Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities

T H E   F U T U R E  
Many modern acts of political protest require a great deal of personal
courage and sacrifice. Examples include nuns staging protests against military
rule in Myanmar, students demonstrating against the ayatollahs of Iran, Israeli
soldiers conducting acts of civil disobedience to protest the occupation of
Palestinain lands, monks distributing materials calling for the independence
of Tibet, and citizens marching on the streets of African cities to protest the lack
of personal security. 
Although many of these events go unnoticed, it can be expected that with
increasing access to the Internet in many parts of the world, political protesters
will make more and more use of the Internet as a means to make online appeals,
raise funds, connect to each other, and raise awareness of their cause. 
T I A N A N M E N   S Q U A R E
P R O T E S T S
■ ■ ■
From April 15 to June 4, 1989, a
Chinese “Democracy Movement”
held demonstrations for democratic
and socialist reforms in Beijing’s
Tiananmen Square.
Largely made up of university
students and urban workers, the
originally peaceful demonstrations
were timed to coincide with Mikhail
Gorbachev’s visit to the country, and
involved around 100,000 people
with different agendas and demands.
Deng Xiaoping’s (1904–1997) grad-
ual reforms toward “socialism with
Chinese characteristics” were not
moving fast enough for some of the
groups who decried the Communist
Party’s hold on the country, while
others believed the reforms were
going too far, putting them near the
brink of economic disaster.
Ordered to end the demonstra-
tions and disperse, the crowds
remained as they were until June 3,
when the People’s Liberation Army
rolled tanks into Tiananmen Square
and began firing randomly into the
crowd. The massacre shocked the
world, and left hundreds or thousands
dead or wounded. The exact number
of casualties remains unknown, and
estimates vary widely. The event
marked a turning point for many
nations’ foreign policy regarding
China well into the twenty-first
century.

See also: 
Aung San Suu Kyi; Dalai Lama; Democracy; Freedom of Assembly
and Association; Gandhi, Mahatma; King Jr., Martin Luther.
B I B L I O G R A P H Y
Arendt, Hannah. On Revolution. New York: Viking Press, 1965.
Bell, David V. J. Resistance and Revolution. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973.
Fanon, Franz. Black Skin, White Masks. London: Pluto, 1986.
Gurr, Ted Robert. Why Men Rebel. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1970.
Keren, Michael. Zichroni v. State of Israel: The Biography of a Civil Rights Lawyer.
Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2002.
McAdam, Doug, Sidney Tarrow, and Charles Tilly. Dynamics of Contention. Cambridge,
UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Michael Keren
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
307
P o l i t i c a l   P r o t e s t

■ ■ ■
APPENDICES
P R I M A R Y   S O U R C E
D O C U M E N T S
F I L M O G R A P H Y
G L O S S A R Y
I N D E X

PRIMARY 
SOURCE
DOCUMENTS
■ ■ ■  
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
311
Constitution of the Iroquois Nations
Source:
Text form prepared by Gerald Murphy (The Cleveland Free-Net—
aa300). Distributed by the Cybercasting Services Division of the National Public
Telecomputing Network. Rendered into HTML by Jon Roland of the Constitution
Society. Available from 
Ͻhttp://www.constitution.org/cons/iroquois.htmϾ.
Introduction:
The constitution prepared by the Confederacy of the Iroquois
Nations (also called the Five Nations) is estimated to have been written
between 1450 and 1500; extracts are reproduced below. The Great Binding
Law, as it is also known, is a written record of the rules used to govern the
confederacy and represents perhaps the earliest form of nationalism and
democratic government in what would become the United States. In fact,
because the Great Law lays out a council-based form of government with
checks and balances and also specifically protects the rights of the people,
some historians feel that it directly influenced the writing of the American
Constitution in 1776. Other historians dispute that claim, asserting that the
differences between the Iroquois document and the U.S. Constitution are
too vast.
T H E   G R E AT   B I N D I N G   L AW,   G AYA N A S H A G O WA
1. I am Dekanawidah and with the Five Nations’ Confederate Lords I plant the
Tree of Great Peace. I plant it in your territory, Adodarhoh, and the Onondaga
Nation, in the territory of you who are Firekeepers.
I name the tree the Tree of the Great Long Leaves. Under the shade of this
Tree of the Great Peace we spread the soft white feathery down of the globe
thistle as seats for you, Adodarhoh, and your cousin Lords.
We place you upon those seats, spread soft with the feathery down of the
globe thistle, there beneath the shade of the spreading branches of the Tree of
Peace. There shall you sit and watch the Council Fire of the Confederacy of the
Five Nations, and all the affairs of the Five Nations shall be transacted at this
place before you, Adodarhoh, and your cousin Lords, by the Confederate Lords
of the Five Nations.

2. Roots have spread out from the Tree of the Great Peace, one to the north, one
to the east, one to the south and one to the west. The name of these roots is
The Great White Roots and their nature is Peace and Strength.
If any man or any nation outside the Five Nations shall obey the laws
of the Great Peace and make known their disposition to the Lords of the
Confederacy, they may trace the Roots to the Tree and if their minds are clean
and they are obedient and promise to obey the wishes of the Confederate
Council, they shall be welcomed to take shelter beneath the Tree of the
Long Leaves.
We place at the top of the Tree of the Long Leaves an Eagle who is able to
see afar. If he sees in the distance any evil approaching or any danger threaten-
ing he will at once warn the people of the Confederacy.
3. To you Adodarhoh, the Onondaga cousin Lords, I and the other Confederate
Lords have entrusted the caretaking and the watching of the Five Nations
Council Fire.
When there is any business to be transacted and the Confederate Council is
not in session, a messenger shall be dispatched either to Adodarhoh,
Hononwirehtonh or Skanawatih, Fire Keepers, or to their War Chiefs with a full
statement of the case desired to be considered. Then shall Adodarhoh call his
cousin (associate) Lords together and consider whether or not the case is of
sufficient importance to demand the attention of the Confederate Council. If so,
Adodarhoh shall dispatch messengers to summon all the Confederate Lords to
assemble beneath the Tree of the Long Leaves.
When the Lords are assembled the Council Fire shall be kindled, but not
with chestnut wood, and Adodarhoh shall formally open the Council.
Then shall Adodarhoh and his cousin Lords, the Fire Keepers, announce the
subject for discussion.
The Smoke of the Confederate Council Fire shall ever ascend and pierce the
sky so that other nations who may be allies may see the Council Fire of the Great
Peace.
Adodarhoh and his cousin Lords are entrusted with the Keeping of the
Council Fire. . . . 
5. The Council of the Mohawk shall be divided into three parties as follows:
Tekarihoken, Ayonhwhathah and Shadekariwade are the first party;
Sharenhowaneh, Deyoenhegwenh and Oghrenghrehgowah are the second
party, and Dehennakrineh, Aghstawenserenthah and Shoskoharowaneh are
the third party. The third party is to listen only to the discussion of the first
and second parties and if an error is made or the proceeding is irregular they
are to call attention to it, and when the case is right and properly decided
by the two parties they shall confirm the decision of the two parties and
refer the case to the Seneca Lords for their decision. When the Seneca
Lords have decided in accord with the Mohawk Lords, the case or question
shall be referred to the Cayuga and Oneida Lords on the opposite side of
the house.
6. I, Dekanawidah, appoint the Mohawk Lords the heads and the leaders of
the Five Nations Confederacy. The Mohawk Lords are the foundation of the
Great Peace and it shall, therefore, be against the Great Binding Law to pass
measures in the Confederate Council after the Mohawk Lords have protested
against them.
No council of the Confederate Lords shall be legal unless all the Mohawk
Lords are present. . . . 
312
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
C o n s t i t u t i o n   o f   t h e   I r o q u o i s   N a t i o n s

E L E C T I O N   O F   P I N E   T R E E   C H I E F S
35. Should any man of the Nation assist with special ability or show great inter-
est in the affairs of the Nation, if he proves himself wise, honest and worthy of
confidence, the Confederate Lords may elect him to a seat with them and he
may sit in the Confederate Council. He shall be proclaimed a ‘Pine Tree sprung
up for the Nation’ and shall be installed as such at the next assembly for the
installation of Lords. Should he ever do anything contrary to the rules of the
Great Peace, he may not be deposed from office—no one shall cut him down—
but thereafter everyone shall be deaf to his voice and his advice. Should he
resign his seat and title no one shall prevent him. A Pine Tree chief has no
authority to name a successor nor is his title hereditary. . . . 
O F F I C I A L   S Y M B O L I S M
55. A large bunch of shell strings, in the making of which the Five Nations
Confederate Lords have equally contributed, shall symbolize the completeness
of the union and certify the pledge of the nations represented by the
Confederate Lords of the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga and
the Senecca, that all are united and formed into one body or union called the
Union of the Great Law, which they have established.
A bunch of shell strings is to be the symbol of the council fire of the Five
Nations Confederacy. And the Lord whom the council of Fire Keepers shall
appoint to speak for them in opening the council shall hold the strands
of shells in his hands when speaking. When he finishes speaking he shall
deposit the strings on an elevated place (or pole) so that all the assembled
Lords and the people may see it and know that the council is open and in
progress.
When the council adjourns the Lord who has been appointed by his com-
rade Lords to close it shall take the strands of shells in his hands and address the
assembled Lords. Thus will the council adjourn until such time and place as
appointed by the council. Then shall the shell strings be placed in a place for
safekeeping.
Every five years the Five Nations Confederate Lords and the people shall
assemble together and shall ask one another if their minds are still in the same
spirit of unity for the Great Binding Law and if any of the Five Nations shall not
pledge continuance and steadfastness to the pledge of unity then the Great
Binding Law shall dissolve.
56. Five strings of shell tied together as one shall represent the Five Nations.
Each string shall represent one territory and the whole a completely united
territory known as the Five Nations Confederate territory.
57. Five arrows shall be bound together very strong and each arrow shall rep-
resent one nation. As the five arrows are strongly bound this shall symbolize
the complete union of the nations. Thus are the Five Nations united comple-
tely and enfolded together, united into one head, one body and one mind.
Therefore they shall labor, legislate and council together for the interest of
future generations. . . .
60. A broad dark belt of wampum of thirty-eight rows, having a white heart in the
center, on either side of which are two white squares all connected with the heart
by white rows of beads shall be the emblem of the unity of the Five Nations.
The first of the squares on the left represents the Mohawk nation and its
territory; the second square on the left and the one near the heart, represents
the Oneida nation and its territory; the white heart in the middle represents the
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
313
C o n s t i t u t i o n   o f   t h e   I r o q u o i s   N a t i o n s

Onondaga nation and its territory, and it also means that the heart of the Five
Nations is single in its loyalty to the Great Peace, that the Great Peace is lodged
in the heart (meaning the Onondaga Lords), and that the Council Fire is to burn
there for the Five Nations, and further, it means that the authority is given to
advance the cause of peace whereby hostile nations out of the Confederacy shall
cease warfare; the white square to the right of the heart represents the Cayuga
nation and its territory and the fourth and last white square represents the
Seneca nation and its territory.
White shall here symbolize that no evil or jealous thoughts shall creep into
the minds of the Lords while in Council under the Great Peace. White, the
emblem of peace, love, charity and equity surrounds and guards the Five
Nations. . . . 
R I G H T S   O F   F O R E I G N   N AT I O N S
73. The soil of the earth from one end of the land to the other is the property
of the people who inhabit it. By birthright the Ongwehonweh (Original beings)
are the owners of the soil which they own and occupy and none other may hold
it. The same law has been held from the oldest times.
The Great Creator has made us of the one blood and of the same soil he
made us and as only different tongues constitute different nations he estab-
lished different hunting grounds and territories and made boundary lines
between them.
74. When any alien nation or individual is admitted into the Five Nations the
admission shall be understood only to be a temporary one. Should the person
or nation create loss, do wrong or cause suffering of any kind to endanger the
peace of the Confederacy, the Confederate Lords shall order one of their war
chiefs to reprimand him or them and if a similar offence is again committed the
offending party or parties shall be expelled from the territory of the Five United
Nations.
75. When a member of an alien nation comes to the territory of the Five Nations
and seeks refuge and permanent residence, the Lords of the Nation to which he
comes shall extend hospitality and make him a member of the nation. Then
shall he be accorded equal rights and privileges in all matters except as after
mentioned.
76. No body of alien people who have been adopted temporarily shall have a
vote in the council of the Lords of the Confederacy, for only they who have been
invested with Lordship titles may vote in the Council. Aliens have nothing by
blood to make claim to a vote and should they have it, not knowing all the
traditions of the Confederacy, might go against its Great Peace. In this manner
the Great Peace would be endangered and perhaps be destroyed.
77. When the Lords of the Confederacy decide to admit a foreign nation and an
adoption is made, the Lords shall inform the adopted nation that its admission
is only temporary. They shall also say to the nation that it must never try to con-
trol, to interfere with or to injure the Five Nations nor disregard the Great Peace
or any of its rules or customs. That in no way should they cause disturbance
or injury. Then should the adopted nation disregard these injunctions, their
adoption shall be annuled and they shall be expelled.
The expulsion shall be in the following manner: The council shall appoint one
of their War Chiefs to convey the message of annulment and he shall say, “You
(naming the nation) listen to me while I speak. I am here to inform you again of
the will of the Five Nations’ Council. It was clearly made known to you at a former
314
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
C o n s t i t u t i o n   o f   t h e   I r o q u o i s   N a t i o n s

time. Now the Lords of the Five Nations have decided to expel you and cast you
out. We disown you now and annul your adoption. Therefore you must look for a
path in which to go and lead away all your people. It was you, not we, who com-
mitted wrong and caused this sentence of annulment. So then go your way and
depart from the territory of the Five Nations and from the Confederacy.”
78. Whenever a foreign nation enters the Confederacy or accepts the Great
Peace, the Five Nations and the foreign nation shall enter into an agreement and
compact by which the foreign nation shall endeavor to pursuade other nations
to accept the Great Peace. 
R I G H T S   A N D   P O W E R S   O F   WA R
79. Skanawatih shall be vested with a double office, duty and with double
authority. One-half of his being shall hold the Lordship title and the other half
shall hold the title of War Chief. In the event of war he shall notify the five War
Chiefs of the Confederacy and command them to prepare for war and have their
men ready at the appointed time and place for engagement with the enemy of
the Great Peace.
80. When the Confederate Council of the Five Nations has for its object the
establishment of the Great Peace among the people of an outside nation and
that nation refuses to accept the Great Peace, then by such refusal they bring
a declaration of war upon themselves from the Five Nations. Then shall the Five
Nations seek to establish the Great Peace by a conquest of the rebellious nation.
81. When the men of the Five Nations, now called forth to become warriors, are
ready for battle with an obstinate opposing nation that has refused to accept the
Great Peace, then one of the five War Chiefs shall be chosen by the warriors of
the Five Nations to lead the army into battle. It shall be the duty of the War Chief
so chosen to come before his warriors and address them. His aim shall be to
impress upon them the necessity of good behavior and strict obedience to all
the commands of the War Chiefs. He shall deliver an oration exhorting them
with great zeal to be brave and courageous and never to be guilty of cowardice.
At the conclusion of his oration he shall march forward and commence the War
Song and he shall sing: 
Now I am greatly surprised
And, therefore I shall use it—
The power of my War Song.
I am of the Five Nations
And I shall make supplication
To the Almighty Creator.
He has furnished this army.
My warriors shall be mighty
In the strength of the Creator.
Between him and my song they are
For it was he who gave the song
This war song that I sing!
82. When the warriors of the Five Nations are on an expedition against an
enemy, the War Chief shall sing the War Song as he approaches the country of
the enemy and not cease until his scouts have reported that the army is near the
enemies’ lines when the War Chief shall approach with great caution and
prepare for the attack.
83. When peace shall have been established by the termination of the war
against a foreign nation, then the War Chief shall cause all the weapons of war to
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
315
C o n s t i t u t i o n   o f   t h e   I r o q u o i s   N a t i o n s

be taken from the nation. Then shall the Great Peace be established and that
nation shall observe all the rules of the Great Peace for all time to come.
84. Whenever a foreign nation is conquered or has by their own will accepted
the Great Peace their own system of internal government may continue, but
they must cease all warfare against other nations.
85. Whenever a war against a foreign nation is pushed until that nation is about
exterminated because of its refusal to accept the Great Peace and if that nation
shall by its obstinacy become exterminated, all their rights, property and
territory shall become the property of the Five Nations.
86. Whenever a foreign nation is conquered and the survivors are brought into the
territory of the Five Nations’ Confederacy and placed under the Great Peace the
two shall be known as the Conqueror and the Conquered. A symbolic relationship
shall be devised and be placed in some symbolic position. The conquered nation
shall have no voice in the councils of the Confederacy in the body of the Lords.
87. When the War of the Five Nations on a foreign rebellious nation is ended,
peace shall be restored to that nation by a withdrawal of all their weapons of war
by the War Chief of the Five Nations. When all the terms of peace shall have
been agreed upon a state of friendship shall be established.
88. When the proposition to establish the Great Peace is made to a foreign nation
it shall be done in mutual council. The foreign nation is to be persuaded by rea-
son and urged to come into the Great Peace. If the Five Nations fail to obtain the
consent of the nation at the first council a second council shall be held and upon
a second failure a third council shall be held and this third council shall end the
peaceful methods of persuasion. At the third council the War Chief of the Five
nations shall address the Chief of the foreign nation and request him three times
to accept the Great Peace. If refusal steadfastly follows the War Chief shall let the
bunch of white lake shells drop from his outstretched hand to the ground
and shall bound quickly forward and club the offending chief to death. War shall
thereby be declared and the War Chief shall have his warriors at his back to meet
any emergency. War must continue until the contest is won by the Five Nations.
89. When the Lords of the Five Nations propose to meet in conference with a
foreign nation with proposals for an acceptance of the Great Peace, a large
band of warriors shall conceal themselves in a secure place safe from the espi-
onage of the foreign nation but as near at hand as possible. Two warriors shall
accompany the Union Lord who carries the proposals and these warriors shall
be especially cunning. Should the Lord be attacked, these warriors shall hasten
back to the army of warriors with the news of the calamity which fell through
the treachery of the foreign nation.
90. When the Five Nations’ Council declares war any Lord of the Confederacy
may enlist with the warriors by temporarily renouncing his sacred Lordship title
which he holds through the election of his women relatives. The title then
reverts to them and they may bestow it upon another temporarily until the war
is over when the Lord, if living, may resume his title and seat in the Council.
91. A certain wampum belt of black beads shall be the emblem of the authority
of the Five War Chiefs to take up the weapons of war and with their men to resist
invasion. This shall be called a war in defense of the territory. 
T R E A S O N   O R   S E C E S S I O N   O F   A   N AT I O N
92. If a nation, part of a nation, or more than one nation within the Five Nations
should in any way endeavor to destroy the Great Peace by neglect or violating
its laws and resolve to dissolve the Confederacy, such a nation or such nations
316
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
C o n s t i t u t i o n   o f   t h e   I r o q u o i s   N a t i o n s

shall be deemed guilty of treason and called enemies of the Confederacy and
the Great Peace.
It shall then be the duty of the Lords of the Confederacy who remain faith-
ful to resolve to warn the offending people. They shall be warned once and if a
second warning is necessary they shall be driven from the territory of the
Confederacy by the War Chiefs and his men. 
R I G H T S   O F   T H E   P E O P L E   O F   T H E   F I V E   N AT I O N S
93. Whenever a specially important matter or a great emergency is presented
before the Confederate Council and the nature of the matter affects the entire
body of the Five Nations, threatening their utter ruin, then the Lords of the
Confederacy must submit the matter to the decision of their people and
the decision of the people shall affect the decision of the Confederate Council.
This decision shall be a confirmation of the voice of the people.
94. The men of every clan of the Five Nations shall have a Council Fire ever
burning in readiness for a council of the clan. When it seems necessary for
a council to be held to discuss the welfare of the clans, then the men may
gather about the fire. This council shall have the same rights as the council of
the women.
95. The women of every clan of the Five Nations shall have a Council Fire ever
burning in readiness for a council of the clan. When in their opinion it seems
necessary for the interest of the people they shall hold a council and their deci-
sions and recommendations shall be introduced before the Council of the Lords
by the War Chief for its consideration.
96. All the Clan council fires of a nation or of the Five Nations may unite into one
general council fire, or delegates from all the council fires may be appointed to
unite in a general council for discussing the interests of the people. The people
shall have the right to make appointments and to delegate their power to oth-
ers of their number. When their council shall have come to a conclusion on any
matter, their decision shall be reported to the Council of the Nation or to the
Confederate Council (as the case may require) by the War Chief or the War
Chiefs.
97. Before the real people united their nations, each nation had its council fires.
Before the Great Peace their councils were held. The five Council Fires shall
continue to burn as before and they are not quenched. The Lords of each nation
in future shall settle their nation’s affairs at this council fire governed always by
the laws and rules of the council of the Confederacy and by the Great Peace.
98. If either a nephew or a niece see an irregularity in the performance of the
functions of the Great Peace and its laws, in the Confederate Council or in
the conferring of Lordship titles in an improper way, through their War Chief
they may demand that such actions become subject to correction and that the
matter conform to the ways prescribed by the laws of the Great Peace. . . . 
The Magna Carta
Introduction:
After leading a successful revolt against King John I, the
English barons (supported by the clergy and townsmen) forced the king to sign
a lengthy document that became known as the Magna Carta (or “great char-
ter”). Signed by King John on June 12, 1215, the document was divided into
sixty-three sections that served as the foundation for the British constitution
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
317
T h e   M a g n a   C a r t a

and forced the king to admit that he answered to the same community laws
as his subjects did. As such, the document was the first to establish a degree
of juridical equality between subjects and government, the first step toward
acknowledgement of basic rights for all.
Preamble
John, by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of
Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to the archbishop, bishops,
abbots, earls, barons, justiciaries, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to
all his bailiffs and liege subjects, greetings. Know that, having regard to God and
for the salvation of our soul, and those of all our ancestors and heirs, and unto
the honor of God and the advancement of his holy Church and for the rectify-
ing of our realm, we have granted as underwritten by advice of our vener-
able fathers, Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England and
cardinal of the holy Roman Church, Henry, archbishop of Dublin, William of
London, Peter of Winchester, Jocelyn of Bath and Glastonbury, Hugh of Lincoln,
Walter of Worcester, William of Coventry, Benedict of Rochester, bishops; of
Master Pandulf, subdeacon and member of the household of our lord the
Pope, of brother Aymeric (master of the Knights of the Temple in England), and
of the illustrious men William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, William, earl of
Salisbury, William, earl of Warenne, William, earl of Arundel, Alan of Galloway
(constable of Scotland), Waren Fitz Gerold, Peter Fitz Herbert, Hubert De Burgh
(seneschal of Poitou), Hugh de Neville, Matthew Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset,
Alan Basset, Philip d’Aubigny, Robert of Roppesley, John Marshal, John Fitz
Hugh, and others, our liegemen.
1. In the first place we have granted to God, and by this our present charter
confirmed for us and our heirs forever that the English Church shall be free,
and shall have her rights entire, and her liberties inviolate; and we will that it
be thus observed; which is apparent from this that the freedom of elections,
which is reckoned most important and very essential to the English Church,
we, of our pure and unconstrained will, did grant, and did by our charter con-
firm and did obtain the ratification of the same from our lord, Pope Innocent
III, before the quarrel arose between us and our barons: and this we will
observe, and our will is that it be observed in good faith by our heirs forever.
We have also granted to all freemen of our kingdom, for us and our heirs
forever, all the underwritten liberties, to be had and held by them and their
heirs, of us and our heirs forever.
2. If any of our earls or barons, or others holding of us in chief by military serv-
ice shall have died, and at the time of his death his heir shall be full of age and
owe “relief ”, he shall have his inheritance by the old relief, to wit, the heir or
heirs of an earl, for the whole baroncy of an earl by L100; the heir or heirs of a
baron, L100 for a whole barony; the heir or heirs of a knight, 100s, at most, and
whoever owes less let him give less, according to the ancient custom of fees.
3. If, however, the heir of any one of the aforesaid has been under age and in
wardship, let him have his inheritance without relief and without fine when he
comes of age.
4. The guardian of the land of an heir who is thus under age, shall take from the
land of the heir nothing but reasonable produce, reasonable customs, and rea-
sonable services, and that without destruction or waste of men or goods; and if
we have committed the wardship of the lands of any such minor to the sheriff,
or to any other who is responsible to us for its issues, and he has made destruc-
tion or waster of what he holds in wardship, we will take of him amends, and
the land shall be committed to two lawful and discreet men of that fee, who
shall be responsible for the issues to us or to him to whom we shall assign them;
and if we have given or sold the wardship of any such land to anyone and he has
318
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
T h e   M a g n a   C a r t a

therein made destruction or waste, he shall lose that wardship, and it shall be
transferred to two lawful and discreet men of that fief, who shall be responsible
to us in like manner as aforesaid.
5. The guardian, moreover, so long as he has the wardship of the land, shall
keep up the houses, parks, fishponds, stanks, mills, and other things pertaining
to the land, out of the issues of the same land; and he shall restore to the heir,
when he has come to full age, all his land, stocked with ploughs and wainage,
according as the season of husbandry shall require, and the issues of the land
can reasonable bear.
6. Heirs shall be married without disparagement, yet so that before the marriage
takes place the nearest in blood to that heir shall have notice.
7. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall forthwith and without difficulty
have her marriage portion and inheritance; nor shall she give anything for her
dower, or for her marriage portion, or for the inheritance which her husband
and she held on the day of the death of that husband; and she may remain in
the house of her husband for forty days after his death, within which time her
dower shall be assigned to her.
8. No widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she prefers to live without
a husband; provided always that she gives security not to marry without our
consent, if she holds of us, or without the consent of the lord of whom she
holds, if she holds of another.
9. Neither we nor our bailiffs will seize any land or rent for any debt, as long as
the chattels of the debtor are sufficient to repay the debt; nor shall the sureties
of the debtor be distrained so long as the principal debtor is able to satisfy
the debt; and if the principal debtor shall fail to pay the debt, having nothing
wherewith to pay it, then the sureties shall answer for the debt; and let them
have the lands and rents of the debtor, if they desire them, until they are indem-
nified for the debt which they have paid for him, unless the principal debtor can
show proof that he is discharged thereof as against the said sureties.
10. If one who has borrowed from the Jews any sum, great or small, die before
that loan be repaid, the debt shall not bear interest while the heir is under age,
of whomsoever he may hold; and if the debt fall into our hands, we will not take
anything except the principal sum contained in the bond.
11. And if anyone die indebted to the Jews, his wife shall have her dower and pay
nothing of that debt; and if any children of the deceased are left under age, nec-
essaries shall be provided for them in keeping with the holding of the deceased;
and out of the residue the debt shall be paid, reserving, however, service due to
feudal lords; in like manner let it be done touching debts due to others than Jews.
12. No scutage not aid shall be imposed on our kingdom, unless by common
counsel of our kingdom, except for ransoming our person, for making our eld-
est son a knight, and for once marrying our eldest daughter; and for these there
shall not be levied more than a reasonable aid. In like manner it shall be done
concerning aids from the city of London.
13. And the city of London shall have all it ancient liberties and free customs, as
well by land as by water; furthermore, we decree and grant that all other cities,
boroughs, towns, and ports shall have all their liberties and free customs.
14. And for obtaining the common counsel of the kingdom anent the assessing
of an aid (except in the three cases aforesaid) or of a scutage, we will cause to
be summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons, sev-
erally by our letters; and we will moveover cause to be summoned generally,
through our sheriffs and bailiffs, and others who hold of us in chief, for a fixed
date, namely, after the expiry of at least forty days, and at a fixed place; and in
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
319
T h e   M a g n a   C a r t a

all letters of such summons we will specify the reason of the summons. And
when the summons has thus been made, the business shall proceed on the day
appointed, according to the counsel of such as are present, although not all who
were summoned have come.
15. We will not for the future grant to anyone license to take an aid from his own
free tenants, except to ransom his person, to make his eldest son a knight, and
once to marry his eldest daughter; and on each of these occasions there shall
be levied only a reasonable aid.
16. No one shall be distrained for performance of greater service for a knight’s
fee, or for any other free tenement, than is due therefrom.
17. Common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall be held in some fixed place.
18. Inquests of novel disseisin, of mort d’ancestor, and of darrein presentment
shall not be held elsewhere than in their own county courts, and that in man-
ner following; We, or, if we should be out of the realm, our chief justiciar, will
send two justiciaries through every county four times a year, who shall alone
with four knights of the county chosen by the county, hold the said assizes in
the county court, on the day and in the place of meeting of that court.
19. And if any of the said assizes cannot be taken on the day of the county court,
let there remain of the knights and freeholders, who were present at the county
court on that day, as many as may be required for the efficient making of judg-
ments, according as the business be more or less.
20. A freeman shall not be amerced for a slight offense, except in accordance
with the degree of the offense; and for a grave offense he shall be amerced in
accordance with the gravity of the offense, yet saving always his “contentment”;
and a merchant in the same way, saving his “merchandise”; and a villein shall be
amerced in the same way, saving his “wainage” if they have fallen into our mercy:
and none of the aforesaid amercements shall be imposed except by the oath of
honest men of the neighborhood.
21. Earls and barons shall not be amerced except through their peers, and only
in accordance with the degree of the offense.
22. A clerk shall not be amerced in respect of his lay holding except after the
manner of the others aforesaid; further, he shall not be amerced in accordance
with the extent of his ecclesiastical benefice.
23. No village or individual shall be compelled to make bridges at river banks,
except those who from of old were legally bound to do so.
24. No sheriff, constable, coroners, or others of our bailiffs, shall hold pleas of
our Crown.
25. All counties, hundred, wapentakes, and trithings (except our demesne
manors) shall remain at the old rents, and without any additional payment.
26. If anyone holding of us a lay fief shall die, and our sheriff or bailiff shall exhi-
bit our letters patent of summons for a debt which the deceased owed us, it
shall be lawful for our sheriff or bailiff to attach and enroll the chattels of the
deceased, found upon the lay fief, to the value of that debt, at the sight of law
worthy men, provided always that nothing whatever be thence removed until
the debt which is evident shall be fully paid to us; and the residue shall be to the
executors to fulfill the will of the deceased; and if there be nothing due from
him to us, all the chattels shall go to the deceased, saving to his wife and
children their reasonable shares.
27. If any freeman shall die intestate, his chattels shall be distributed by the
hands of his nearest kinsfolk and friends, under supervision of the Church,
saving to every one the debts which the deceased owed to him.
320
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
T h e   M a g n a   C a r t a

28. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall take corn or other provisions from
anyone without immediately tendering money therefor, unless he can have
postponement thereof by permission of the seller.
29. No constable shall compel any knight to give money in lieu of castle-guard,
when he is willing to perform it in his own person, or (if he himself cannot do
it from any reasonable cause) then by another responsible man. Further, if we
have led or sent him upon military service, he shall be relieved from guard in
proportion to the time during which he has been on service because of us.
30. No sheriff or bailiff of ours, or other person, shall take the horses or carts of
any freeman for transport duty, against the will of the said freeman.
31. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall take, for our castles or for any other work of
ours, wood which is not ours, against the will of the owner of that wood.
32. We will not retain beyond one year and one day, the lands those who have
been convicted of felony, and the lands shall thereafter be handed over to the
lords of the fiefs.
33. All kydells for the future shall be removed altogether from Thames and
Medway, and throughout all England, except upon the seashore.
34. The writ which is called praecipe shall not for the future be issued to any-
one, regarding any tenement whereby a freeman may lose his court.
35. Let there be one measure of wine throughout our whole realm; and one
measure of ale; and one measure of corn, to wit, “the London quarter”; and one
width of cloth (whether dyed, or russet, or “halberget”), to wit, two ells within
the selvedges; of weights also let it be as of measures.
36. Nothing in future shall be given or taken for a writ of inquisition of life or
limbs, but freely it shall be granted, and never denied.
37. If anyone holds of us by fee-farm, either by socage or by burage, or of any
other land by knight’s service, we will not (by reason of that fee-farm, socage, or
burgage), have the wardship of the heir, or of such land of his as if of the fief of
that other; nor shall we have wardship of that fee-farm, socage, or burgage,
unless such fee-farm owes knight’s service. We will not by reason of any small
serjeancy which anyone may hold of us by the service of rendering to us knives,
arrows, or the like, have wardship of his heir or of the land which he holds of
another lord by knight’s service.
38. No bailiff for the future shall, upon his own unsupported complaint, put
anyone to his “law,” without credible witnesses brought for this purposes.
39. No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or exiled or in any way
destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send upon him, except by the lawful
judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.
40. To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice.
41. All merchants shall have safe and secure exit from England, and entry to
England, with the right to tarry there and to move about as well by land as by
water, for buying and selling by the ancient and right customs, quit from all evil
tolls, except (in time of war) such merchants as are of the land at war with us.
And if such are found in our land at the beginning of the war, they shall be
detained, without injury to their bodies or goods, until information be received
by us, or by our chief justiciar, how the merchants of our land found in the land
at war with us are treated; and if our men are safe there, the others shall be safe
in our land.
42. It shall be lawful in future for anyone (excepting always those imprisoned or
outlawed in accordance with the lawof the kingdom, and natives of any country
at war with us, and merchants, who shall be treated as if above provided) to
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
321
T h e   M a g n a   C a r t a

leave our kingdom and to return, safe and secure by land and water, except for
a short period in time of war, on grounds of public policy—reserving always the
allegiance due to us.
43. If anyone holding of some escheat (such as the honor of Wallingford,
Nottingham, Boulogne, Lancaster, or of other escheats which are in our hands
and are baronies) shall die, his heir shall give no other relief, and perform no
other service to us than he would have done to the baron if that barony had
been in the baron’s hand; and we shall hold it in the same manner in which the
baron held it.
44. Men who dwell without the forest need not henceforth come before our
justiciaries of the forest upon a general summons, unless they are in plea, or
sureties of one or more, who are attached for the forest.
45. We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or bailiffs only such as know
the law of the realm and mean to observe it well.
46. All barons who have founded abbeys, concerning which they hold charters
from the kings of England, or of which they have long continued possession,
shall have the wardship of them, when vacant, as they ought to have.
47. All forests that have been made such in our time shall forthwith be disaf-
forsted; and a similar course shall be followed with regard to river banks that
have been placed “in defense” by us in our time.
48. All evil customs connected with forests and warrens, foresters and warren-
ers, sheriffs and their officers, river banks and their wardens, shall immediately
by inquired into in each county by twelve sworn knights of the same county
chosen by the honest men of the same county, and shall, within forty days of the
said inquest, be utterly abolished, so as never to be restored, provided always
that we previously have intimation thereof, or our justiciar, if we should not be
in England.
49. We will immediately restore all hostages and charters delivered to us by
Englishmen, as sureties of the peace of faithful service.
50. We will entirely remove from their bailiwicks, the relations of Gerard of
Athee (so that in future they shall have no bailiwick in England); namely,
Engelard of Cigogne, Peter, Guy, and Andrew of Chanceaux, Guy of Cigogne,
Geoffrey of Martigny with his brothers, Philip Mark with his brothers and his
nephew Geoffrey, and the whole brood of the same.
51. As soon as peace is restored, we will banish from the kingdom all foreign
born knights, crossbowmen, serjeants, and mercenary soldiers who have come
with horses and arms to the kingdom’s hurt.
52. If anyone has been dispossessed or removed by us, without the legal judg-
ment of his peers, from his lands, castles, franchises, or from his right, we will
immediately restore them to him; and if a dispute arise over this, then let it be
decided by the five and twenty barons of whom mention is made below in the
clause for securing the peace. Moreover, for all those possessions, from which
anyone has, without the lawful judgment of his peers, been disseised or
removed, by our father, King Henry, or by our brother, King Richard, and which
we retain in our hand (or which as possessed by others, to whom we are bound
to warrant them) we shall have respite until the usual term of crusaders; except-
ing those things about which a plea has been raised, or an inquest made by our
order, before our taking of the cross; but as soon as we return from the expedi-
tion, we will immediately grant full justice therein.
53. We shall have, moreover, the same respite and in the same manner in ren-
dering justice concerning the disafforestation or retention of those forests
322
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
T h e   M a g n a   C a r t a

which Henry our father and Richard our brother afforested, and concerning the
wardship of lands which are of the fief of another (namely, such wardships as we
have hitherto had by reason of a fief which anyone held of us by knight’s serv-
ice), and concerning abbeys founded on other fiefs than our own, in which the
lord of the fee claims to have right; and when we have returned, or if we desist
from our expedition, we will immediately grant full justice to all who complain
of such things.
54. No one shall be arrested or imprisoned upon the appeal of a woman, for the
death of any other than her husband.
55. All fines made with us unjustly and against the law of the land, and all amerce-
ments, imposed unjustly and against the law of the land, shall be entirely remit-
ted, or else it shall be done concerning them according to the decision of the five
and twenty barons whom mention is made below in the clause for securing
the pease, or according to the judgment of the majority of the same, along with
the aforesaid Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, if he can be present, and such
others as he may wish to bring with him for this purpose, and if he cannot be
present the business shall nevertheless proceed without him, provided always
that if any one or more of the aforesaid five and twenty barons are in a similar
suit, they shall be removed as far as concerns this particular judgment, others
being substituted in their places after having been selected by the rest of the
same five and twenty for this purpose only, and after having been sworn.
56. If we have disseised or removed Welshmen from lands or liberties, or other
things, without the legal judgment of their peers in England or in Wales, they
shall be immediately restored to them; and if a dispute arise over this, then let
it be decided in the marches by the judgment of their peers; for the tenements
in England according to the law of England, for tenements in Wales according to
the law of Wales, and for tenements in the marches according to the law of the
marches. Welshmen shall do the same to us and ours.
57. Further, for all those possessions from which any Welshman has, without the
lawful judgment of his peers, been disseised or removed by King Henry our
father, or King Richard our brother, and which we retain in our hand (or which
are possessed by others, and which we ought to warrant), we will have respite
until the usual term of crusaders; excepting those things about which a plea has
been raised or an inquest made by our order before we took the cross; but as
soon as we return (or if perchance we desist from our expedition), we will
immediately grant full justice in accordance with the laws of the Welsh and in
relation to the foresaid regions.
58. We will immediately give up the son of Llywelyn and all the hostages of
Wales, and the charters delivered to us as security for the peace.
59. We will do towards Alexander, king of Scots, concerning the return of his sis-
ters and his hostages, and concerning his franchises, and his right, in the same
manner as we shall do towards our owher barons of England, unless it ought to
be otherwise according to the charters which we hold from William his father,
formerly king of Scots; and this shall be according to the judgment of his peers
in our court.
60. Moreover, all these aforesaid customs and liberties, the observances of
which we have granted in our kingdom as far as pertains to us towards our men,
shall be observed b all of our kingdom, as well clergy as laymen, as far as per-
tains to them towards their men.
61. Since, moveover, for God and the amendment of our kingdom and for
the better allaying of the quarrel that has arisen between us and our barons, we
have granted all these concessions, desirous that they should enjoy them in
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
323
T h e   M a g n a   C a r t a

complete and firm endurance forever, we give and grant to them the underwrit-
ten security, namely, that the barons choose five and twenty barons of the king-
dom, whomsoever they will, who shall be bound with all their might, to observe
and hold, and cause to be observed, the peace and liberties we have granted
and confirmed to them by this our present Charter, so that if we, or our justi-
ciar, or our bailiffs or any one of our officers, shall in anything be at fault towards
anyone, or shall have broken any one of the articles of this peace or of this secu-
rity, and the offense be notified to four barons of the foresaid five and twenty,
the said four barons shall repair to us (or our justiciar, if we are out of the realm)
and, laying the transgression before us, petition to have that transgression
redressed without delay.
And if we shall not have corrected the transgression (or, in the event of our
being out of the realm, if our justiciar shall not have corrected it) within forty
days, reckoning from the time it has been intimated to us (or to our justiciar, if
we should be out of the realm), the four barons aforesaid shall refer that matter
to the rest of the five and twenty barons, and those five and twenty barons shall,
together with the community of the whole realm, distrain and distress us in all
possible ways, namely, by seizing our castles, lands, possessions, and in any
other way they can, until redress has been obtained as they deem fit, saving
harmless our own person, and the persons of our queen and children; and
when redress has been obtained, they shall resume their old relations towards
us. And let whoever in the country desires it, swear to obey the orders of the
said five and twenty barons for the execution of all the aforesaid matters, and
along with them, to molest us to the utmost of his power; and we publicly
and freely grant leave to everyone who wishes to swear, and we shall never
forbid anyone to swear. All those, moveover, in the land who of themselves and
of their own accord are unwilling to swear to the twenty five to help them in
constraining and molesting us, we shall by our command compel the same to
swear to the effect foresaid. And if any one of the five and twenty barons shall
have died or departed from the land, or be incapacitated in any other manner
which would prevent the foresaid provisions being carried out, those of the said
twenty five barons who are left shall choose another in his place according to
their own judgment, and he shall be sworn in the same way as the others.
Further, in all matters, the execution of which is entrusted,to these twenty five
barons, if perchance these twenty five are present and disagree about anything,
or if some of them, after being summoned, are unwilling or unable to be pres-
ent, that which the majority of those present ordain or command shall be held
as fixed and established, exactly as if the whole twenty five had concurred in
this; and the said twenty five shall swear that they will faithfully observe all that
is aforesaid, and cause it to be observed with all their might. And we shall
procure nothing from anyone, directly or indirectly, whereby any part of these
concessions and liberties might be revoked or diminished; and if any such
things has been procured, let it be void and null, and we shall never use it
personally or by another.
62. And all the will, hatreds, and bitterness that have arisen between us and
our men, clergy and lay, from the date of the quarrel, we have completely
remitted and pardoned to everyone. Moreover, all trespasses occasioned
by the said quarrel, from Easter in the sixteenth year of our reign till the
restoration of peace, we have fully remitted to all, both clergy and laymen, and
completely forgiven, as far as pertains to us. And on this head, we have caused
to be made for them letters testimonial patent of the lord Stephen, archbish-
op of Canterbury, of the lord Henry, archbishop of Dublin, of the bishops
aforesaid, and of Master Pandulf as touching this security and the concessions
aforesaid.
324
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
T h e   M a g n a   C a r t a

63. Wherefore we will and firmly order that the English Church be free, and that
the men in our kingdom have and hold all the aforesaid liberties, rights, and
concessions, well and peaceably, freely and quietly, fully and wholly, for them-
selves and their heirs, of us and our heirs, in all respects and in all places for-
ever, as is aforesaid. An oath, moreover, has been taken, as well on our part as
on the art of the barons, that all these conditions aforesaid shall be kept in good
faith and without evil intent. Given under our hand-the above named and many
others being witnesses-in the meadow which is called Runnymede, between
Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenth day of June, in the seventeenth year of
our reign.
Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points
Introduction:
On January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson addressed
the U.S. Congress and issued his famous Fourteen Points address, in which he
outlined the American terms for peace that were required to end World War I.
The speech outlined Wilson’s ideas for national self-determination and sover-
eignty. The fourteenth point, which called for the establishment of “a general
association of nations,” led directly to the formation of the League of Nations,
the precursor to the United Nations.
Given by President Woodrow Wilson
Delivered in Joint Session, January 8, 1918
Gentlemen of the Congress:
Once more, as repeatedly before, the spokesmen of the Central Empires
have indicated their desire to discuss the objects of the war and the possible
basis of a general peace. Parleys have been in progress at Brest-Litovsk between
Russian representatives and representatives of the Central Powers to which the
attention of all the belligerents have been invited for the purpose of ascertain-
ing whether it may be possible to extend these parleys into a general conference
with regard to terms of peace and settlement. 
The Russian representatives presented not only a perfectly definite state-
ment of the principles upon which they would be willing to conclude peace
but also an equally definite program of the concrete application of those prin-
ciples. The representatives of the Central Powers, on their part, presented an
outline of settlement which, if much less definite, seemed susceptible of lib-
eral interpretation until their specific program of practical terms was added.
That program proposed no concessions at all either to the sovereignty of
Russia or to the preferences of the populations with whose fortunes it dealt,
but meant, in a word, that the Central Empires were to keep every foot of
territory their armed forces had occupied—every province, every city, every
point of vantage—as a permanent addition to their territories and their
power. 
It is a reasonable conjecture that the general principles of settlement
which they at first suggested originated with the more liberal statesmen of
Germany and Austria, the men who have begun to feel the force of their own
people’s thought and purpose, while the concrete terms of actual settlement
came from the military leaders who have no thought but to keep what they
have got. The negotiations have been broken off. The Russian representatives
were sincere and in earnest. They cannot entertain such proposals of conquest
and domination. 
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
325
W o o d r o w   W i l s o n ’ s   F o u r t e e n   P o i n t s

The whole incident is full of significances. It is also full of perplexity. With
whom are the Russian representatives dealing? For whom are the representa-
tives of the Central Empires speaking? Are they speaking for the majorities of
their respective parliaments or for the minority parties, that military and impe-
rialistic minority which has so far dominated their whole policy and controlled
the affairs of Turkey and of the Balkan states which have felt obliged to become
their associates in this war? 
The Russian representatives have insisted, very justly, very wisely, and in the
true spirit of modern democracy, that the conferences they have been holding
with the Teutonic and Turkish statesmen should be held within open not closed,
doors, and all the world has been audience, as was desired. To whom have we
been listening, then? To those who speak the spirit and intention of the resolu-
tions of the German Reichstag of the 9th of July last, the spirit and intention of
the Liberal leaders and parties of Germany, or to those who resist and defy that
spirit and intention and insist upon conquest and subjugation? Or are we listen-
ing, in fact, to both, unreconciled and in open and hopeless contradiction?
These are very serious and pregnant questions. Upon the answer to them
depends the peace of the world. 
But, whatever the results of the parleys at Brest-Litovsk, whatever the
confusions of counsel and of purpose in the utterances of the spokesmen of
the Central Empires, they have again attempted to acquaint the world with
their objects in the war and have again challenged their adversaries to say
what their objects are and what sort of settlement they would deem just and
satisfactory. There is no good reason why that challenge should not be
responded to, and responded to with the utmost candor. We did not wait for
it. Not once, but again and again, we have laid our whole thought and purpose
before the world, not in general terms only, but each time with sufficient def-
inition to make it clear what sort of definite terms of settlement must neces-
sarily spring out of them. Within the last week Mr. Lloyd George has spoken
with admirable candor and in admirable spirit for the people and Government
of Great Britain. 
There is no confusion of counsel among the adversaries of the Central
Powers, no uncertainty of principle, no vagueness of detail. The only secrecy of
counsel, the only lack of fearless frankness, the only failure to make definite
statement of the objects of the war, lies with Germany and her allies. The issues
of life and death hang upon these definitions. No statesman who has the least
conception of his responsibility ought for a moment to permit himself to con-
tinue this tragical and appalling outpouring of blood and treasure unless he is
sure beyond a peradventure that the objects of the vital sacrifice are part and
parcel of the very life of Society and that the people for whom he speaks think
them right and imperative as he does. 
There is, moreover, a voice calling for these definitions of principle and of
purpose which is, it seems to me, more thrilling and more compelling than any
of the many moving voices with which the troubled air of the world is filled. It
is the voice of the Russian people. They are prostrate and all but hopeless, it
would seem, before the grim power of Germany, which has hitherto known no
relenting and no pity. Their power, apparently, is shattered. And yet their soul is
not subservient. They will not yield either in principle or in action. Their con-
ception of what is right, of what is humane and honorable for them to accept,
has been stated with a frankness, a largeness of view, a generosity of spirit, and
a universal human sympathy which must challenge the admiration of every
friend of mankind; and they have refused to compound their ideals or desert
others that they themselves may be safe. 
326
G O V E R N M E N T S   O F   T H E   W O R L D
W o o d r o w   W i l s o n ’ s   F o u r t e e n   P o i n t s

They call to us to say what it is that we desire, in what, if in anything, our
purpose and our spirit differ from theirs; and I believe that the people of the
United States would wish me to respond, with utter simplicity and frankness.
Whether their present leaders believe it or not, it is our heartfelt desire and
hope that some way may be opened whereby we may be privileged to assist the
people of Russia to attain their utmost hope of liberty and ordered peace. 
It will be our wish and purpose that the processes of peace, when they are
begun, shall be absolutely open and that they shall involve and permit henceforth
no secret understandings of any kind. The day of conquest and aggrandizement
is gone by; so is also the day of secret covenants entered into in the interest of
particular governments and likely at some unlooked-for moment to upset the
peace of the world. It is this happy fact, now clear to the view of every public man
whose thoughts do not still linger in an age that is dead and gone, which makes
it possible for every nation whose purposes are consistent with justice and the
peace of the world to avow nor or at any other time the objects it has in view. 
We entered this war because violations of right had occurred which touched us
to the quick and made the life of our own people impossible unless they were cor-
rected and the world secure once for all against their recurrence. What we demand
in this war, therefore, is nothing peculiar to ourselves. It is that the world be made
fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving
nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions,
be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world as against
force and selfish aggression. All the peoples of the world are in effect partners in this
interest, and for our own part we see very clearly that unless justice be done to oth-
ers it will not be done to us. The program of the world’s peace, therefore, is our
program; and that program, the only possible program, as we see it, is this: 
I. Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no
private international understandings of any kind but diplomacy shall pro-
ceed always frankly and in the public view. 
II. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters,
alike in peace and in war, except as the seas may be closed in whole or in