The Failure of the Fourteen Points and the Shaping of History

Although Woodrow Wilson was stoic about many of his viewpoints, his shaping of the Treaty of Versailles and the way he compromised on so many of his Fourteen Points truly shows his lack of strength in international affairs. Wilson, who was President throughout the First World War, stalled the United States from entering until it was absolutely necessary. During the war, in a meeting with advisors, he formulated a set of fourteen suggestions, which subsequently dropped into enemy territory and eventually helped form the Treaty of Versailles. Unfortunately, between the stubbornness of countries like France, who were severely disabled after the war, and Warren Harding’s determination to stay out of the League of Nations, many of Wilson’s†¦show more content†¦Wilson called World War II â€Å"The war to end all wars.† It is very likely he would want to see this through to the end and make sure that world war would never happen again. Because of this, many of his fourteen points were very peaceful and did not appoint a winner or loser. It also required a great deal of international cooperation in which many countries were not ready to participate. Absolute freedom of naval navigation in either peace or war is quite a long stretch for many of the nations that had just been severely battered and blockaded. International reduction of arms and the removal of economic barriers had the possibility of reducing the defense, both militarily and economically to dangerously low levels. His fourteen points also made many suggestions concerning land and areas that had been involved in conflict stretching back even to the Prussian occupation of Alsace-Lorraine. Such suggestions included an evaluation of colonial claims, of Russian territory, and the restoration of states like Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro. Of course, the Alsace-Lorraine was to be restored to France, which caused even more of a struggle for Germany to support itself. All of these wer e penultimate to Wilson’s sincere desire for a league of many nations working together to promote world peace. Wilson conceded so many of his points in order to keep the League of Nations. He saw this as the most important product because it was meant toShow MoreRelatedA Force of Nature: Imagination in the Poetry of Wallace Stevens and John Ashbery1602 Words   |  7 Pagescame before, as if they write with a sense of continuity. T.S Eliot addresses literary tradition as well as poetic tradition, and states that it is important to focus on â€Å"significant emotion, emotion which has its life in the poem and not in the history of the poet† (18). 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