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Woodrow Wilson, the Fourteen Points and the League of Nations

Page history last edited by Robert W. Maloy 2 years, 12 months ago

Wilson Portrait Postcards, 1912-1916

Woodrow Wilson Portrait Postcards, 1912-1916

 

 

 

Focus Question: What was the significance and impact of President Wilson’s wartime diplomacy during and after the war?


Topics on the Page

 
Overview of Wilson's Diplomacy

 

  • Edith Bolling Galt Wilson (America's secret President)

  

Wilson's Fourteen Points

     -The broken promises of the Fourteen Points and the failure of "self-determination"
 

The Treaty of Versailles

  

League of Nations

 

  • Egypt and Self-Determination
  • The Mandate System

 

The Sedition Act of 1918
 

Additional Resources

  • Lesson Plans
  • Women and World War I
  • African Americans and World War I

 

 

  Link to AP US History Key Concept 7.3:  US as a World Power in the 20th Century

 

 

 More information of the failures of the Versailles Treaty and the League of Nations.


Click here for an interactive timeline WWI

external image US100000dollarsbillobverse.jpg View this video from Crash Course to get an overview of the United States' entry in the War and Wilson's wartime diplomacy.


President Wilson was initially opposed to entering the war, arguing instead for American neutrality. In his 1916 presidential re-election campaign the slogan "he kept us out of war" may have helped Wilson achieve his narrow victory.

 

  • However, in January 1917, in his famous "Peace Without Victory" speech, Wilson was already declaring the importance of the American role in building a peaceful postwar world order, based on equality among nations and the consent of the governed.

 

 

  • The Fourteen Points was a speech that was delivered by President Woodrow Wilson to Congress on January 8th, 1918. This speech laid out fourteen points on which he envisioned a permanent postwar peace would be built. 

 

    • The fourteen points drew on the themes of equality among nations, free trade and the consent of the governed much like his earlier speeches but offered a more specific description of how Wilson's new world order might be achieved. 

 

    • It also called for the creation of a "general association of nations...for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike," which led to the creation of the League of Nations under the Treaty of Versailles.

 

 

    • With the entrance of the United States into World War I, President Wilson said that the United States intervention was intended to "vindicate principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power".

 

    • He continued by accusing that Germany had "filled our unsuspecting communities and even our offices of government with spies and set criminal intrigues everywhere afoot against our national unity of counsel, our peace within and without our industries and our commerce".


external image Edith_Wilson.png Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, wife of Woodrow Wilson, was very involved with her husband's Presidency. She accompanied him to Europe while the Allies worked on creating a peace deal. She came back to the United States to campaign for Senate approval of the peace treaty and the League of Nations Covenant.

 

  • When President Wilson had a stroke in October 1919, she took over many of the routine duties and details of the government. She referred to this as her "stewardship".

 

  • She was, essentially, the nation’s chief executive until her husband’s second term concluded in March of 1921 

 


 Click for a video on what happened during Woodrow Wilson's health crisis.

 

Women Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates:  A Selected List, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University

 

 

A Woman Can Be Elected President, Right?  Democracy, A Journal of Ideas

 

 

A New Poll Shows How Sexism and Electability Collide in 2020, Vox (June 17, 2019) 

 

    • Political scientists Sarah Anzia and Christopher Berry from University of California, Berkeley and University of Chicago, respectively, call it the “Jill Robinson effect” — after Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player who became one of the biggest stars in the game.
    • “Robinson had to be better than almost any white player in order to overcome the prejudice of owners, players, and fans,” Anzia and Berry write.

 

 

Political Cartoon showing President Wilson leaving the Versailles Peace Conference
external image Political_Cartoon_--_The_Fourteen_Principles_of_Wilson%27s_Peace_To_German_Government.png

 

 

Wilson’s Fourteen Points


The image to the left is a political cartoon based on The Fourteen Principles of Wilson's peace to German government. Caption: "It's the only way out, Wilhelm!",1918.

The Fourteen Points can be thought of in three groups.

The first group dealt with concerns to prevent future war.

Secondly, Wilson faced border issues.

Lastly, Wilson called for the development of the League of Nations.

 

 

Click here for a lesson plan on Wilson's Fourteen Points.

 

 

 

 

 

To compare these Fourteen Points to Wilson’s initial declaration of war leads to the following similarities:

 

  • Concern for the rights of people of sovereign nations

 

  • Concerned with the rights of people for peace and justice against harsh power both from within and outside forces.

 

  • Wilson's rhetoric and noble words of peace and justice can be verified as disingenous and hypocritical by looking at the President's long and dark career

 

 

    • "He signed a eugenic sexual sterilization bill into legislation (Trent, 1994). Under this legislation, criminals or adults considered to be ‘feeble-minded’ could be forced to undergo sexual sterilization (Trent, 1994; Lombardo, 2002). As part of enacting this legislation, Wilson was also responsible for appointing a board of examiners (Lombardo, 2008). These examiners were responsible for determining who ought to be sexually sterilized given the new legislation" 

 

As Part of His Fourteen Points President Wilson called for Self-Determination 

According to a United Nations Study 

 

"It is only in the 20th century, after the end of the First World War, that the legitimization of certain fundamental and natural principles long recognized as essential to individual liberty, received concrete consideration in the context of the ordering of international relations. The principle of self-determination of peoples was postulated in its incipient form by President Woodrow Wilson in the following words:

 

"We believe these fundamental things:

First, that every people has a right to the sovereignty under which they shall live…" 1/

 

"No peace can last, or ought to last, which does not recognize and accept the principle that governments derive all their just Powers from the consent of the governed, and that no right anywhere exists to hand people about from sovereignty to sovereignty as if they were property." 2/

In the context of the Paris Conference the Wilsonian concept was stated in the "Fourteen Points", asserting that colonized peoples had a claim to self-determination equal to the claims of established governments:

 

"A 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." "

 

  • This resulted in the break up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into blocks of nation-states

 

  • "Self-determination for all people" proved to only lead to support for the people of eastern Europe to adhere to this doctrine

 

  • People in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America were all denied this right
    • Instead, in the height of the age of colonialism, non-white nations were placed under what the League of Nations referred to as the Mandate system 

 

Ho Chi Minh

 

Ho Chi Minh lived in Paris during the Treaty of Versailles peace conferences and is said to have "tried to convince the American delegation to speak out for the cause of the Indo-Chinese people";

 

  • Ho was an avid reader and had read the Declaration of Independence and other American documents, and was well aware of President Wilson's noble rhetoric (however insincere it proved to be)

 

Ho Chi Minh in France c. 1919 

 

 

See Primary Sources written by Ho Chi Minh here 

 

  • Look for Ho Chi Minh letter to Harry Truman to see how these ideas influenced his thinking and the thinking of other Vietnamese nationalists

 

  • Unfortunately Ho Chi Minh was ignored and there is no evidence that his concerns were brought to Wilson's attention; The US would continue to support colonial enterprises in "Indochina" and would carry out its own bloody and costly colonial project in Vietnam, lasting over 20 years 

 

 

Egypt

 

Egypt had been under British colonial and imperialistic rule since 1882; in 1918 Egyptian people picked up the slogan of "self-determinism for all people" 

      • "In addition to their other reasons, the Egyptians were influenced by American president Woodrow Wilson, who was preaching self-determination for all nations. In September 1918, Egypt made the first moves toward the formation of a wafd, or delegation, to voice its demands for independence at the Paris Peace Conference.  "

 

      • Egyptians protested and demonstrated becoming massive and widespread in what would be known as the 1919 revolution. Demonstrators appealed to the values the Wilson had so often espoused with what was clearly empty rhetoric. None of the world powers would intervene in favor of a nation which wanted self determinism, control over their own affairs. 

 

      • On February 28, 1922, Britain unilaterally declared Egyptian independence without any negotiations with Egypt. Four matters were "absolutely reserved to the discretion" of the British government until agreements concerning them could be negotiated: the security of communications of the British Empire in Egypt; the defense of Egypt against all foreign aggressors or interference, direct or indirect; the protection of foreign interests in Egypt and the protection of minorities; and Sudan. " Britain still technically controlled all the things that were seen to make a country sovereign 

 

      • Egypt was left with another broken promise of the 14 Points  

 

 

Demonstration against British occupiers during the 1919 Egyptian Revolution

The Mandate System

 

 

  • The League of Nations established a behind the scenes colonial hold on decidedly "less advanced" nations called the Mandate System-

 

    •  "Article 22 of the Covenant (text at annex I) established the Mandate system on the idea of placing colonized peoples under the "tutelage…of advanced nations".  However, these colonies were not to be disposed of by the mandatory powers as they wished, but rather formed "a sacred trust of civilisation". The degree of tutelage was to depend on the state of political development of the territory concerned"

 

    • This article declared ""Certain communities ... have reached a stage of development where their existence as independent nations can be provisionally recognized subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone. The wishes of these communities must be a principal considera­tion in the selection of the Mandatory."

                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                   The Versailles Palace in France, present day  

The Treaty of Versailles and its FailurePalace of Versailles: Facts & History | Live Science

 

Click here to read the Treaty of Versailles

Click here for a short video about the Big 3 during the Treaty of Versailles 

 

Click here for a lesson plan on the Treaty of Versailles

 

Click here for a New York Times article about the Treaty and how it relates to today



The League of Nations

 

  • The League of Nations was created by the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I.
  • It was created to ensure that war would not break out again.
  • Based in Geneva, Switzerland
  • The League of Nations could:
    • Call members to discuss disputes in an organized and civil fashion
      • These discussions would take place in the League's Assembly
      • The Assembly would listen and brainstorm solutions
    • If one nation was found at fault, the nation would be given a "verbal sanction"
      • The nation at fault would leave the other nation immediately
      • If they refused to leave, they would suffer "economic sanction"
        • Refuse trade with the nation at fault
        • Push nation at fault towards bankruptcy, have the people in that nation force its government to accept League's orders
      • Last step would be "physical sanction"
        • Military action would force nation at fault to leave
        • However, the League of Nations did not have a military force to use and could not carry out the last step
        • Many country's military was depleted in the war
  • Other weaknesses:
    • America, the creator of the League, refused to join
    • Germany was not permitted to join
      • According to the Treaty of Versailles, not considered part of the international community
    • Russia was not allowed to join because of the threat of Communism
    • Powerful countries not joining, or being barred from joining, meant the organization lacked influence

 

Click here for a fun song about why the League of Nations failed ultimately: Failure of the League of Nations Song

 

Why Did the United States refuse to join the League of Nations?

 

Despite the fact that President Wilson was one of the League's strongest proponents, the bill that would have solidified America's membership in the League of Nations died in Congress. The reasons why the bill never passed are:

  • Some were concerned that countries in the League would compromise America's global influence.
  • Some thought it would violate America's sovereignty. 
  • Many were afraid that the League would have the power to drag the United States into a war that would otherwise not involve them.

 

Consequences of The United States not joining the League of Nations

 

After the First World War the empires of Europe were bankrupt and in most cases dismembered. The League of Nations was meant to ensure a new era of peace in Europe and by extension the world. There was only one problem with this system, enforcement.

 

  • The League of Nations Achilles' heel was that it had no way to enforce the rules it set for European nations. The League was toothless; it was being led by nations that were struggling to look after themselves. Germany was in an economic hyper depression because of the Treaty of Versailles, Russia had just gone through a Communist revolution which saw many aspects of its economy severely changed, Britain and France were short on man power and had just acquired the lands of the Ottoman Empire which strained the resources of the two countries in every way.

 

  • Therefore the only nation that was in a position to prop up the League of Nations and act as the enforcer of the laws was the United States. The United States had only been in the war for a short while (1917 - 1918) and had manpower and economic capital to spare. If furthermore, had no large empire to manage leaving it free to divert its attention where it wanted.

 

  • Despite President Woodrow Wilson's plea to join the League Congress would have none of it. This effectively divorced the brain and inspiring force of the League, Woodrow Wilson, from the body. The failure of Wilson to persuade the United States to join the League is the single biggest failure in his foreign policy after the war. With no European nation wanting to be responsible for policing the other nations, The League was left to brave the storm of the 1920's and 30's without a captain at the helm.


It does have to be stated however, that it is not solely the fault of the US for allowing the events that led up to the Second World War. By the time the 1930's rolled around the European nations had gotten their footing back for the most part.

 

  • They would never return to their pre-World War I status but they were fully capable of stopping the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and China, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, and the Nazi seizure of Austria and The Czech Republic. They did not do so because the European powers did not want to start another world war. Unfortunately the policy of appeasement didn't work and the world would be plunged into a World War yet again.

 

This political cartoon illustrates the idea that the League couldn't support itself without the United States. Created by Leonard Ravenhill December 10, 1919
Political cartoon illustrating that the League couldn't support itself without the United States. By Leonard Ravenhill December 10, 1919




external image 1024px-League_of_Nations_Anachronous_Map.PNG
League of Nations Documentary --A YouTube video with primary footage and interviews regarding the League of Nations.


Click here for more information and a list of successes from the League

 

Click here for a short unit "The Debate in the United States over the League of Nations"

Click here for the League of Nations Photo Archive maintained by Indiana University.

Despite the failure of the League of Nations, President Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 for coming up with the idea and for his efforts in ending World War I. There was debate among the committee as to whether he should be awarded this prize, but eventually a majority agreed.

 

 

WWI Propaganda Poster

 

WWI Propaganda Poster

The Sedition Act of 1918

 

 

 

The Sedition Act of 1918 was passed in Congress during the aftermath of World War I.

 

  • Though commonly thought as a separate act from the previous Espionage Act of 1917, the Sedition Act was actually the addition of several new amendments to the Espionage Act.

 

 

    • The new laws prohibited Americans from engaging in unpatriotic diatribe. One could be sentenced up to twenty years in prison if caught breaking this new law

 

 

  • The Act itself contributed to America's isolationism. The Sedition Act was met with disapproval from other nations, which also contributed to America's isolationism that characterized the years between the World Wars.

 

 

      • Click here to learn more about Wilson's decision to for the Committee on Public Information in order to gain more public support for the war effort.


Wake Up America, World War I propaganda posters

Primary Sources
Eugene Debs Statement to the Court Upon Being Convicted of Violating the Sedition Act


Charles Schenck's Pamphlet


Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes dissent in the Abrams v. U.S. case where the Supreme Court upheld the Sedition Act.

Oliver  Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

 

Additional Resources


external image Red_apple.jpgLesson Plans

  • Click here for four lesson plans on President Wilson from EdSitement. 


War and Peace from PBS

Women and WWI


Influential Women in American History: View this page to learn more about the leaders of the Suffrage movement, such as Alice Paul.


African Americans and WWI

  • Click here to read about how WWI played a role in the Great Migration and the role of African Americans during WWI.
  • Click here to learn about the all black 369th infantry or the "Harlem Hellfighters," one of the most highly decorated regiments of WWI.



New York Times: This Day in History: August 4July 23April 2 

Websites to explore:
http://www.woodrowwilson.org/ Presidential Library website.
The Clear and Present Danger Test--"What approach did the Court use in analyzing World War I era First Amendment cases involving subversive advocacy?" from the Exploring Constitutional Conflicts website of the University of Missouri Kansas City.



Bibliography:
Danzer, Klor de Alva, et al., G, J.J (2007). The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21 st Century Oklahoma Teacher's Edition. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell.
Faragher, Buhle, et.al., John Mack, Mari Jo (2003). Out of Many: A History of the American People 4th Ed., (Documents Set). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

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