Woodrow Wilson's Plan for Peace. On January 8, 1918 President Woodrow Wilson spoke to a joint session of Congress to

Transcription

1 Hannon Cliff Hannon Professor Angelos European History March 3, 2010 Woodrow Wilson's Plan for Peace On January 8, 1918 President Woodrow Wilson spoke to a joint session of Congress to speak to the nation and the world about America's role in the Great War. He established the rationale behind the highly controversial American intervention into a war that had ripped apart Europe for the previous four years, and he also laid the groundwork for a peace that would hopefully mend the continent forever. Wilson spoke ofa fourteen point plan that would act as the basis for peace in Europe. Written on the principles of democracy, free trade, and self determination for nations held in the grip of colonialism and empires, Wilson's Fourteen Points hoped to guide the world to a time were there would be no need for war. The Fourteen Points would come to change the United States role in the world and create fervor for democracy in Europe, but the failures of the points to be unilaterally implemented also laid the groundwork for fascism in Germany and a second incredibly brutal war twenty years later. Wilson wrote this speech for a number of reasons. At the beginning of 1918 it was clear that the war was close to coming to an end. Wilson's aids were strongly advising the president to write a concise document that would outline a platform for the reasons ofinvolvement in the war and to create a plan for peace (Bailey 22-23). The document was to be used not only as an outline, but as a propaganda piece to encourage the Germans to surrender and also to fight the pouring in of Bolshevik propaganda demanding "peace without annexations" (Bailey 22). The

2 Hannon 2 points laid out clearly represented the President's ideology. He was an ardent progressive, and deeply believed in the importance ofdemocracy and self determination (Hamilton). As with almost all major documents of theories and ideas, the Fourteen Points were not entirely Wilson's, and in fact many of them had been spelled out by other people and countries throughout Europe. A few days before Wilson gave his famous Fourteen Point speech before Congress the Prime Minister of Great Britain outlined some of the same points, and those points that were not covered by the Prime Minister had been outlined by the Bolsheviks. However it was Wilson who put them together in a concise, elegant format. lt was Wilson who took the mantel for democracy and peace, and fought for them both (Bailey 24-25). The speech was well received in America as well as throughout the world. People within the United States, even at the time, hailed it as one ofthe most important speeches in American history. The document outlined clearly to the American people the cause for which their fathers and sons were dying for in far off Europe. The Fourteen Points not only took on the cause ofthe Americans but also the cause for which the Allied forces fought. Peace began to be the name of the game in a war that had wiped out whole sections of the population. The speech was praised by the Bolsheviks in Russia who were seeking a peace that would include Russia not losing territory that had been seized by Germany (Knock ). Lenin remarked that Wilson's Points were "a great step ahead towards the peace of the world" (Knock 145). Wilson's document would be a leading variable in causing the end of the Great War by helping to push Germany towards surrendering. Germany was seeking a fair treaty to put an end to the incredibly destructive war that had crippled the continent. Germany agreed to the armistice in part due to talks with Wilson, not Britain or France, with a hope that his Fourteen Points would create a balanced treaty that would

3 Hannon 3 not make a single nation the victor. Wilson was in talks with Gennany from early October 1918 all the way up to the signing ofthe annistice. Allied planes had been delivering print outs of Wilson's Fourteen Points throughout Gennany, and it was with the promise ofa peaceful end to the war that Gennany eventually surrendered (Knock ). The Fourteen Points outlined by Wilson began to become a prominent source of discussion after the war ended when Gennany surrendered on November 11, During the creation of the Treaty of Versailles, the points would act as the center of negotiations. The peace conference that took place in Paris during the year 1919 started off with the best intentions, but was soon turned from a course of "Peace without Victory" and towards a path of vengeful reparations. The Allies, who in the summer of 1918 were still unsure if they would come out on the victorious side, were taking the lead as unarguable victors. They were pushing for the disannament of Gennany, and for the country to pay full reparations for the destruction of Europe. As Wilson's Fourteen Points began to fail in Europe his support at home was beginning to waver. The Republicans, who were in control of Congress at the time, began to become infuriated with Wilson for excluding them in the negotiations for peace. Wilson took control of the workings ofthe treaty and effectively excluded Congress from the proceedings. Seeing this act as an outrageously unconstitutional act the Treaty of Versailles got no support from Congress and was never passed. The Treaty of Versailles barely contained any of the Fourteen Points. Wilson compromised many ofhis principles in order for the League of Nations to be created, but fearing entangling relations with Europe and being left out of the treaty negotiations Congress refused to accept the treaty thus excluding the United States from the League (Knock , ).

4 Hannon 4 The Fourteen Points is an excellent source for gaining a look into the politics that dominated Europe in the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Century. The Fourteen Points clearly paint a Europe that is mirrored in secret alliances, where trade between countries is bogged down and difficult, and where colonialism is the lifeblood of economic prosperity. European countries are living in all out fear of each other, which can be seen in the need for secret alliances. The second point criticizes Europe's employment of regulating and claiming the seas. Britain, who had an incredibly powerful navy, fought this point tooth and nail. The fourth point continues to show the fear that was welling up in Europe at the outbreak of the war. European nations were armed to the teeth and in a constant unspoken battle to out-arm their neighbors. The fifth point clearly shows the role that Europe was playing as a colonial power in the world. This point set out to establish a new role for colonial powers moving them from rulers to guiders. Wilson hoped to end colonialism, but with the fear of ostracizing Britain and France he hoped to redefine the role of a colonial power. The fifth point hoped to move colonies towards a demilitarized land not used as a resource by their mother country, but for the colonizing country to act as a guide for modernization and democratization for the colony. Points six through fourteen are clear supporters of self determination. They call for the end of imperial rule and a movement for countries to decide for themselves their own political and national aspirations. These points show the role of empires in Europe, especially in regard to the Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Europe was growing weary of the old style of imperial rule, and the continent would soon be moving away from that style of government (House). The document continues to have profound influence on today's world. The document outlined by Wilson continues to be a source of praise for counties such as Poland. During the

5 Hannon 5 days following Wilson's speech Polish university students praised Wilson by crowding the streets and yelling his name. Pamphlets outlining his Fourteen Points were spread throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia (Bailey 27-28). The Fourteen Points outlined by Wilson had a profound impact on nations that were held under the thumbs of foreign powers, but it had an even more profound impact on America. Foreign intervention in the name ofdemocracy became the staple ofamerican foreign policy throughout the twentieth century. This can be seen in such pieces as the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan as well as in such conflicts as the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and even the current Iraq War. Many ofthe points outlined by Wilson failed to be implemented at the time, but eventually almost all ofthem were implemented. One ofthe biggest failures was the fact that the United States did not join the League of Nations, but following World War II America took a leading role in the creation of a very similar coalition called the United Nations (Hamilton). Although Wilson would not live to see many ofhis ideologies become reality, the spirit ofhis Fourteen Points live on and dominate today's political and international landscape.

6 Hannon 6 Bibliography Bailey, Thomas A. Woodrow Wilson and the Lost Peace. New York: MacMillan Company, Hamilton, Lee H. "WILSON AT 150." Wilson Quarterly 31.2 (2007): 6. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. 28 Feb House, Colonel. "Interpretation ofpresident Wilson's Fourteen Points." Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts. 28 Feb < Kishlansky, Mark. Sources (~fthe West Readings in Western Civilization, Volume II (From 1600 to the Present) (7th Edition). New York: Longman, Knock, Thomas J. To end all wars Woodrow Wilson and the questfor a new world order. New York: Oxford UP, McKay, John P. History Of Western Society Volume Two Ninth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007.