Following the end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson presented his Fourteen Points Plan on January 8, 1918. This act was one of the greatest and most critical steps towards peace in the 20^th century. We see that not all the fourteen points were accepted by the European countries as President Wilson meant them to be. In fact, a few points were not carried out all. As with any international peace treaty, several compromises had to be made in order to issue the Treaty of Versailles. President Wilson agreed to make some compromises in order to please the European countries, while he made others due to worldwide changes as a result of World War I.

            Firstly, in Wilson’s Fourteen Points Plan, his third point called for, “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.” This point was ignored by the European countries and was not stated in the Treaty of Versailles. I believe that Wilson made this compromise because after the war, various ethnic groups were scattered across Europe, and immigration was spreading more than ever across the world’s countries, particularly European countries and the United States.(Source 4) These facts made it nearly impossible to maintain cultural or economic borders. Each country housed a multitude of ethnic enclaves, such as the American Chinatown or Little Italy. Each enclave had a different economic status thus making it a very tedious task to regulate prices or maintain any type of economic border.

            Secondly, Wilson’s sixth point called for not only “The evacuation of all Russian territory,” but also the cooperation of the world’s countries in “obtaining for her (Russia) an unhampered and unembarrassed opportunity for the independent determination of her own political development and national policy.” (Becker, Carl. Modern History: The Rise of a Democratic, Scientific, and Industrialized Civilization) As a result of the Treaty of Versailles, the Allies agreed to evacuate Russia. However, they “tried to overthrow Soviet government.” I believe that Wilson agreed to this compromise as well because of the post-war worldwide changes. At the end of World War I, the Russian Revolution resulted in a Communist government.(Source 1) This Communism was not accepted by most European countries and the Allies, unsurprisingly, felt compelled to attempt the reformation of the Soviet Union. As a result, Wilson had no choice but to accept the compromise.

            Thirdly, Wilson’s second point called for “absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters.” Clearly, Wilson thought such action necessary in order to maintain peace among nations and to prevent such a scandal as the sinking of the Lusitania to pierce our hearts again. However, the Allies, particularly Great Britain, did not see freedom of the seas from Wilson’s perspective. As a result of the Treaty of Versailles, “Britain refused to consider (Wilson’s second point) and this was never discussed at the Peace Conference.” (Source 3) I believe that President Wilson chose to accept this compromise in order to please Great Britain and not to delay the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

            Lastly, Wilson’s first point called for “open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understandings of any kind.” This point clearly refers to the secret treaties signed by the Allies, such as the Treaty of London and the Sykes-Picot Agreement, to divide land in Europe and the Ottoman Empire among themselves.(Source 1) However, this point was “largely ignored” in the Treaty of Versailles. Once again, I express the belief that Wilson accepted this compromise only to please the Allies and prevent the rest of his points from being rejected. Had the Allies agreed to this critical point, then perhaps several future wars would have been avoided.

            In conclusion, the Fourteen Points Plan suggested a nearly immaculate plan for world peace which should be taken as guidance by present and future leaders. In addition, Woodrow Wilson provides an inspiration to all ambitious young leaders hoping to inspire world peace. It is quite unfortunate that compromises had to be made in order to pass the Treaty of Versailles. Had the world’s countries acted more cooperatively, perhaps many lives would have been spared. Yet, it remains a lesson to humanity compromises should not be made or taken lightly, or rather, opposed as a result of individual goals or prejudices.

– Ayah Gouda