President Woodrow Wilson proposed the Fourteen Points in 1918 to establish a just post-war peace and create a League of Nations to maintain it. His plan focused on reducing militarism, promoting self-determination, and upholding territorial integrity. However, at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, the other Allied powers prioritized punishing Germany over Wilson's ideals. The resulting Treaty of Versailles divided territories without local consent and imposed massive reparations on Germany. Though the League of Nations was founded, Wilson's failure to gain U.S. entry weakened it and contributed to tensions that eventually led to World War II.

1. Wilson’s Fourteen Points
TO END ALL WARS

2.  On January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson
went before Congress to explain his war aims.
 Although the war was still raging, he stated an
ambitious program to make the world “fit and
safe to live in.”
 He called his blueprint for peace the Fourteen
Points.

3. End Causes of War
 The 1st goal of Wilson’s peace plan was to
eliminate the causes of wars.

4. Self-Determination
A 2nd goal was to ensure the right to
self-determination for ethnic groups so
they could control their own political
futures.
Street in Paris, France

5. League of Nations
The last goal called for setting up an
international organization called the
League of Nations to ensure world peace.
Member nations would agree to protect
one another’s independence and territorial
integrity.

6. Territorial Integrity
 Under the principle of territorial integrity, nations respect one
another’s borders and do not try to gain another country’s
territory by force.

7. Fourteen Points 1
 Point One- Countries would not make secret treaties and
alliances.
 Secret alliances had been a cause of WW I.
 The Abolition of Secret Treaties Secret treaties were common before
the First World War, and many blamed them for helping spark the
conflict.

8. Fourteen Points 2
 Ships would be able to travel freely in times of war.
 U-boat attacks on shipping had drawn the United States into
WWI.
 Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas,
The freedom of the seas allowed for freedom of navigation
outside territorial waters at times of war and peace, but also
allowed for total and partial blockades "for the enforcement
of international covenants." This proposal was opposed in
particular by the United Kingdom.

9. Fourteen Points 3
 Free trade among countries would promote economic growth
and reduce trade conflicts that could draw nations into war.
 The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers and the
establishment of an equality of trade conditions
 Free trade provided for the removal of economic barriers between
peaceful nations, also called for the introduction of equality in
trading conditions.

10. Fourteen Points 4
 Countries would reduce their stockpiles of weapons.
 Militarism had been a cause of WW I.
 Disarmament "to the lowest point consistent with domestic
safety.“
 Adequate guarantees given and taken that national
armaments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with
domestic safety.

11. Fourteen Points 5
 The desires of colonial peoples would be taken
into consideration in creating a more peaceful
world.
 Imperialism and competition for colonies had
been a cause of WW I.
 free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial
adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon a
strict observance of the principle that in
determining all such questions of sovereignty
the interests of the populations concerned must
have equal weight with the equitable claims of
the government whose title is to be determined

12. Fourteen Points 6-13
 Points six through thirteen were more specific,
dealing with the situation of specific countries:
 Restoring land taken from countries by war would
restore respect for international law.
 Redrawing borders on the basis of self-determination
would reduce conflicts among
ethnic groups.

13. Wilson’s 14 Points
Ix. A readjustment of the frontiers of italy should be effected along
clearly recognizable lines of nationality.
X. The peoples of austria-hungary, whose place among the nations
we wish to see safeguarded and assured, should be accorded the
freest opportunity to autonomous development.

14. Wilson’s 14 Points
Xi. Romania, serbia, and montenegro should be evacuated;
occupied territories restored; serbia accorded free and
secure access to the sea; and the relations of the several balkan
states to one another determined by friendly counsel along
historically established lines of allegiance and nationality;
XII. The turkish portion of the present ottoman empire should be
assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which
are now under turkish rule should be assured an undoubted
security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of
autonomous development, and the dardanelles should be
permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and
commerce of all nations under international guarantees.

15. Wilson’s 14 Points
Xiii. An independent polish state should be erected which should
include the territories inhabited by indisputably polish
populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to
the sea, and whose political and economic independence and
territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international
covenant.
Xiv. 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.

16. Wilson’s 14 Points
In the end, only 4 of wilson’s 14 points were adopted after the war, and
the united states refused to ratify the treaty of versailles.
Wilson was awarded the nobel peace prize in 1919.

17. Fourteen Points 14
 Countries would work together in the League of Nations to
resolve conflicts before those conflicts escalated into war.

18. The Treaty of Versailles
 The Treaty of Versailles negotiated in Paris
redrew the map of Europe, granting self-determination
to some groups.
 Some Allies sought revenge on Germany,
insisting on a war-guilt clause and
reparations from Germany.

19. The Big Four
 When the heads of the 4 major Allies- France, Great Britain,
Italy, and the United States (The Big Four) – met in Paris for
peace talks, they were more focused on self-interest than on
Wilson’s plan.

20. Wilson’s Plan Crumbles
France was concerned with security. France hoped to weaken
Germany to the point that it could never threaten France
again by greatly reducing its army.

21. “Hang the Kaiser”
 Lloyd George of England, insisted that
Germany accept responsibility for starting
the war by inclusion of the war-guilt clause.
 The treaty required Germany to pay $33
billion in reparations to the Allies.

22. Reparations
 Reparations are payments demanded of a
defeated nation by the victor in a war to
offset the cost of the war.
 Germans resented both the war-guilt clause
and reparations, fearing that the payments
would cripple their economic recovery.

23. Wilson Compromises
The other countries had lost many lives and
property, and they expected compensation.
The Allies had borrowed huge sums form
American banks to finance the war. They
hoped to repay these debts with reparations
from Germany.
Wilson reluctantly agreed to the harsh
treatment of Germany.
http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/graphics/wilson3.jpg

24. Dividing the Spoils
 Parts of Germany were given to France,
Poland, Denmark, and Belgium, with little
thought about the desires of the people
living there.
 Britain, France, Italy, and Japan grabbed
German colonies in China, the Pacific, and
Africa.

25. League of Nations Charter
 Wilson hoped that including the League of
Nations in the final treaty would make up for
his compromises on other issues.
 He believed that by providing collective
security and a framework for peaceful talks,
the League would fix many problems the
treaty had created.

26. Collective Security
 Wilson believed that the League would
maintain peace by providing collective
security for its members.
 Collective security is a commitment by
many countries to join together to deal with
a nation that threatens peace.

27. Ratifying the Versailles Treaty
 Wilson required a 2/3 majority vote from the U.S. Senate to
ratify the treaty.

28.  Reservationists, such as Senator Henry Cabot Lodge,
were concerned with Article 10 of the League’s
charter. This article focused on collective security.
 It required member nations to work together, and
even supply troops, to keep peace.
 Reservationists feared this would draw the U.S. into
wars without approval from Congress.
Opposition
http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/WW1Pics/81579.jpg

29. Taking It to the People
 President Wilson decides to gain public support directly by
planning a nationwide speaking tour.

30. Wilson’s Tour
 The president embarked on a 8,000–mile
speaking tour of the West. He spoke up to 4
times a day.
 On September 25, 1919, the president
collapses in Pueblo, Colorado.
 His doctor stopped the tour, and Wilson’s
train sped back to Washington D.C.

31. Assistant President –
1st American Woman President ?
 A few days after returning to the White
House, Wilson has a major stroke that leaves
him paralyzed (dying months later.)
 Wilson’s wife, Edith, is called the “assistant
president,” for making decisions on behalf of
her husband.
President Wilson’s Funeral
First Lady Edith Wilson

32. Partisanship defeats the Treaty
 In the end, Partisan politics and Wilson’s
refusal to compromise led to the treaty’s
rejection and ended Wilson’s hopes for U.S.
membership in the League of Nations.

33. Inflation and Unemployment
 Issues closer to home occupy most
American concerns, including inflation and
unemployment.

34. The Big Question ?
Could World War II have been avoided if the
U.S. had joined the League of Nations ?