Sunday, February 12, 2017

LAD #31: Wilson's 14 Points

14 Points



Summary: President Wilson, an idealist even through one of history's most awful wars, listed out his 14 main points necessary to restore and maintain peace. In a swift stroke of optimistic idealism lacking all realistic thought, the President's first point was the end of secret alliances between states. He then advocated America's greatest desire, freedom of the seas (and the Dardanelles). Thirdly, Wilson called for the elimination of all trade barriers and tariffs between nations, another idealistic folley. For the main body of the points, Wilson focused on territorial and national issues, such as supporting  the post-revolution Russians, creating a Polish state, and re-evaluating colonial borders. Finally, the President's 14th point called for an international body of nations to serve as a diplomatic forum, thus beginning the short-lived League of Nations.

(Although the League of Nations failed, and never even included the USA, the organization's successor, the UN, persists to this day).

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