In early 1918, to counter the powerful appeal of Bolshevism, Woodrow Wilson had come out with his idealistic Fourteen Points and a resounding call for the self-determination of nations and peoples after the war. His own Secretary of State, Robert Lansing, was appalled by the President’s broadside. The call for self-determination, Lansing was sure, would result in many deaths around the world. “A man, who is a leader of public thought, should beware of intemperate or undigested declarations,” he said. “He is responsible for the consequences.
