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President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points

By President Woodrow Wilson
1918

Over ten million soldiers were killed during World War I (1914-1918). The war began soon after the
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Woodrow Wilson served as U.S. President during the
war, and gave a speech to the U.S. Congress as the war was drawing to a close in January of 1918 that
outlined his hopes for how to both resolve the war and prevent a similar war in the future. The following
text is an excerpt from that speech. As you read, take notes on what Wilson thought would be necessary to
prevent future wars.

[1] It will be our wish and purpose that the processes

of peace, when they are begun, shall be
absolutely open and that they shall involve and
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permit henceforth no secret understandings of
any kind. The day of conquest and
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aggrandizement is gone by; so is also the day of
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secret covenants entered into in the interest of
particular governments and likely at some
unlooked-for moment to upset the peace of the
world. It is this happy fact, now clear to the view
of every public man whose thoughts do not still
5
linger in an age that is dead and gone, which
makes it possible for every nation whose
purposes are consistent with justice and the
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peace of the world to avow nor or at any other
time the objects it has in view.

"U.S. President Woodrow Wilson" by Frank Graham Cootes is in

the public domain.

1. from now on
2. One of the problems that led start of World War I, and what many leaders feared would continue after the war, was
secret alliances between countries.
3. Aggrandize (verb): to increase the power or status of something
4. Covenant (noun): an agreement or promise between two parties that is regarded as serious or sacred
5. Linger (verb): to stay longer than expected
6. Avow (verb): to openly declare

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We entered this war because violations of right had occurred which touched us to the quick and made
the life of our own people impossible unless they were corrected and the world secure once for all
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against their recurrence. What we demand in this war, therefore, is nothing peculiar to ourselves. It is
that the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for every peace-
loving nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions, be assured
of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world as against force and selfish aggression. All
the peoples of the world are in effect partners in this interest, and for our own part we see very clearly
that unless justice be done to others it will not be done to us. The program of the world’s peace,
therefore, is our program; and that program, the only possible program, as we see it, is this:

I. Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international
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understandings of any kind but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view.

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II. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters, alike in peace and in war,
except as the seas may be closed in whole or in part by international action for the enforcement of
international covenants.

[5] III. The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers and the establishment of an equality of
trade conditions among all the nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its
maintenance.

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IV. Adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest
point consistent with domestic safety.

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V. A free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon a strict
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observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the
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populations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the government whose
title is to be determined.

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VI. The evacuation of all Russian territory and such a settlement of all questions affecting Russia as
will secure the best and freest cooperation of the other nations of the world in obtaining for her an
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unhampered and unembarrassed opportunity for the independent determination of her own
political development and national policy and assure her of a sincere welcome into the society of free
nations under institutions of her own choosing; and, more than a welcome, assistance also of every
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kind that she may need and may herself desire. The treatment accorded Russia by her sister nations
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in the months to come will be the acid test of their good will, of their comprehension of her needs as
distinguished from their own interests, and of their intelligent and unselfish sympathy.

7. “Touched us to the quick” is an idiom meaning that “one is deeply worried.”

8. Recurrence (noun): to happen again
9. Peculiar (adjective): characteristic of one person, group, or thing
10. Frankly (adverb): in an open, honest manner
11. During World War I, German submarines attacked both military and commercial ships.
12. military weapons and equipment
13. Most of the European powers involved in World War I controlled colonies in Africa or the Middle East.
14. Sovereignty (noun): a country's independent authority and right to govern itself
15. Equitable (adjective): fair or just
16. During the final stages of WWI, Russia was in the midst of a revolution and a civil war, and her future was uncertain.
Wilson was attempting to establish diplomatic relations with the Russian government (at the time controlled by the
Communist party) and convince Russia to stay in the war.
17. Unhampered (adjective): to be able to operate without interference
18. Accord (verb): to give something

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VII. Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be evacuated and restored, without any attempt to
limit the sovereignty which she enjoys in common with all other free nations. No other single act will
serve as this will serve to restore confidence among the nations in the laws which they have
themselves set and determined for the government of their relations with one another. Without this
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healing act the whole structure and validity of international law is forever impaired.

[10] VIII. All French territory should be freed and the invaded portions restored, and the wrong done to
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France by Prussia in 1871 in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine, which has unsettled the peace of the
world for nearly fifty years, should be righted, in order that peace may once more be made secure in
the interest of all.

IX. A readjustment of the frontiers of Italy should be effected along clearly recognizable lines of
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nationality.

X. The peoples of Austria-Hungary, whose place among the nations we wish to see safeguarded and
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assured, should be accorded the freest opportunity to autonomous development.

XI. Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated; occupied territories restored; Serbia
accorded free and secure access to the sea; and the relations of the several Balkan states to one
another determined by friendly counsel along historically established lines of allegiance and
nationality; and international guarantees of the political and economic independence and territorial
integrity of the several Balkan states should be entered into.

XII. The Turkish portion of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but
the other nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of
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life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development, and the Dardanelles
should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all nations under
international guarantees.

[15] XIII. An independent Polish state should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by
indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and
whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by
international covenant.

XIV. A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of
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affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small
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states alike.

19. a test that will reveal whether something will be successful or not
20. Belgium was occupied by the German army after they invaded the country.
21. Validity (noun): acceptable according to the law
22. Impair (verb): to make something worse
23. In 1871, what is now Germany was called Prussia, and the Prussian government took control over an area called
Alsace-Lorraine in France.
24. Italian politicians were hoping that after the war they would gain control over more territory, but Wilson believed
Italy should only retain control over areas where the majority of people considered themselves to be Italian.
25. Autonomous (adjective): having the power or right to govern itself
26. not interfered with
27. a waterway on the coast of Turkey that forms part of the continental boundary between Europe and Asia
28. Mutual (adjective): shared between people or groups
29. Wilson hoped to create a “League of Nations,” which would serve as an international peacekeeping organization. The

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In regard to these essential rectifications of wrong and assertions of right we feel ourselves to be
intimate partners of all the governments and peoples associated together against the Imperialists. We
cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We stand together until the end.

For such arrangements and covenants we are willing to fight and to continue to fight until they are
achieved; but only because we wish the right to prevail and desire a just and stable peace such as can
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be secured only by removing the chief provocations to war, which this program does remove. We
have no jealousy of German greatness, and there is nothing in this program that impairs it. We grudge
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her no achievement or distinction of learning or of pacific enterprise such as have made her record
very bright and very enviable. We do not wish to injure her or to block in any way her legitimate
influence or power. We do not wish to fight her either with arms or with hostile arrangements of trade
if she is willing to associate herself with us and the other peace- loving nations of the world in
covenants of justice and law and fair dealing. We wish her only to accept a place of equality among the
peoples of the world, -- the new world in which we now live, -- instead of a place of mastery.

“Fourteen Points” by Woodrow Wilson (1918) is in the public domain.

United Nations currently shares many of the basic characteristics that Wilson advocated for with the League of
Nations.
30. Rectification (noun): a correction of something that was wrong
31. Assertion (noun): a confident statement
32. Provocation (noun): an action or occurrence that causes someone to become angry or to begin to do something
33. peaceful

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 Text-Dependent Questions
Directions: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. Why does the author include the phrase “All the peoples of the world are in effect partners
in this interest” in paragraph 2 of the text?
A. To explain that the Fourteen Points are intended to create peace not just to
benefit the United States, but the entire world.
B. To argue that since the entire world was involved in the war, the Fourteen Points
must be accepted by all nations.
C. To reveal that Fourteen Points will be directed towards Germany, since it will
have to pay a war debt with interest.
D. To reveal that Wilson wanted to unite all peoples of the world against war.

2. Which statement best describes the relationship between Belgium and Alsace-Lorraine in
the text?
A. Neither were occupied by German forces during the war, but both will be
controlled by Germany after the war.
B. Both were occupied by Germany during the war and will be returned to France.
C. Both were areas taken over by a foreign power and will be returned to their
previous state.
D. German forces will be evacuated from Alsace-Lorraine but not from Belgium.

3. Which phrase best summarizes Wilson’s hopes for Germany after the war is over?
A. Wilson wants Germany to realize it will never be allowed to attempt to conquer
Europe again.
B. Wilson wants Germany to be a part of the international community, instead of
trying to rule it.
C. Wilson hopes that his “Fourteen Points” will prevent Germany from returning to
greatness.
D. Wilson hopes that Germany will regain its influence and power.

4. Which of the following best describes the relationship among Wilson’s Fourteen Points?
A. Points 1-5 refer to how to create world peace, points 5-14 refer to how to make
sure Germany never rises to power again.
B. Points 1-4 refer to the importance of making alliances public, and points 5-14
refer to the importance of resolving territorial disputes.
C. All of the 14 points refer to how to create world peace by maintaining stable
international relationships.
D. Points 1-4 refers to changes in diplomacy, points 5-13 refer to the resolution of
territorial disputes, and point 14 calls for the creation of an international
peacekeeping organization.

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5. Identify how Wilson chooses to structure the Fourteen Points. Evaluate how Wilson’s
structure affects the clarity and persuasiveness of the text.