The Resolution of the General Syrian Congress, composed at the behest of Emir Faisal, the head of the provisional Arab government in Damascus, reflected nationalist sentiments that were widely held in the aftermath of World War I. At the time, the disposition of territory formerly governed by the Ottoman Empire became an issue of concern, both to the inhabitants of that territory and to the victorious Entente powers meeting in Paris. At the suggestion of President Woodrow Wilson, who was the leader of the American delegation, the Big Four powers—Great Britain, France, the United States, and Italy—authorized a commission of inquiry to be sent to the former Asiatic Arab provinces of the empire to ascertain the wishes of their inhabitants with regard to their future political status. Soon thereafter Faisal called for a General Syrian Congress to draft a document that would represent to the commission the political aspirations of a majority of those living in “Greater Syria”—the territory that now includes Syria, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine, and Jordan.