World+War+1+da

= Woodrow Wilson =

==== In the summer of 1914 all of Europe was in war. Wilson called upon the United States to be neutral "even in spirit," but few Americans were able to remain impartial. For two years the president made every effort to avoid war. Even after the unarmed British liner Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine then he argued: "There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight." ====

==== On Jan. 8, 1918, he announced his Fourteen Points as the basis for a peace settlement. They were more than peace terms they were terms for a better world. He followed this speech with his famous "self-determination" speech on February 11 in which he said: "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. . . . " ====