Wilson Fourteen Points

President Wilson’s failure according to Neustadt’s model is apparent in no way greater than that of the League of Nations. The League of Nations was President Wilson’s brainchild and he pushed for it both domestically and internationally. His famed “14 points” speech set the precedent for what he wanted the league to be and what he intended to do with it and it did initially get much support. He was even able to get the charter for the League attached to the Treaty of Paris (Ambrosius, 2006). Unfortunately for Wilson while he was in France working on the Treaty and creation of the League opposition to it was building back in the U.S Congress. When President Wilson returned ready to have Congress ratify both the Treaty of Paris and the

Wilson’s fourteen points summarise the quest for international cooperation in achieving and maintaining peace. However, this can be questioned as the first paragraph also suggests a self-centred approach taken by Wilson. The speech suggests that the USA is the only ones with the capacity to achieve such peace, the programme of the world's peace, therefore, is our programme; and that programme, the only possible programme. It reflects a world view and hierarchy, suggesting one big American alliance rather than an idea of international cooperation. This is also further illustrated on in Wilson’s speech, his concern for the safety of the USA is key in the way he treats countries such as Russia and Germany, and his disagreement with some of the terms in the Treaty of Versailles. In point six of the speech when dealing with Russia it talks of securing the best and freest cooperation of the other nations of the world. Wilson was careful in how he achieved peace, as he wanted to maintain relationships with countries within Europe, whilst keeping USA dominance ad not upsetting France and Clemenceau who wanted harsh treatment of Germany. This is illustrated in point eight of Wilson’s fourteen points.

The treaty of the Versailles was an agreement between France, England and the United states. Its intentions were to prevent a second world war however, it was a total fail. An obvious reason for not being effective could be because not everyone was included in the conference such as Russia, and Central Powers. Instead, Prime minister George Clemenceau had thought he would speak for all of europe and wanted to be the strongest of europe. Clemenceau seeked revenge towards Germany, in fact he desired most dismantle the best of Germany 's military and their nationalist pride. As for the United States, Wilson implemented the fourteen points which focused on self determination of people. Only few of his points were included in the treaty but these points had been the reason for conflicts happening in europe. Participation from everyone is important and not allowing everyone 's input could lead to negative outcomes such as, The league of nations which most likely failed because the United States wasn’t allowed to participate.

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

Out of the many speeches given by President Woodrow Wilson regarding World War One, two in particular serve as a sort of showcase of the changing role of the United States in global politics during the early 20th century. The first is Wilson’s Address to the Senate of the United States: “A World League for Peace” (“World League”). The second is Wilson’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress on the Conditions of Peace, also known as his 14 Points. Although the themes of these speeches have similar ideals such as the quest for self-determination and multiple countries uniting to prevent aggression, the proceedings at Brest-Litovsk make 14 Points speech both a continuation and a shift from the “World League” one. Wilson’s 14 Points speech reflects the commitment of the United States to enter the war and enforce its own agenda (as well as that of the other Allies), a drastic change from its earlier neutrality.

Despite Wilson’s best efforts to stay neutral during World War One, he was was not able to accomplish that task. Entering the war was not going to be a fruitless endeavor, however. The main goals of American participation during World War One was to protect freedom and democracy, and to spread it to the other countries of the world, to help ensure financial stability, and to protect the ships that the German U-Boats were destroying. Wilson’s 14 points helped to reflect the goals of freedom and democracy by generally pushing for a more peaceful world. One of the main reasons for the 14 points existence was to share Wilson’s postwar hope for the world. In the fourteen points, he also lays out a proposition for freedom of the seas. This

President Wilson was determined to achieve peace. He based his peacemaking efforts in the academic argument Fourteen Points. Ideas of freedom of the seas, internationalism and justice for all were embedded in his idealistic approach, in an attempt to making long lasting peace.

In his mind, the establishment of this “League of Nations” as it would come to be called, would be an essential part of the post-war peace treaties. In Wilson’s opinion, the USA would have to play a major role in this League of Nations. In Wilson’s eyes, that was the only way to guarantee a lasting peace.

Many historians continue to argue about president Woodrow Wilson’s success at the Paris Peace Conference, however the conference is regarded as one of Wilson’s biggest failures during his days. The Paris Peace Conference’s main goal was to establish the terms of peace after World War One. Moreover France and Britain which are known as the dominant powers of the Triple Entente, were seeking revenge and wanted to make Germany suffer after their glorious victory against the Triple Alliance. On the other hand president Woodrow Wilson was looking to “make the world safe for democracy (1).” President Woodrow Wilson outlined what he wanted in his famous fourteen points. His polices led to economic instability in addition to “ he invaded a number of

A second way in which it was a turning point was that Wilson set forth for a plan for “just and secure peace,” and not merely “a new balance of power.” His Fourteen Points outlined his vision for a safer and democratic world, whilst the proposal of an international organisation to serve as a forum against any future escalating conflicts emphasised this (The League of Nations). However, the European leaders ignored each of Wilson’s points one by one, forcing Germany to admit guilty to the war and pay endless amounts of reparations (The war guilt clause). The US Senate believed that any involvement in The League of Nations (part of the treaty) could place America at the forefront of oversea problems and therefore could not ratify it as it could be of no benefit to the country or its people. This fits in with her return to isolationist policy and the passing of the Neutrality Law in 1937. Therefore, The USA’s entry could merely be seen as a milestone as they entered the war as an associated power in order to avoid foreign

In January 1918, Wilson made a major speech to Congress in which he laid out "Fourteen Points" that he believed would, if made the basis of a postwar peace, prevent future wars. Trade restrictions and secret alliances would be abolished, armaments would be curtailed, colonies and the national states that made up the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires would be set on the road to independence, the German-occupied portions of France and Belgium would be evacuated, the revolutionary government of Russia would be welcomed into the community of nations, and a League of Nations would be created to maintain the peace. Believing that this revolutionary program required his personal support, Wilson decided that he would lead the American peace delegation to Paris, becoming the first President ever to go to Europe while in office. Despite Wilson's best efforts, however, the Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919, departed significantly

In his Fourteen Points speech, he said, “A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.” He believed states should work together and not let differences divide them so as to avoid another large-scale war like this one was. Leaders and delegates from all over the world met at this conference to discuss rules and regulations for how the League would operate, with meetings lasting for months, arguing over clauses and what should the League of Nations should be allowed to do or take control of. After four months of discussions and negotiations, the League of Nations adopted their “covenant”, as Wilson called it, and would rule as an assembly of countries to meet

Wilson believed the war was dictated by a system of government with one person who had absolute power. Basing off that type of system, a peace settlement had to be based off liberal democratic ideals that would eliminate all the foundations of the war. But the Treaty of Versailles included clauses that were harsh and nearly impossible to repay from World War I. The devastating cost of the war was not only Germany’s fault but they were the ones heavily accounted for it in the War Guilt Clause. The unfairness Germany faced broke apart empires and changed boundaries which resulted in them to stop war payments after a year . Since they were in major debt, they were more prone to losing territory and vulnerable to weakened Military potential. The Germans had the mindset that the treaty was written to keep them militarily and economically weak. In Wilson’s effort to start a “New World”, Germany did not see it as a new beginning but saw it as a horrible punishment.

Wilson’s Fourteen Points embodied his vision of a better world governed by fairer principles. He felt guided “by the hand of God.” His vision of a peacekeeping “League of Nations” was, in his view, the key element to a “secure and lasting peace” and was the “most essential part of the peace settlement.” If the diplomats

The first point on Wilson’s 14 point plan was that nations should not have any secret treaties or alliances with other nations. This is an important point in the plan, because if it were followed through with it could possibly prevent many wars afterwards. That is, of course, if the nations