Fourteen Points

One of Wilson’s most common words is the adjective “frank.” The word means honest and not hiding secret agendas. Wilson uses the word both as a compliment for his allies and as a vision for what future diplomacy must be like. It connects with Wilson’s desire for a democratic world working together to solve problems without war. On a practical level, secret deals between leaders helped cause World War I. Plus, he is concerned that Russia will strike a separate peace with the Central Powers. He wants to prevent that by pressuring them to keep negotiations under public scrutiny and by raising the question of whether the Central Powers are being honest in their negotiations.

Wilson’s 14 points include several specific references to international treaties as the basis for future peace. His use of “international” encapsulates his vision of many countries working together to solve problems and prevent future wars. A covenant is an agreement or a treaty struck between nations about how to handle an issue or work together in the future. The rules set out in these treaties can become general rules for how nations act, which is one main source of international law. Sometimes long-standing customs about what is or is not acceptable can also be considered international law. An international guarantee is a promise by multiple countries to enforce a treaty or law, potentially including military action. The idea is to protect weaker countries from potential attackers by promising that the rest of the world will unite to stop the aggressor.

Sovereignty means a country’s right to control what happens inside its borders. Wilson uses the term frequently but in the limited sense of independence. His concern is to forbid one country from invading another. Such an invasion violates the right of sovereignty. However, Wilson seems to value issues like free trade and self-determination over sovereignty. The right of ethnic groups within the Central Powers to autonomous development trumps those empires’ sovereign right to control people within their borders.