Question

Which of the following did Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” speech to Congress not call for?
A. Reduction of national armaments
B. Return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
C. Formation of an association of nations
D. Restoration of Russian monarchy

Answer 1

Hint: Woodrow Wilson is the former President of the United States of America. The very famous “Fourteen Point” speech of his, made at the Congress on January 8, 1918, was a proposition for peaceful negotiations between nations by the end of World War I.

Complete Answer: World War I saw the rise of two opposing sides, which were allies bound with treaties in Europe and thereby, due to the colonial effect, all around the world. The two opposite sides were the Central Powers and the Allied Powers.

World War I ended with the victory of the Allied Powers with a parallel fall of the Russian Empire and the rise of the Bolsheviks. The speech of Woodrow Wilson was aimed at securing lasting international peace and the end of all possible hostilities between the enemy nations to avoid any further such war.

Looking at the options,

Option A- Wilson had suggested the reduction of national armaments to avoid any provocative actions or looming security threats in the future.

Option B- The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France was aimed at restoring the status-quo before the war and to avoid any direct hostilities between France and Germany.

Option C- The formation of an association of nations, which was officially founded in the year 1920, was to check any aggressor in the future from increasing the tensions in the international arena.

Option D- The fall of the Russian Empire was a domestic issue of the Russian sovereign state. Thus, it had no reason to find a mention in a speech aimed at forming the future code of conduct amongst nations on an international platform.

Thus, option (D) is the correct answer.

Note : The “Fourteen Point” speech by Woodrow Wilson is said to be the marking point of the discourse of International Relations. The League of Nations, which was the first International Organisation to be formed, had found its origin in his speech and therefore, Wilson is also known as Father of the League of Nations.