Document 2 National aspirations must be respected; people may now be dominated and governed only by their own consent.
"Self determination" is not a mere phrase. It is an imperative principle of action, which statesmen will henceforth
ignore at their peril. This war had its roots in the disregard of the rights of small nations and of nationalities
which lacked the union and the force to make good their claim to determine their own allegiances and their own
forms of political life. Covenants (Agreements) must now be entered into which will render such things
impossible for the future, and those covenants must be backed by the united force of all nations that love justice
and are willing to maintain it at any cost...
excerpt from speech by Woodrow Wilson to Congress Feb. 11, 1919
3) How would this idea of Wilson benefit the minority populations (Slavs, Poles, Serbs, etc.) existing within
European countries? |
I