Woodrow Wilson’s Ideas and the Romanian Intellectuals from Transylvania and Banat
Maria PANTEA
Abstract. The 14-point declaration of the American president had a strong impact on the oppressed peoples of the old dualist monarchy, leading to profound changes on the map of Europe. Starting from Woodrow Wilson’s statements, the leaders of the oppressed peoples of Austria-Hungary joined together and started to fight for national rights, even if the Central Powers Bloc still did not suffer strong defeats at the front. In the case of Romanians from the dualist monarchy, young people were at the front, fighting in the imperial army, while the intellectuals who stayed at home took over the Wilsonian ideas and asserted themselves as their supporters, fighting for the Romanian cause. In this context, several Romanian delegations were active in the major diplomatic centers and pleaded for the separation of the territories inhabited by Romanians from Austria-Hungary, starting from the ideas enunciated by the American president in January 1918. In the fall of 1918, with the end of the war, the new ideas were put into practice. It is the moment when the Romanian leaders also appealed to the Wilsonian ideas so that the newly created state would be recognized by the great powers, which was achieved in the years that followed.
Keywords: Romanians, President, borders, principles, dualism, people