Julia Grace Wales was a Canadian-born Wisconsin university professor who was deeply troubled by reports of the war. She spent the autumn of 1914 considering possible methods for finding a peace solution. The United States was neutral at the time, and President Woodrow Wilson asked his compatriots to remain "impartial in thought". In December, Wales prepared a plan. She proposed that the United States organize a conference (a "world thinking organ") composed of delegations from neutral countries, who would mediate between the warring powers and disseminate peace proposals, with the goal of eventually reaching a fair settlement. The conference was to last for as long as the war continued. Two main principles were meant to guide the mediators: no nation could be humiliated by the peace, and t