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Who was the Author of
the Fourteen Points?
The author of the Fourteen points was
President Woodrow Wilson with a significant contribution by Walter
Lippmann (1889 – 1974) and 'Colonel' Edward House (1858 – 1938)
together with input from a study group of academics called "The
Inquiry". Walter Lippmann was a noted journalist and author
who also acted as an adviser to President Woodrow Wilson during WW1.
Edward House was an American diplomat and a powerful politician who
also acted as a WW1 presidential advisor. Walter Lippmann and Edward
House assisted in the drafting of post-World War I settlement plan
which became known as Wilson's 14 Points speech. Contributions to
the Fourteen points were also made by "The Inquiry" which was
established in September 1917 by President Wilson to prepare
materials for the peace negotiations in World War I.
The Fourteen Points Speech
The Fourteen Points
speech was made to a joint session of the US Congress on January 8,
1918.
The Fourteen Points
speech set out peace proposals under fourteen separate headings that
described the essential elements for a peaceful settlement of WW1. The
14 Points declared by President Woodrow Wilson
essentially established the conditions for the
WW1 Armistice that had
brought an end to WWI.
What was the Goal of Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points?
The goals of Woodrow
Wilson's fourteen points speech were:
● To act as blueprint for
world peace
● To be used for peace
negotiations after World War One
● To generate momentum for
ending the war
● To generate support for
Wilson’s policy and vision of the post-war world at home and
abroad
● To prevent the
re-occurrence of the reasons that had led to the
Outbreak and Causes of WW1
Fourteen Points
Explained: Summary of the 14 Points
The Fourteen Points were based on "the
principle of justice to all peoples and nationalities". In the
first five points (1-5), President Wilson proposed to eliminate the
general causes of the war through disarmament, free trade, freedom
of the seas, impartial adjustment of colonial claims, and the
adoption of open diplomacy in Europe instead of secret agreements.
The next eight points (6-13) Wilson addressed the
right of self-determination to "freely to determine, without
external interference, their political status and to pursue their
economic, social and cultural systems, without interference in any
form by another State". Points 6-13 also required the Central Powers
to evacuate all of the countries invaded during the war, including
France, Russia and Belgium. Point 14 called for the creation of a
“general association of nations” known as the League of Nations.
Fourteen Points: The League of Nations
The Fourteen Points
speech called for the creation of a “general association of nations”
known as the League of Nations. The purpose of the League of Nations
was to ensure that the League’s member nations would help preserve
peace and prevent future wars by pledging to protect and respect each
other’s territory and political independence.
What were the Fourteen Points?
The Fourteen Points Simplified for kids
What were the Fourteen Points? The
following table contains facts providing a simplified summary of the
Fourteen Points.
Fourteen Points
Summary for kids Point 1 : Public
diplomatic negations with more secret agreements or
secret treaties
Point 2 : Freedom
of navigation on all seas.Point 3 : Free
trade among nations and an end to all economic barriers
between countries
Point 4 : Countries
to reduce armaments and weapons to a level required for
public safety.Point 5 : Fair and
impartial decisions for the resolution of colonial
claims
Point 6 :
Restoration of Russia territories and freedom to
establish and develop its own political systemPoint 7 :
Preservation of the sovereignty of Belgium and that it
should be independent as before the war.
Point 8 : France
should be fully liberated, its territory restored and
allowed to recover Alsace-LorrainePoint 9 : All
Italians are to be allowed to live in Italy and Italy's
borders to be "along clearly recognizable lines of
nationality."
Point 10 :
Self-determination should be allowed for all those
living in Austria-Hungary.Point 11 :
Self-determination and guarantees of independence for the Balkan states and its borders
re-drawn.
Point 12 :
Self-determination for the Turkish people and for
Non-Turks under Turkish rulePoint 13 : An
independent Polish nation should be created which should
have access to the sea.
Point 14 : A League
of Nations should be created to guarantee the political
and territorial independence of all states.
Fourteen Points
Summary for kids
Fourteen Points vs
Treaty of Versailles
The
Treaty of
Versailles was signed in
the Palace of Versailles in France on June 28, 1919.
However, prior to the Treaty, after the fighting had
stopped, a peace conference had begun in Paris in
January 1919 with Britain, France, Italy and the USA
dominating the conference.
Fourteen Points vs
Treaty of Versailles for kids
●
Germany was not invited to attend the peace
conference and were not allowed to contribute to the
negotiations.
●
The Germans, like the Americans, assumed that the
Fourteen Points plan would form the basis of the peace
treaty.
●
It soon became very apparent that Britain, France
and Italy wanted to punish and take revenge on Germany
and regain what they had lost in the war.
●
The content of the Fourteen Points were twisted to
ensure that Germany was punished. The Treaty of
Versailles addressed the subjects of Military and
Territory changes, but with a totally different
objective to the Fourteen Points.
●
Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles Germany
had to accept responsibility for the war which gave the
right to confiscate German land, and to make massive
cuts in the German army, navy and air force.
●
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles also addressed
War-Guilt provisions and demanded massive amounts of
money (called Reparations) as compensation for the Great
War.
Fourteen Points: Which of the 14 points were included in the
Treaty of Versailles?
The Treaty of Versailles was signed in
the Palace of Versailles in France on June 28, 1919. Which
of Wilson's 14 points were included in the Treaty of Versailles?
Perhaps the question should be "Which of the 14
points were not included in the Treaty of
Versailles?" When the Allies met in Versailles to
formulate the treaty to end WWI with Germany most of
President Wilson’s 14 Points were scuttled and
ruined by the leaders of England and France.
Which of
the 14 points were included in the
Treaty of Versailles?
The Fourteen Points: The Treaty of
Versailles
Point 4: Countries to
reduce armaments and weapons: The Treaty of
Versailles limited the German navy to
15,000 men
Point 5: Resolution
of colonial claims: The Treaty of
Versailles required Germany to surrender
the control of all colonies to the
League of Nations
Point 7 and 8:
Preservation of the sovereignty of
Belgium and restoration to France's
territory: The Treaty of
Versailles required Germany to cede land
to Belgium, France, Poland,
Czechoslovakia and Denmark
Point 14: Creation of
the League of Nations: The League of Nations
was created but the Treaty of Versailles
did not allow Germany to join it.
Which of
the 14 points were included in the
Treaty of Versailles?
Fourteen Points for
kids:
Why was President Wilson disappointed with the Treaty of Versailles?
President Wilson was disappointed with
the Treaty of Versailles because it made a mockery of his Fourteen
Points Plan. Wilson's idea of peace did not include
punishing or exacting revenge on Germany. President
Wilson wanted all countries to participate in an
arms reduction program, while the treaty required
that only Germany's military was restricted, leaving
them with almost no defense forces of their own.
Wilson had wanted colonial claims to be resolved
fairly with consideration for those who lived in
them. However, the Treaty of Versailles did not take
this into consideration which resulted in Germany
being divided into two. Other territories were
returned to their original owners, which created
further unrest in Europe. Wilson felt the ideas and
the concept of the League of Nations had been
critically compromised by the exclusion of Germany
and could efficiently deal with international
problems. The U.S. Senate consequently opposed the
adoption of the Treaty of Versailles and declined
membership in the League of Nations.
Fourteen Points for kids - President Woodrow Wilson Video
The article on the Fourteen Points provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Woodrow Wilson video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 28th American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1913 to March 4, 1921.
Fourteen Points Peace Speech
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Interesting Facts about Fourteen Points for kids and schools
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Key events
and Fourteen Points for kids
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The Fourteen Points, a major
event in US history
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Woodrow Wilson Presidency from March 4, 1913 to March 4, 1921
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Fast, fun facts about the Fourteen Points speech
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Foreign & Domestic
policies of President Woodrow Wilson
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Woodrow Wilson Presidency and
speech on Fourteen Points for schools,
homework, kids and children |
