Why Were Britain And France Opposed To Wilson's Proposals?

He labeled the conflict as “a war against all nations” exemplifying the distress that other countries have experienced due to the unbiased and relentless bombing of their own neutral ships (Safire 111). By associating the United States with other friendly countries who are also at odds with Germany, Wilson’s cry for war seemed more convincing. He went on to assert that the choice made by the U.S must be befitting to the singular characteristics of the country and that they must be very clear what their motives upon entry into the war were: not vengeance or profession of physical might, but to defend the principles of peace and justice and “to set up amongst the free people of the world an observance of these ideals” (Safire 113). We were entering the war not to battle with the German people, but to combat a greater menace, the system that had impended these violations (Baker 512).

After winning the election of 1916 barring the slogan, “We kept us out of war!” Wilson began his “peace without victory” crusade. (Zieger, 44) He failed to identify the secret treaties that were entered between the Allies during the war and Germany’s unwillingness to concede anything from a war they did not lose. When it was apparent that a “peace without victory” would be unattainable all that was left was a catalyst and the United States

Wilson’s fourteen points summarise the quest for international cooperation in achieving and maintaining peace. However, this can be questioned as the first paragraph also suggests a self-centred approach taken by Wilson. The speech suggests that the USA is the only ones with the capacity to achieve such peace, the programme of the world's peace, therefore, is our programme; and that programme, the only possible programme. It reflects a world view and hierarchy, suggesting one big American alliance rather than an idea of international cooperation. This is also further illustrated on in Wilson’s speech, his concern for the safety of the USA is key in the way he treats countries such as Russia and Germany, and his disagreement with some of the terms in the Treaty of Versailles. In point six of the speech when dealing with Russia it talks of securing the best and freest cooperation of the other nations of the world. Wilson was careful in how he achieved peace, as he wanted to maintain relationships with countries within Europe, whilst keeping USA dominance ad not upsetting France and Clemenceau who wanted harsh treatment of Germany. This is illustrated in point eight of Wilson’s fourteen points.

The end of World War I left much of America confused on the country’s role in world affairs. Many people believed that the United States should primarily worry about its own issues and problems, and let the world handle their own problems. But President Woodrow Wilson was not one of those people. He believed that the United States should be directly involved in the issues affecting all of the countries of the world. He also wanted the United States to be the country to make a push for a League of Nations. “The people of the United States could act upon no other principle; and to the vindication of this principle they are ready to devote their lives, their honor, and everything that they possess. The normal climax of this the culminating and final war for human liberty has come, and they are ready to put their own strength, their own highest purpose, their own integrity and devotion to the test.” Wilson believed that if the United States needed to be a part of a League of Nations in charge of keeping peace around the world, this would keep America

President Woodrow Wilson had secured the political clout to establish foreign policy after World War I. However, the Europeans, especially the two major powers in Europe, England and France had the right to be circumspect of several aspects of Wilson’s plan. The German Delegation utilized President Wilson’s analogy that, “no single fact caused the war, but that in last analysis the whole European system is in a deeper sense responsible for the war…” (Comments of the German Delegation, 1919). European leaders could have taken offense to Wilson’s plan. President Wilson’s represented a nation that was protected by thousands of miles of oceans, and during the war the United States suffered no loss of infrastructure and economically their markets made money during the war. However, that was not the case for the European political leaders. They truly had an ax to grind against Germany. France with closer proximity to Germany than England elected to be protective and leery of Germany’s intentions after the war. Germany on the other hand was distraught over the terms laid before them by the Europeans at the Paris Peace Conference. The Germans believed they were being singled out, and that through the attrition of their sovereign territory they were losing vast economic resources and their ability to establish self-determination and self-preservation.

Out of the many speeches given by President Woodrow Wilson regarding World War One, two in particular serve as a sort of showcase of the changing role of the United States in global politics during the early 20th century. The first is Wilson’s Address to the Senate of the United States: “A World League for Peace” (“World League”). The second is Wilson’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress on the Conditions of Peace, also known as his 14 Points. Although the themes of these speeches have similar ideals such as the quest for self-determination and multiple countries uniting to prevent aggression, the proceedings at Brest-Litovsk make 14 Points speech both a continuation and a shift from the “World League” one. Wilson’s 14 Points speech reflects the commitment of the United States to enter the war and enforce its own agenda (as well as that of the other Allies), a drastic change from its earlier neutrality.

Zieger points out a great question concerning this vague reason for going to war: If the pathological character of the German state was truly the reason for American entry, why did Wilson take so long to recognize its irredeemable evil? (Zieger, 54) Other would question Wilson's motives and influences for going to war or not going to war earlier for decades to come. Wilson's vision of neutrality and facilitating as peace maker for the warring nations as Roosevelt did in 1906 (Davidson, 647) came to questionable end. Wilson's next vision would be to facilitate peace as a member of the Allies and secure the world from another such war.

Many historians continue to argue about president Woodrow Wilson’s success at the Paris Peace Conference, however the conference is regarded as one of Wilson’s biggest failures during his days. The Paris Peace Conference’s main goal was to establish the terms of peace after World War One. Moreover France and Britain which are known as the dominant powers of the Triple Entente, were seeking revenge and wanted to make Germany suffer after their glorious victory against the Triple Alliance. On the other hand president Woodrow Wilson was looking to “make the world safe for democracy (1).” President Woodrow Wilson outlined what he wanted in his famous fourteen points. His polices led to economic instability in addition to “ he invaded a number of

Wilson sought to open the world, expand trade and open connections for easier negotiations. However, all this had to fit into the scheme of the United States and western civilization. Issues over self-determination consistently played back and forth roles, both good and bad. Mainly being seen as good as long as it fit into the plan of the developed nations. Despite this if often created more problems, uprisings and ultimately destabilized Europe. Wilsonianism was a foreign policy which had its positives and negatives just like many before

President Woodrow Wilson’s “War Message” addresses the momentous event of breaking neutrality and declaring war on the German government. Wilson explains that America can no longer remain stagnant. He calls his audience to action, through a tactical combination of both structured logic and emotional inclusion. Wilson begins his deduction with several points, starting with the details of the submarine warfare and the “wholesale destruction of men, women, and children” endured not only by the American people but various other countries (2). Wilson asserts that neutrality is no longer possible since peace and the freedom of the individuals of the world were under a direct threat (5). He reassures the audience that although his intentions were the same and he fully intended on keeping the American people safe, avoiding the war and remaining uninvolved was no longer a reality (4).

In August 1914, Europe descended into war, without the support of U.S. Wilson refuses to get involve in the European conflict, until German forced Wilson to declare war on the central powers because of German’s declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare. When the war ended in November 11, 1918, Wilson negotiated a covenant for the League of Nation that he believed would sustain a world order. However at home, the congress rejected the League of Nations. Now, Wilson is admired by some scholars while hated by others. Some has praised him for his vision, while others criticized him for his impractical ideal.

Many people in Britain and France disagreed with his fourteen point plan. Wilson also created the League of Nations which was an intergovernmental organization. It was an organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace and that war never broke out again. Wilson demanded a fair treaty that created a League of Nations and allowed for self-determination of all minor states.

The Versailles succeeded in accomplishing some of Wilson’s goals. In fact, it established the League of Nations, the body critical to his vision of a new international order (Foner 761). In addition to this, it applied the principle of self-determination to eastern Europe and reconstructed the map of that region. Starting with the ruins of the Astro-Hungarian empire as well as parts of Germany and czarist Russia, new European nations formed as a result of the War-Finland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Yugoslavia (Foner 761). Moreover, in spite of Wilson’s oath of peace without territorial gains or retribution, the Versailles Treaty was a jarring document that all but promised future conflict in Europe.

In front of the US Congress on January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson enumerated his Fourteen Points created to ensure a more peaceful world. In the last point, the American president expressed the need to form a “general association of nations…formed on the basis of covenants designed to create mutual guarantees of the political independence and territorial integrity of states, large and small equally”. In order to succeed, Wilson’s ideas were in need of some kind of regulation or enforcement which fostered international

Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States and held the office from 1913-1921. He became known as “the Crusader” and earned the label for his passionate belief that America should be a beacon of liberty and aggressively pursue the spread of democracy throughout the world. Wilson felt America could prosper economically and develop a community of international security through the promotion of democracy to other nations. In his book Diplomacy, Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger says, President Woodrow Wilson’s foreign policy (Known as Wilsonianism), “It is above all to the drumbeat of Wilsonian idealism that American foreign policy has marched since his watershed presidency, and continues to march to this day.”2