Editing Treaty of Versailles (section)

===Role of the Fourteen Points===
{{main|American entry into World War&nbsp;I|Fourteen Points}}

The United States entered the war against the Central Powers in 1917 and President [[Woodrow Wilson]] played a significant role in shaping the peace terms. His expressed aim was to detach the war from nationalistic disputes and ambitions. On 8 January 1918, Wilson issued the [[Fourteen Points]]. They outlined a policy of [[free trade]], [[secret treaty|open agreements]], and democracy. While the term was not used, [[self-determination]] was assumed. It called for a negotiated end to the war, international disarmament, the withdrawal of the Central Powers from occupied territories, the creation of a [[History of Poland during World War I|Polish state]], the redrawing of Europe's borders along ethnic lines, and the formation of a [[League of Nations]] to guarantee the political independence and territorial integrity of all states.{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=429}}<ref name="Fourteen Points Speech" group=n.>[[s:Fourteen Points Speech|President Wilson's "Fourteen Points" Speech]]</ref>
It called for what it characterised as a just and democratic peace uncompromised by territorial [[annexation]]. The Fourteen Points were based on the research of the [[The Inquiry|Inquiry]], a team of about 150 advisors led by foreign-policy advisor [[Edward M. House]], into the topics likely to arise in the expected peace conference.{{sfn|Cooper|2011|pp=422–424}}