led to nothing but bloodshed, global economic distress, and more tension between nations. Wilson 's plan seemed to offer genuine equality to all countries including, and especially Germany. His fourteen points was an excellent and well thought out plan, however many other countries like France and Russia wanted vengeance on Germany. With great objection, Germany signed the treaty. The nation was deemed responsible for the war, leaving Germany feeling oppressed by the other nations. Although Wilson 's 14 points was an excellent proposal to end the war and maintain world peace, the Treaty of Versailles prevailed resulting in hostility between nations .

President Wilson's Fourteen Points were a decent attempt at peace and repayment after World War I. Although it was cleat that there were many obvious problems with his plan. Many things, including Allied bias, American ambition, and Western European dominance, caused these problems. While trying to fix many problems in Europe, the Fourteen Points mainly concentrated on the things that were important to the Allied powers. France was bent on revenge, Great Britain was looking to further its power over the seas, and America was focused on becoming an even more powerful trade nation.

On January 18th of 1918 about 10 months before the end of “The Great War” Current president (now former) Woodrow Wilson went to congress and talked about fourteen points that could possibly lead to peace throughout the world with these 14 points as well as possibly naming World War 1 as “the war to end all wars”. But of course this “strategy” wouldn’t work and these 14 points would be the cause of a future war.

The US changed the tide of the war, and gave the Allied forces victory. This allowed Wilson the opportunity to negotiate the peace with his 15 point plan. His major goal was to ensure that this never happen again (Wilson, p. 1, line 7). Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was the creation of the United Nations, for which he made many concessions (Wilson, P. 3, line 15-16). Perhaps if he’d been able to sell his plan as written the world would not have had to fight

The fourth point on Wilsons plan was the reducing of armies of all nations to a bare minimum. This did not go over well at all. No nation wanted to be told by the United States that it had to reduce its army. This point was tied to Americas participation in the war because America could significantly reduce its army and still be safe. It had 2 oceans to protect it, unlike every other nation, especially those in Europe. This was another point to basically put America on top, and secure its rank as the number one nation in the world