Self-determination

Wilson also supported self-determination, the principle that peoples should be able to decide their political future. His proposals included an independent Poland with access to the sea and opportunities for autonomous development for peoples within Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. He supported restoring Belgium and returning Alsace-Lorraine to France.

Many recently independent African and Asian states viewed the Palestinian struggle through their own experiences of colonial rule. They supported Palestinian self-determination and some defended armed struggle as a means of national liberation, even while expressing regret at civilian deaths.

Native American activism challenged government policy and strengthened demands for self-determination without resolving every land dispute or ending poverty.