Woodrow Wilson Self-determination Flashcards
definition of sd (6)
o National aspirations must be respected
o People may now be dominated and governed by their own concent
o Principle of action
• Ambiguous term
o Wilson doesn’t have a specific idea either
♣ First time he mentioned it was 22nd of January 1917
lynch on sd as altruistic
- Woodrow Wilson didn’t actually know the dynamics of European states
o He believed that self-determination had to be based on
♣ Language
• Many eastern European states (especially) have a multiplicity of ethnicity different language spoken
o E.g. many germans lived in Bohemia
o France and Britain had to point out how self-determination could lead to the fall of many countries to bolshevism
♣ This shows how the United States wasn’t concerned with its national interest when pursuing self-determination
• Falling to bolshevism from us interest - He embraced nationalism dissolution of the Hasburg-Empire when he realised that it would have happened anyways due to external causes
o Food and fuel shoratges
o Desertaion of army
o Labour unrest in Germany
o Internal raise of nationalism
♣ Clearly shows how he wasn’t strategic, but altruistic as he made the break down much quicker and violent than what it could have been if it would have led to a civil war - He never applied it to Russia
o Lenin was champion of a different type of self-determination which was coercing many minorities and going against us values
♣ The fact that he didn’t force it on it shows how it wasn’t for strategic reasons as it would have always been in us interest to decrease the USSR power
criticism of sd as altruistic in lynch
♣ The fact that he didn’t apply it to Russia knowing they were coercing minorities shows that its not fully altruistic
♣ Hasburg-Empire dissolution was in Wilson’s interest as he wanted to isolate germany in order to stop the brest-litovsk treaties
♣ If he wanted to establish it by language and dint knowt he dynamic means that it wasn’t that altruistic
dukes on sd as strategic
• Argues that self-determination was in the strategy of the US to become a world superpower
Beginning of the us being the world policeman stepping in to protect national-self determination
stevenson on sd as strategic (2)
- self-determination was a tactic to keep the allies at war
–> Spread discord in the enemy camp at precarious moments in
♣ the battlefield in the West
♣ conference table in the East - by defending self-determination so passionately Wilson made the peace settlements last a very long time
♣ since the allies were still at war many refusal of settlement were faced with military action
• e.g. Spa crown council on the 2nd of july, Germany
o let Russian-Poland be free
o rest under its rule, commanded the army and railways
• French 18th of July attacked in the Marne + british in Amiens
o Germany lost territory and made Lundendorff (the german general) want to end the war at any cost
criticism of stevenson and dukes on sd
o US had no interest in giving national independence
♣ Strategically would have just helped the Allies as they were the one able to be superior in the peace negotiations
o The fact that they it was the beginning of the us superpower is key
♣ Strategic but can be interpreted in another way if considered the clause behind it will be discussed in next paragraph
patman on sd (3)
• Scholar works on globalisation and war of terror however pictures a key idea of the United States’ ideology which could justify the call for self-determination
• US exceptionalism
o Us is a higher nation of the world as its founding principles are superior to the others
o formed from God in order to spread democracy, liberty and equality = special destiny
o military conquest justified through moral and religious reasons
♣ representative government
♣ commercial liberty
♣ humanitarian rights
• could possibly explain both the fight for self-determination and league of nation
o Wilson 22nd of January
♣ US peace creator
♣ Created for the purpose of leading the world
