Updated Dec. 4, 2023 at 12:00 p.m.
Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921, during a period when the U.S. came into its role as a global power. His accomplishments would include the first-ever presidential trip to Europe.
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Why did Woodrow Wilson go to Europe?
At the end of World War I, Wilson created the League of Nations, the first international organization whose role was to maintain world peace. To attend the Paris Peace Conference following the War, Wilson became the first U.S. president in office to visit Europe. At the time, it required a nine-day Ocean journey from New Jersey to Brittany.
What was the Paris Peace Conference?
The Paris Peace Conference was called to set the terms of the peace after World War I. About 30 nations participated, but the conference was dominated by the “Big Four”: Italy, France, United Kingdom and the United States. The Conference led to the signature of the Treaty of Versailles, which put an end to World War I.
What was Wilson’s role at the Paris Peace Conference?
At the Paris Peace Conference, Woodrow Wilson was a strong advocate of creating an international structure to preserve a lasting peace. At the conference, he made a speech promoting his Fourteen Points, a statement of principles for peace that was to be used in the peace negotiations. They included trade equality, arms reduction and the right to self-determination but were not included in the Treaty of Versailles.