Happy Thanksgiving!
For today, continue to listen to the available podcasts and complete the notes. Once completed with that complete the following steps: (1) comment on my post below (2) create a post on your blog, based on the effects of WWI, using the notes sheet to develop a question, comment, or perspective which you think requires further discussion or consideration, and (3) comment on at least 1 other student blog post (the one on the effects of WWI).
As the war was dragging on, Woodrow Wilson realized that offering a peaceful and forgiving settlement would help bring about the end of the war. His reasoning was that if Germany was not severely punished under terms of unconditional surrender, they would be more likely to agree to peace. This was the purpose of the 14 Points in which he outlined 3 goals: (1) prevent future wars by upholding freedom of the seas, ending secret alliances, and limiting militarism, (2) settling border problems in Europe, and (3) the creation of a League of Nations. His ideas were "agreed to" and an armistice occurred. During negotiations in Versailles, Germany learned that the Allies were not intent on being as forgiving as they originally stated. One result, against the protest of Wilson, was a humiliated and severely punished Germany which eventually led the world to a second world war. Was Wilson unrealistic, naive, and overly idealistic which caused his plans to fail? Or was he a man of genius who was ahead of his time and that, should his ideas been followed (including the US joining the League of Nations), would have prevented World War II?
I think Wilson may have been a little naive in thinking that the Allies would be completely forgiving of Germany, considering that, at the time, it was believed that Germany was wholely responsible for what was the largest-scale conflict the world had ever seen. However, his idea that being more forgiving of Germany would prevent future wars was a good one. The Allies could have found some middle ground between the harsh conditions they settled on and the suggestions of Wilson that would have served both purposes.
ReplyDeleteI think that while Wilson's ideas were genius, but he was a little naive in that he thought they would be carried out that smoothly. He didn't have the proper support to make his ideas work. His own country didn't even want to back his ideas, so I think that made the European countries loose faith in the program and then that justified their harsh treatment of Germany. So while his ideas were brilliant and his intent was good, Wilson should've made sure he had sufficient backing from both his own country and others before pushing his ideas on them.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Wilson was overly naive. I think he was aware of the current situation and the reaction people would have to his proposal. While he hoped it would be successful I think he knew that it would be controversial. Sometimes the point of getting an idea out is not that it will catch on, but that it will move thinking in a new direction, and be influential in times to come.
ReplyDeleteThat word: naive. If he was right, but the rest of the world was not, does that make him naive, or does that make the rest of the world naive? Had they understood the consequences of their actions, as Wilson did, they would have agreed to his ideas, right?
ReplyDelete"Sometimes the point of getting an idea out is not that it will catch on, but that it will move thinking in a new direction..." Great point, Kate. When faced with the choice between doing the 'right' thing and the popular thing, most politicians fear retribution at the polls and go along with the loudest voices, whether or not that is best for the situation. Many of the world's prophetic voices are appreciated only in retrospect.
ReplyDeleteI think that Wilson was incredibly naive to think that his ideas could come to fruition. It would have been nice if the rest of the world had followed his idea and I believe it could have prevented WWII. The problem was Britain and France hated the Germans. They wanted the Germans to suffer and logic was not going to get in the way.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Wilson was naive, he was simply a man who believed stongly in his ideas and wanted to present them on the world stage. We speak as if his actions were pointless, yet we are still here discussing them, and they did influence the League of Nations, so was it not better for him to present his convictions and fail than to be yet another lame duck president?
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Wilson having the idea of thinking ahead to future conflicts and the outcomes of the Allies' decisions made him naive. Not at all. It made the others naive. It was just unfortunate that the idea was ahead of his time, and that he wasn't taken seriously. I think Wilson was on the smart to think of a strategy that would help smooth things into peace. The fact that he was thinking all of this, something no one else was, shows that he wasn't a failure (answering Ben's question). I think that had Wilson not even at least presented the idea, at least taking some form of smart appeasement, then we would have looked back on him as a failure.
ReplyDeleteI think that Wilson knew exactly what he was getting into with the 14 points. I think that he knew it was going to be a long shot and was going to take some work to get it going in the right direction. The world needed a plan other than just running Germany into the ground and thats what Wilson provided. He had a brilliant idea and it is a shame that the rest of the world was unable to follow. However being so brilliant he probably should have seen that other people such as the French and the British wanted revenge rather than peace and adjusted his plan accordingly.
ReplyDeleteWilson wasn't naive. His plans could have been effective if other countries (and the people of the U.S.) had fully agreed with him. Instead, the Allies just paid lip service to his ideas so that Germany was lured into giving up. Europe would have been much more stable if Germany hadn't been punished so severely. They wouldn't have resented the Allies so much, and it's possible that World War Two wouldn't have happened.
ReplyDeleteI think that although Wilson was not a foolish man naive has lost all meaning after being used this many time for so many different reasons) he still focused to much attention on the world and not enough on home. If the idea had passed then yes it would of been great for freedom, peace and such forth but a main reason it failed was from home. Wilson spent to much time making everyone else like the idea that Americans did not. When they did not like it then no one else wanted to agree to something that the presenter will not agree with. I think that Wilson was a great thinker but he placed to much thought on the woes of the world and not what his country wanted.
ReplyDeleteWell, there is no real way of knowing for sure whether or not following Wilson's points would have avoided the development of WWII. However, I think it is entirely possible. When you think about it, it would seem like increased chances of success. The world was harsh on Germany after the war, so Germany retaliated years later and "caused" WWII. Therefore, perhaps had we followed the 14 Points, there might not have been. How are we to know? What we did indirectly led to WWII, so maybe doing this differently just might have avoided it. Wilson was right in gauging Germany's response; he knew the world should not be too harsh. The world didn't listen, and so came WWII. This is a strong argument in the case of Wilson, I think, because it shows him to indeed be ahead of his time. He knew what to do, but he was largely ignored.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Wilson had really good intentions and was a genius for coming up with the plan however at the same time I think he was naive to believe the American people would go along with it as well as the other Allied Nations. All the other nations were too ticked off with Germany to even care about lessening the treaty, however if it weren't for those feelings of hate then it probably could have prevented WWII.
ReplyDelete(I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner, I just learned about the assignment yesterday because I was absent for 3 school days.)
ReplyDeleteI believe that Wilson was ahead of his time, and I think he was rather wise. He believed in a peaceful, forgiving approach that would allow Germany to not totally hate the allied powers. I think he knew that, under the right circumstances, Germany could be capable of severe damage in the future. The Allied powers provided the right circumstances - they ignored their own promise that Germany wouldn't be punished too severely if it surrendered, and Germany was severely punished. Then again I wouldn't say that Wilson was ahead of his time; I think he just possessed good common sense, while the other allied governments were so blinded by hatred and bias at this point that they could never see that common sense.
Regarding origami's comment, is it the responsibility of the President to carry out the will of the people, or act in what he or she thinks is in the nation's best interests? Or is the will of the people always in the best interests of the nation?
ReplyDeleteI don't really think Wilson was naive, maybe a little ahead of his time but it is important to get ideas out there even if they might not work. Also I think Wilson tried really hard to make his idea work. In Spanish we watched a video about the importance of the fisrt person to follow an idea. I think the same thing applies here. If Wilson had more support, especially from the US I think his idea would have worked better.
ReplyDeleteI think Wilson was ahead of his time. He had a great idea worked out. But he was definitly naive in the way in which he went about it, I think he should have thought about the fact that it was bound to fail if he's own nation wasn't willing to back him.
ReplyDeleteWhen we talked about this in class a few weeks ago, I asked how Wilson could propose and try to start a plan like this, yet not have the U.S. actually involved in it, and I think that certainly is a valid point when considering his naivetivity. I think Wilson should have thought more about how much support he'd get from the home front before he decided to try to put the plan in action. I do agree with Kate about how it was just an idea, rather than something that he immediately wanted to work; he was just putting the suggestion out there. I just think he would have been a lot more successful if he had taken the American people's opinion into consideration.
ReplyDelete