Fourteen Points and the League of Nations
Before and After: Prior Knowledge and Text Reading Activity
Standards Alignment
Text
Before and After Student Response Activity
Standards Alignment
California State Standards for Grade 10
•
10.6 Students analyze the effects of the First World War.
– 1. Analyze the aims and negotiating roles of world leaders, the terms and influence of the
Treaty of Versailles and Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, and the causes and effects of the
United States' rejection of the League of Nations on world politics.
– 2. Describe the effects of the war and resulting peace treaties on population movement, the
international economy, and shifts in the geographic and political borders of Europe and the
Middle East.
– 3. Understand the widespread disillusionment with prewar institutions, authorities, and values
that resulted in a void that was later filled by totalitarians.
Common Core Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Science for Grades 9 & 10 Students:
•
RH 1 - Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending
to such features as the date and origin of the information.
•
RH 3 - Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused
later ones or simply preceded them.
•
RH 4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary
describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social studies.
Common Core Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Science for Grades 9 & 10 Students:
•
WHST 2 - Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific
procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
– b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions,
concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s
knowledge of the topic.
– d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic
and convey a style appropriate to the discipline and context as well as to the expertise of likely
readers.
Fourteen Points and the League of Nations
Before and After prior Knowledge and Reading Activity
Wilson Presents His Plan
President Wilson presented his plan for world peace to Congress in January 1918. The plan was
called his Fourteen Points. The first five points suggested ways that wars could be avoided. They stated that
(1) countries should not make secret treaties with one another, (2) freedom of the seas should be
maintained, (3) tariffs should be lowered to promote free trade, (4) countries should reduce their weapons,
and (5) the interests of the colonial people should be considered.
The next eight points suggested new national boundaries. Wilson believed in self-determination
different ethnic groups in Europe. He believed different ethnic groups should be able to decide for
themselves what nation they want to belong to or whether or not they should create their own nation.
Imagine if Bosnia was allowed to decide whether or not they wanted to be a part of Austria-Hungary?
Gavrilo Princip would not have shot Franz Ferdinand!
The fourteenth point called for the creation of an international organization to address diplomatic
crisis like those that had sparked the war. It was to be called the League of Nations. This international
organization would provide a place for nations to discuss and settle their problems without having to go to
war. It would include 32 nations. The U.S., Britain, France, Japan, and Italy would make up the leadership.
Germany and Russia were left out of the League.
Allies Reject Wilson’s Plan
Wilson met with leaders of France and Great Britain, George Clemenceau and David Lloyd George,
to discuss the terms of peace. These leaders had won the war, and they wanted to punish Germany;
especially France. They did not like Wilson’s Fourteen Points because they thought it was too soft on
Germany. Wilson had to give up most of his Fourteen Points. However, the one he insisted on keeping was
the League of Nations. After much debate, France, Great Britain, and Italy eventually agreed to the creation
of a League of Nations.
Debate over the League of Nations in the U.S.
However, in the United States, many people were against the creation of a League of Nations.
Conservative senators, headed by Henry Cabot Lodge, opposed joining the League. They did not like the
idea of working with other countries to take economic and military action against aggression. After the war,
they wanted the treaty to include the constitutional right of the U.S. Congress to independently declare war.
Wilson refused to compromise on the League. He would not accept any changes proposed by the
Republican leaders in Congress. As a result, the Senate failed to ratify the League of Nations. Although
France, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan created it, the United States never entered the League of Nations.
Wilson was outraged. Not only did he fail to get his way in Europe, the one thing that he managed to
succeed in during the Treaty of Versailles was rejected by his own country.
Directions: Read each of the statements. Mark each of the statements either true or false based on your
prior knowledge. Then read the information and make any corrections.
Before the
Reading:
True/False
Statement
Wilson’s plan for peace was called Thirteen
Points.
The first five points suggested the way Germany
can repay for the war.
The first five points include the idea that
countries should not make secret treaties with
each other and that countries should reduce
their weapons.
The next eight points suggested new national
boundaries.
According to Wilson’s idea of “selfdetermination”, ethnic groups should not be able
to make their own countries.
The fourteenth point called for the creation of a
League of Nations.
The League of Nations would provide a place for
nations to discuss and settle their problems on
the soccer field. It later became known as the
World Cup.
France and Great Britain did not like Wilson’s
Fourteen Points because they thought it was too
soft on Germany.
Wilson had to give up every one of his Fourteen
Points.
In the U.S., many people were against the
Fourteen Points.
Wilson would not accept any changes by the
Republican leaders in Congress regarding the
Fourteen Points.
The Senate ratified the League of Nations.
France, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan were a
part of the League of Nations, but the U.S. was
not.
After the
reading
If after the reading the statement is false, correct it by
making the statement true.