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Wilson's Fourteen Points
By Sharon Fabian
President Woodrow Wilson was planning a speech to give to Congress. This
would be a speech to a joint session of Congress, which meant that members of
both the Senate and the House of Representatives would be there.
Like all modern presidents, President Wilson had experts to help him decide just
what to say in his speech, but this one still must have taken a lot of thought. The
speech that President Wilson was preparing to make on January 8, 1918, would be
his plan for ending World War I. Wilson had not wanted to enter the war in the
first place, but world events had eventually brought the United States into the war.
Now that the war was ending, he hoped for an agreement that would provide world
peace in the future. He wanted a plan that would save the world from ever having
another world war.
In his speech, Wilson said that "the peoples of the world are partners." He even
said that Germany, our enemy in the war, should be treated with fairness and
respect. He said, "We wish her (Germany) only to accept a place of equality
among the peoples of the world."
President Wilson and his advisors decided on a speech that broke his plan down into fourteen points. The fourteen
points covered all of the problems that Wilson thought needed to be addressed. There were several points about
what to do with the lands that were claimed by more than one country. There were points about how to deal with
Germany and the other defeated countries. There were also points aimed at avoiding future wars.
Point one said that the peace agreements should be held in the open; there should be no secret deals. Point two said
that all countries should have freedom to sail the seas. Point three called for open trade between nations. Point four
called for arms reduction. Points five through thirteen dealt with the way in which claims to land would be settled.
They called for a breakup of the large empires and for allowing groups of people to decide on the futures of their
own countries. Point fourteen called for the formation of the League of Nations. This would be an international
organization that would settle disputes, so that those disputes would not escalate into wars.
One thing that Wilson's plan did not call for was punishment. His plan would not treat the defeated countries
harshly. Wilson felt that this was an important step toward peace in the future.
His plan was one that he felt was fair for all of the countries involved; it was not only what was best for the United
States. As Wilson said, "Unless justice is done to others, it will not be done to us."
For now, President Wilson was only presenting his speech to the United States Congress. Eventually, when it was
time for the peace conference, he hoped to present this plan to all of the countries that had been involved in World
War I. He also hoped that all of the countries would accept his plan. Finally, he hoped that there would never be
another world war.
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Wilson's Fourteen Points
Questions
1. Woodrow Wilson was president of ______.
A. Russia
B. France
C. Germany
D. Serbia
E. the United States
2. ______ heard Wilson's speech on January 8, 1918.
A. soldiers and sailors
B. senators and representatives
C. advisors and writers
D. presidents and kings
3. Which did Wilson think was most important?
A. to avoid future wars
B. to gain territory for the U.S.
C. to punish Germany
D. to make Germany pay for the war
4. Wilson's Fourteen Points called for all of the following except ______.
A. freedom of the seas
B. a League of Nations
C. secret agreements
D. arms reduction
5. This article is mainly about ______.
A. Wilson's accomplishments as president
B. Wilson's career as a politician
C. Wilson's peace plan
D. Wilson's family life
6. Which point called for countries to get rid of some of their weapons?
A. point 12
B. point 3
C. point 10
D. point 14
E. point 4
7. Did Congress agree with Wilson's plan?
A. the article does not say
B. no
C. yes
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8. In this article, the word league means ______.
A. a sports team
B. a country
C. an organization
D. an agreement