Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points on the Paris Peace Settlement

After the end of World War I the United States entered into a period of isolationist foreign policy. On January 8, 1918, Woodrow Wilson announced the United States’ objectives through his Fourteen Points. His fourteenth point proposed a league of nations to protect international security and stability. After the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, the Treaty

The Treaty of Versailles was a formal peace treaty between the Word War I Allies and Germany. The leaders of Britain, France, Italy and the United States met in Paris in early 1919 to draft the treaty. President Woodrow Wilson presented his Fourteen Points, a series of measures intended to ensure future peace. The points included the formation of an international organization known as the League of Nation, which was adopted in the treaty. Representatives of each country signed the treaty in June 1919.

After losing a generation of men and experiencing the hardships of war, many peace related objectives were put into place to prevent another war so destructive and disastrous. The road to peace started with the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. United States President, Woodrow Wilson, presented a drafted series of peace proposals called the Fourteen Points. The last point addressed the possibility of having a group dedicated to peace and interactions among nations no matter the size (Macmillan). This organization would stop wars like World War I from happening so that it does not become part of the culture of the Western World yet again. While the idea of the league was originally rejected, the Treaty of Versailles, the most significant treaty to come out of WWI, established the League of Nations. Eventually, the League of Nations disbanded in five years after the start of World War II and the United Nations was formed. Newton Diehl Baker, Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of War argues that the lack of such a league to keep peace in 1914 is what threw the world into the chaos of World War (Macmillan). Even Baker did not know the ramifications the war would have due to the lack of peace structure until after the war

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.

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.

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

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

Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points speech influenced the world in the way that few speeches in history have. Wilson was the leader of the free world and felt that it was his job to provide a solution for peace. As Wilson gave his Fourteen Points, which presented a path to everlasting peace, he addressed not only his nation, but also the world. Following his speech, his policies were mimicked in in every major western power’s affairs for the remainder of the Twentieth Century. He declared his philosophies on the way to obtain global peace to the world in a speech to congress on January 8, 1918. When the war ended and the leaders of the triumphant nations met to develop peace treaties and dole out retributions, the Fourteen Points were used as a basis for these international negotiations.

One year before the conference opened, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proposed a 14-point plan to ensure peace in Europe and its colonies; the plan included open diplomacy, the self-determination of empires and their colonies, and the creation of a “League of Nations” to enforce treaties and international law (Wilson 49-50). Wilson’s plan prompted the defeated Central Powers to accept the armistice and negotiate peace; however, when the conference opened, it became clear that the conference was less about ensuring peace and more about enriching the devastated nations of Britain and France (Bentley 968). The rest of Europe was free to expand and develop their militaries, creating a fearful

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.

A devastating war had left much of Europe in ruin and smoke, but a task almost as difficult as the war was still ahead for the allies, devising a treaty. President Woodrow Wilson had come up with a fourteen point plan, which he proposed to the allied leaders of France, Italy, and Britain. Although this plan was eventually voted down by the senate, and never passed, several key points were put into the treaty that was accepted by the senate.

I believe that Wilson's Fourteen Points are superior to the Treaty of Versailles. I believe that Wilson’s points would not have made as many people angry and wouldn't have failed as some points in the treaty did. For example the fourteen points would have given people independence and decisions while the fourteen points left some countries unhappy because they did not gain independence instead they were mandated nations. I also believe that the League of Nations would have been successful if the fourteen points were in effect. The United States ignored the league because they believed the only way to maintain peace was to say out of European conflicts. If the treaty wasn’t so biased to the

In the early months of 1918, the dynamics of The Great War ravaging Europe changed dramatically. On March 3rd, Germany and the Russian Bolsheviks signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, officially ending Russia’s involvement in the war and freeing Germany’s forces previously occupied on the Eastern Front . That same month, Germany launched an extensive attack in France along the Somme River, knocking a devastating blow to the Allies. By the summer of 1918, the United States had escalated it’s involvement in the war, sending over mass amounts of troops and coordinating with European powers to essentially back the German offensive into a position of little advancement. As Germany recognized its failing position in the war, the officials in the German High Command began quietly pursuing negotiations of peace and cease fire, not from their European counterparts, but from American President Woodrow Wilson . Germany was hoping to benefit from President Wilson’s ideals of peace and justice for all, ideals he had laid out publicly that year in a January speech outlining his “blueprint for a new democratic world order.” These Fourteen Points became the cornerstone of Wilson’s contribution to the peace negotiations following the armistice that ended the war in November of 1918. Focusing on the belief that an established system of democracy, communication and peace would prevent further atrocities like World War I, the Fourteen Points centered on equal representation and opportunity

France had suffered damage to both men and building structures in World War I. After Versailles in 1919, there was a clear intention on the part of the French that France should never have to suffer such a catastrophe again. After 1920, French military favored adopting a military strategy that would simply put a stop to any form of German invasion again. The responsibility of drawing Europe’s post-World-War II war borders fell primarily to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919-20. There the victorious countries’ positions of power drafted the Treaty of Versailles with Germany. On 28 June 1919, the peace treaty that ended World War I was signed by Germany and the Allies at the Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. Allied demands were represented by the ‘Big Three’: British Prime Minister, French Premier, and US President Woodrow Wilson. World War I had destroyed much

The Paris Peace Conference took place in January 1919 at Versailles near Paris. The purpose of the gathering was to build up peace after World War I. In spite of the fact that about thirty countries took part, the agents of the United Kingdom, France, the United States, and Italy wound up noticeably known as the "Enormous Four." The "Huge Four" commanded the procedures that prompted the detailing of the Treaty of Versailles, a settlement that finished World War I. The Treaty of Versailles explained the bargains came to at the meeting.