The American Attitude Towards Albania During the Peacemaking in 1919

The American attitude towards Albania played an important role during the peacemaking at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. The United States, unlike the European nations, entered the conflict without interests or policy toward Albania. Before the entry of the United States into the First World War there had been no American policy towards Albania and it had never been recognized by the United States. It was only after America’s entry into the world struggle that an American attitude toward the Albanian problem began to develop. More concretely, it was in the Inquiry, an organisation which was to begin preparations for the peace settlement, that an American policy towards Albania began to form. Unfortunately, before the Paris Peace Conference the plans of the American experts for a solution to the Albanian problem were similar to the Albanian settlement outlined in the Treaty of London. On the eve of the Peace Conference, the American position became more favourable to Albania. During the negotiations the United States supported the integrity of Albania within its 1913 frontiers and refused to allow this small country to be partitioned further. President Woodrow Wilson and ex-President Roosevelt united in sympathy for the Albanian cause. The Albanians are deeply grateful to them for leading the way in the defense of their just cause. The Albanian problem during the peacemaking brought Albania to the foreground and its name appeared in big headlines on the first page of the American newspapers at that time, helping a large section of the American public to locate Albania.