Flaws Of The 14 Points Essay

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Flaws of the 14 Points Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Points speech had many implications. In this speech to Congress, Wilson described what he hoped to accomplish in a peace treaty with Germany. Wilson believed if the points were followed, the world would have lasting peace. However, the 14 Points were flawed because they spoke of justice ideals not practiced in the United States and did not take into account what the other allies desired. The 14 Points called for equality and justice around the world. Wilson said, “We see very clearly that unless justice be done to others it will not be done to us” (Wilson). Yet, there was little to no justice for African Americans at home. The Jim Crow laws were in full effect. Race riots were happening all too often. …show more content…

Within his presidency, he had endorsed a pro-KKK movie, had no objection of widening segregation among federal employees, dismissed a group of black leaders from the White House because he found their language insulting, and helped stir racial hatreds in East St. Louis by claiming Republicans colonized black voters (Kennedy, Over Here 281). Based on his words in The 14 Points and his actions towards African Americans, Wilson himself was a hypocrite, which could have contributed to how he was viewed in Europe. How can he expect the rest of the world to treat people well, when he wasn’t able to treat his own citizens equally? Wilson’s 14 points spelled out for Europe how he believed they could best coexist. Wilson wanted Germany out of Belgium, Austria-Hungary, the Balkan states, Italy, Poland and France, including the Alsace-Lorraine area. If they did that, Wilson believed there would be a lasting peace because the irritants that could incite a war would be removed. Wilson said of Germany, “We have no jealousy of German greatness,” and later said, “we do not wish to injure her…We wish her only to accept a place of equality among the peoples of the world”

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