Wilson's 14 points.....

[Chris Boonzaier]

All over you hear again and again... "If Wilsons 14 points had been accepted...."

my question is...

"What difference would it have made?"

[IrishGunner]

All over you hear again and again... "If Wilsons 14 points had been accepted...."

my question is...

"What difference would it have made?"

Well, it would have made no difference as long as the Europeans - mainly France - still had insisted upon crippling reparations. Wilson caved to European pressure on most points in order to save his idea of the League of Nations - which was a still born baby as well. This ideal was adopted, but never was given serious due; because the allies never wanted anything more than short-sighted punishment.

Also, if Point #1 had been interpreted to mean that Germany actually could have negotiated its terms, then it is possible there could have been a difference.

The issue is not whether the 14 Pts were a better alternative as a treaty, but they were meant to be the basis for achieving a "peace without victory". They offered the hope of a magnanimous settlement; if the allies adopted the spirit of the 14 Pts as the true basis for the peace, then it could have made a difference. It was the spirit of the Pts that mattered - not the points themselves.

[Ulsterman]

Wilson was very sick by 1919 and his diplomacy was weak due to illness. Had the US Senate ratified US entry into the League of Nations and Wilson dealt with the French firmly, things might have been different.....also having US troops garrisoned in Frankfurt for @ 20 years might have helped as well. Some wags suggest that is why the US still has large troop commitments in the UK and BRD....just in case. :whistle: