In contrast to its military role in 1917 and 1918, the United States stood
at the pivot of the Allies' diplomatic effort. Wilson's slogan of a war that
would "make the world safe for democracy" set a goal and a tone for
American diplomacy. The United States, more than any other participant,
committed itself openly to fundamental changes, not only in the interna
tional order, but in the way in which international relations were to be
conducted. Thus, in January 1918, President Wilson set down the framework
for negotiations leading to both the Armistice and subsequent peace
treaties in his Fourteen Points. He pressured Britain and France to accept,
at least nominally, ideas like public diplomacy and a reordering of the map
of Europe on the principles of nationality. A striking idea the American
president presented in his Fourteen Points was a League of Nations that
would help regulate international affairs after the war had been concluded.
Wilson argued that World War I thus would be the "war to end all wars."
Wilson's ideas resonated in the enemy camp. When Germany began to
negotiate for an end to the fighting, it addressed its requests to the United
States and called for a peace settlement along the lines of the Fourteen
Points. Thus, with defeat imminent, Germany's new prime minister. Prince
Max of Baden, cited the Fourteen Points as he proposed an immediate
armistice to the German Reichstag on October 5. For the remainder of the
negotiations leading to a cessation of hostilities, the lines of communication
ran from Berlin to Washington—and then to London and Paris.
World History
