It must be a peace without victory.... Victory would mean peace forced upon the losers, a victor’s terms imposed upon the vanquished. It would be accepted in humiliation, under duress, at an intolerable sacrifice, and would leave a sting, a resentment, a bitter memory upon which the terms of peace would rest, not permanently, but only as upon quicksand.
ATTRIBUTION:
Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924), U.S. president. Address to the U.S. Senate (January 22, 1917).
Wilson’s concept was not welcomed by America’s allies, who were pouring out their nations’ blood in search of victory.
