Wilson's Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson
"Fourteen Points Address" draft
Shorthand, 1918
Manuscript Division

The U.S. entered World War I in April 1917. On January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson announced his Fourteen Points, which would serve as the basis for peace in November 1918. The points are shown here in the original shorthand draft by Wilson himself (Wilson habitually drafted his speeches in shorthand). With the Fourteen Points, Wilson sought to break the will of the Central Powers to fight by promising a just peace that would guarantee national independence and self-determination for all peoples involved in the war.