January 8, 1918 - Pres. Woodrow Wilson (right) gives his Fourteen Points speech to Congress. Having entered World War I in April 1917, the United States began mobilizing for war. That fall, Wilson formed a special study group to develop American war aims and address issues that could arise at a potential peace conference. Drawing on the principles of progressivism which had shaped domestic policy over the previous decade, the group developed a list of terms which it believed would deliver a just and lasting peace.
Presenting these to Congress on January 8, 1918, Wilson dubbed them the "Fourteen Points." Focusing on free trade, self-determination of peoples, and open diplomacy, he encouraged other Allied nations to adopt them. While the Allies nominally accepted them, Germany ultimately embraced the Fourteen Points as the basis for the armistice in November 1918. The following year, key Allied nations, such as Britain, France, and Italy, effectively dismissed the Fourteen Points during the Paris Peace Conference and instead drafted the Treaty of Versailles. A harsh peace, its terms helped set the stage for World War II twenty years later.
World War I - 1918 Battles
Photograph Courtesy of the Library of Congress
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