When Allied leaders met in Versailles, France, to formulate the treaty to end World War I with Germany and Austria-Hungary, most of Wilson’s 14 Points were scuttled by the leaders of England and France. The 14 Points were broadcast throughout the world and were showered from rockets and shells behind the enemy’s lines. Wilson’s 14 Points were designed to undermine the Central Powers’ will to continue, and to inspire the Allies to victory. For example, he proposed the removal of economic barriers between nations, the promise of “self-determination” for oppressed minorities, and a world organization that would provide a system of collective security for all nations.
Wilson also made proposals that would ensure world peace in the future. In the speech, Wilson directly addressed what he perceived as the causes for the world war by calling for the abolition of secret treaties, a reduction in armaments, an adjustment in colonial claims in the interests of both native peoples and colonists, and freedom of the seas.
The team began its work in secret, and in the end produced and collected nearly 2,000 separate reports and documents plus at least 1,200 maps. Their job was to study Allied and American policy in virtually every region of the globe and analyze economic, social, and political facts likely to come up in discussions during the peace conference. The details of the speech were based on reports generated by “The Inquiry,” a group of about 150 political and social scientists organized by Wilson’s adviser and long-time friend, Col. Focused attention on this generalization is almost guaranteed to stimulate all of us to view contemporary and recent national and global affairs through a new lens.In this January 8, 1918, speech on War Aims and Peace Terms, President Wilson set down 14 points as a blueprint for world peace that was to be used for peace negotiations after World War I. 3) Jeffrey Wasserstrom and Maura Elizabeth Cunningham artfully use one of the most discussed recent and ongoing development in global affairs, the Xi Jinping so-called “Era” to high light a seemingly simple generalization that many, if not most, of my students have not considered: historical eras are messy and usually don’t neatly start and stop as textbook meta-narratives might suggest. In “ China and a New Era: The Latest Twist in an Enduring Pattern?” (Winter 2018, Vol.See a larger format table from Angela’s article in our online supplements. 1) uses five different historical timelines of the Imperial Period in Chinese History in lucidly demonstrating to students how varying perspectives and ideologies of individuals and groups substantially impact their perspectives on history and culture. AP World History teacher Angela Lee in “ Periodization and Historical Patterns in Chinese History: Approaches to Historical Thinking Skills in AP World History” (Spring 2016, Vol.The author utilizes similarities and differences between “Medieval” China and “Medieval” Europe to introduce social scientists and humanists who are not historians to possible common and divergent patterns in China and the West that could apply to their understanding of the contemporary world. His defense of this Latin derivative that only became a historical tool in nineteenth century Europe, is not facile but thoughtful. 3) defends the often justifiably criticized concept of periodization through defending the application of the concept “Medieval” to Chinese history. Keith Knapp in “ Did the Middle Kingdom Have a Middle Period?: The Problem of ‘Medieval’ in China’s History” (Winter 2007, Vol.How useful is Periodization? How can timelines be vehicles for historical thinking? How can students more deeply understand historical change? In the three articles that follow, students both learn history and as important, are introduced to historical thinking.