Above all consequence, above all legacy and substance, the 14 Points of President Woodrow Wilson proved that world peace can be established without competent legalese as long as you can hype up your readers with idealistic diplomatic drivel. Right? Absolutely not! Criticizing Wilson so harshly with the advantage of historical hindsight is far from fair, the prophesying nature of his points in the stead of sensible legislative language set a precedent of ambiguity and hypocrisy for the United Nations and wartime presidencies worldwide.
The Points themselves served as a speech presented by President Woodrow Wilson. Their delivery took place before a joint meeting of Congress on the 8th of January, 1918. An important note in comprehending the strengths and weaknesses of Wilson’s Points is differentiating their purposes. One purpose is a speech to an audience, the other purpose an attempt at written goals and legislature for the Treaty of
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Versailles. The Points Speech outlined Wilson’s noble ambition: a long-lasting peace in Europe and for the American Public. At the same time, the speech of Wilson’s Points sought to placate American isolationists. The world must be, he said, “Safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world as against force and selfish aggression.” The Points Legislature, on the other hand, called for the victorious Allies to establish peace terms with the vanquished Central Powers of World War I. This including freedom of the seas, the restoration of territories conquered during the war, and the right to “national self-determination,” in such contentious regions as the Balkans. He emphasized these terms must be unselfish against the Central Powers to avoid resentment. All humor aside, the carnage of the First World War grimly illustrated to Wilson the unmistakeable relationship between worldwide stability and the integrity of America’s national security. Wilson could foresee that international relations could only grow exponentially more important. The economic portions of his Points advocated equal trade conditions, demilitarization and colonial sovereignty for Europe’s weakening empires. One of the few major benefits of the Points Speech was introducing a practical challenger to traditional notions of international power balances. The viability of another Congress-of-Vienna-esque power preservation had been shattered by World War I. The Bolshevik-inspired dreams of worldwide revolt gaining ground both outside of Russia didn’t help such circumstances. Wilson, a red-blooded advocate of capitalism and liberal democracy, tried to keep a conflict-ridden Russia in the war on the Allied side. This met gross failure. The Bolsheviks curve-balled a wrench into Wilson’s plans by actually being diplomatic, seeking peace with the Central Powers following the conclusion of the Revolution. Despite this, Wilson’s Fourteen Points Legislature played an essential role in world politics over the next several years.
The second major benefit of the Points were held in the prompt translation and distribution of them to every soldier and citizen of Germany and
Austria-Hungary on every front, contributing to their decision of armistice in November 1918.
Not unlike the man himself, Wilson’s Fourteen Points were liberal, democratic and idealistic. Herein lies the main weaknesses of the Points in both Speech and Legislature. His elocution consisted of exceedingly grand and aspiring terms, but was far less certain of the specifics of how his aims would be achieved. It sounds hard to believe, but Wilson had to rigorously compete with the leaders of the other Allied nations, many of whom disagreed with the Fourteen Points and demanded numerous, punitive sanctions against Germany and their allies. The stress and pressure of the trip weighted so heavily on Wilson that he suffered a stroke, handicapping the rest of his
presidency. The one thing other delegates at the Paris Peace Conference did support in Wilson’s Points Legislature was perhaps the most significant. Last among Wilsons 14 Points called for an international governing body of nations united for the purpose of guaranteeing political independence and territorial integrity to great and small countries alike. His idea gave birth to an indecisive, short-lived League of Nations, which the United States never actually joined as it usurped Congress’s sovereign right to declare war. The slightly less indecisive United Nations would come into existence after the conclusion of another devastating global conflict: World War II. Fitting, as the Points aided the indirect causes of the genocidal sequel to The Great War. This is perhaps the most tragic result of the Points Legislature: due to the sheer success of the Points Speech, the men at Versailles adopted many core ideals into the Treaty of Versailles. However, without Wilson’s guiding intentions behind them, the delegates also succeeded in losing the best ally the treaty could have. Because the League of Nations formed under the treaty was so weak, Germany successfully rebuilt an army, set up a new government, and it’s imperialistic ways sprouted from the scorched earth of World War I. Although impossible to say for certain, were Wilson’s Fourteen Points followed as he wished, then the Second World War could have been postponed, or even completely avoided.
When the peace processes were to start after the finishing of World War One, there were four people who were major components in the treaty of Paris: Clemenceau, George, Orlando, and Wilson. Clemenceau wanted revenge on the German's by punishing them through the treaties because he believed that they were at fault for the war; George was in agreement with Clemenceau although he did not feel that Germany should suffer severe punishment; Orlando who wanted the irredenta to be re-established; and President Wilson of the United States of America wanted to create a mild peace with Germany in a fair way. In view of this, Wilson created fourteen points that he wanted accomplished in full as a result of the peace treaties. His fourteen points were his plan for a world peace and included plans for the end of secret treaties, freedom of the seas, free trade, arms reduction, the just settlement of colonial claims, the establishment of a League of Nations, and the evacuation of occupied territories and national self-determination. Many of his points were carried out in the Treaty of Versailles, although not all of them were successful or followed completely.
American taking part in imperialism gained its motion from both economic and cultural justifications that stemmed from America's history of expansion; American imperialism only varied slightly in the first few generations of presidents as we will explore sampling from Theodore Roosevelt's presidency on into Woodrow Wilson's presidency. American's previous western expansion became the breeding grounds for American imperialistic justification. Though cultural justifications were used to keep the public interest in support of imperialism economic justifications were viewed as more important throughout the history of imperialism, even in uniting the similarities of Theodore Roosevelt's and Woodrow Wilson's imperial agendas.
Wilson, T. W. (n.d.). "Fourteen Points" Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Retrieved April 14, 2011, from http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/wilson14.asp
Woodrow Wilson delivered his now-famous War Message to Congress on April 4, 1917. Four days later, Congress declared war and the United States became a formal partner in the war to end all wars. As the Wilson administration was to discover, however, declaring war and making war were two very different propositions. The former required only an abstract statement of ideals and justifications and a two-thirds Congressional majority; the latter required the massive mobilization of virtually every sector of American society - military, industrial, and economic, as well as public opinion. The Wilson administration sought to accomplish this daunting task in two concomitant and interdependent fashions. First, it undertook an unprecedented assumption of federal control and regulation. The federal government established an array of bureaus and agencies endowed with sweeping powers to regulate the nation’s economy and industrial production. Furthermore, it passed a series of laws designed to support these agencies and to stifle what it deemed subversive antiwar opinion and activity. Second, and of equal importance, the administration appealed to the public’s patriotism and sense of civic responsibility, effectively encouraging volunteerism in both the public and private sectors. Each of these tacks was bulwarked by a pervasive dose of pro-war government propaganda. In the end, in terms of raising an army, mobilizing the economy and influencing the outcome of the war, the administration’s mobilization efforts were largely successful. However, there were significant consequences to the government’s actions, most acutely in the realm of civil liberties, both during and in the aftermath of the war.
The day that Alexander Hamilton was first placed into the United States Government would be the day which would forever change our nation. The time when he would start and create a fantastic economy out of scratch. He did it with one brilliant five point plan. But there were three parts of the plan which were the body of this project. These were the assumption of state debt, the whiskey tax, and the construction of a national bank. All of these together would enhance our economy, before the tyrant Jackson would destroy them (bank). Nevertheless, his plan dealt with and solved the tough issues such as federal debt, government money supply, and economical shape throughout our nation. So for these answers he gave to our people, we must be grateful
As he sat down to compose his congressional address proposing war, the uncertainty of his decision. overwhelmed him. He confided to a member of his cabinet, Frank Cobb, that He had never been as unsure about anything in his life as the judgment he made for the nation (Baker 506). Through a rhetorical analysis of Wilson’s points of argumentation and his style in the presentation to the war. congress, we can gain a better understanding of the president’s purpose.
Link’s book was published in 1979 and was written based upon privet manuscript collections, government archives from the U.S, Brittan, France and Germany, as well as newspapers. Link also reaches from monographs, biographies, and articles from numerous colleagues. (Link.pg 129) Each of these sources are solid and reliable sources, and were well used to put together a book packed with information on Woodrow Wilson’s life. Link uses many firsthand accounts from Wilson himself, but seems almost suspicious of accounts that were not presented first hand. Though Link is extremely selective in what he chose to present, the book clearly presents these facts, but has a very bias opinion of Wilson as discussed earlier. Link’s evidence, though selective, fits nicely in the monograph and makes the aspects of Wilson that he does cover clear and easy to read
World War I, or the Great War, lasted from 1914 to 1918. In harsh battles between some of the world’s strongest economic powers, millions of people were killed and wounded. Woodrow Wilson was the President of the United States during these years, and he yearned for peace. Towards the end of the conflict, Wilson delivered a speech called “Fourteen Points” on January 8, 1918. His goal in doing so was to create some stability in a time of crisis. Even though the leaders of some countries did not jump on board right away, they eventually agreed to signing the Treaty of Versailles, officially ending the war. Through emphasizing peace, security, and freedom, President Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” paid off overall, ultimately revealing that
“…the most important result was that it awakened in us a strong, practical sense of esprit de corps, which in the field developed into the finest thing that arose out of the war – comradeship.” (p23)
On January 8, 1918 Wilson presented to Congress his speech The Fourteen Points. This was a plan for freedom and peace after the war (http://www.angelfire.com/in3/wilson/wilson.html). Without going into details of the entire Fourteen Points, a quote from u-s-history.com list the following:
In WWI, Wilsonian idealism meant several things. This included de-colonization. Also, Wilson strongly believed in democratic peace theory, and he thought that the United States needed to make the world safe for democracy. Furthermore, the president clarified that the United States was entering the war on a moral high ground. For example, Woodrow Wilson mentioned the U.S. was not going to war out of national security but the U.S. had a messianic mission. There were some concerns like the Zimmerman letter that asked Mexico to attack the U.S. On the other hand, the messianic mission was “a war to end all wars” and this was war to make the world safe for democracy. His ideas, which were deeply liberal principles, were embedded into the fourteen points he had created during
President Woodrow Wilson had hopes for a New World. For Wilson, the war had been fought against autocracy. A peace settlement based on liberal-democratic ideals, he hoped, would get rid of the foundations of war. None of Wilson's hopes seemed better than the idea of self-determination -- the right of a people to have its own state, free of any foreign domination. In particular, this goal meant the return of Alsace and Lorraine to France which had been lost to Germany in the Franco-Prussian war, the creation of an independent Poland, the changing of the frontiers of Italy to include Austrian lands where Italians lived, and an opportunity for Slavs of the Austro- Hungarian Empire to form their own states.
It has been almost a century since the first Paris Peace Conference was hold, but even until now, it is a popular yet also controversial event in the history of the world. The Paris Peace Conference took place in 1919 involving more than 1,000 representatives from over 30 nations. The results of the Conference are five treaties regarding terms that, according to the Conference, shall prevent any upcoming conflicts among nations. Although World War II started only after 15 years, nonetheless, the treaties did function as a buffer between countries. Although many resolutions were discussed, the negotiation of the Conference revolves around four main topics, reparation from the previous war losses or limitations on the main Central Power, Germany, self-recognition, President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, and the annexation of land.
Lenin’s decree states good points on how to achieve a brief period of peace and opens it up to negotiations on how to alter the decree to better serve the purpose of peace. The Fourteen Points directly say exactly what Wilson believes is needed and is included in his declaration of entering the war. The Fourteen Points possibly would have been the best plan for the world and did help with the good aspects of the conclusion of the war; however, every country in Europe had it’s own agenda that did not adhere to the wants of the foreign United States of America. In the course of human history, what is best for the people of the world is not what transpires and this is evidently seen in the ambitious ideals put forth by Vladimir Lenin and Woodrow
Woodrow Wilson’s purpose in writing “The Study of Administration” is to bring awareness that the government systems in place need to be re-evaluated and improved. Wilson encourages we need to examine the history of administration set forth by others in determining certain needs to be accomplished in effective ways and methods. Wilson’s desirable outcomes for research within the public administration field are for government systems to become more productive and organized.