American Foreign Policy On Germany

However, Ludendorff’s plan backfired when Wilson’s Points insisted that Germany lay down all arms and dissolved its army to no more than 100,000 troops, as well as all parties responsible resign (Peukert, 1987; 46). If Wilson’s constitutional reforms were to be implemented a democratic parliament could have been formed (Peukert, 1987; 24). Obviously Germany was reluctant, at first, to accept all of the responsibility of the war. To add to the attempt of keeping Germany a War state and its reluctant surrender, Keiser Wilhelm II ordered a last attempt by the German Naval Fleet to attack. This created a mutiny in Wilhelmshaven on October 28, 1918 and a sailor’s resurrection in Kiel on November 3rd and 4th (Peukert, 1987; 27). The peaceful revolutionary movement has begun in Germany and the citizens began expressing they wanted a new government. During the revolution the Weimar Republic was forming and it seemed to be doing so with little compromise from polar parties. Somehow, the Weimar Constitution was written and the new government began to practice democracy. Most of Germany, by now, wants to be a viable part of the world and achieve a better standard of living, the newly formed Weimar Republic and fragile economy will be tested with the Versailles Treaty.

President Woodrow Wilson had secured the political clout to establish foreign policy after World War I. However, the Europeans, especially the two major powers in Europe, England and France had the right to be circumspect of several aspects of Wilson’s plan. The German Delegation utilized President Wilson’s analogy that, “no single fact caused the war, but that in last analysis the whole European system is in a deeper sense responsible for the war…” (Comments of the German Delegation, 1919). European leaders could have taken offense to Wilson’s plan. President Wilson’s represented a nation that was protected by thousands of miles of oceans, and during the war the United States suffered no loss of infrastructure and economically their markets made money during the war. However, that was not the case for the European political leaders. They truly had an ax to grind against Germany. France with closer proximity to Germany than England elected to be protective and leery of Germany’s intentions after the war. Germany on the other hand was distraught over the terms laid before them by the Europeans at the Paris Peace Conference. The Germans believed they were being singled out, and that through the attrition of their sovereign territory they were losing vast economic resources and their ability to establish self-determination and self-preservation.

The American decision to declare war on Germany was influenced by several factors of varying degrees. To a great extent, the aggressive German naval policy contributed to the involvement of the United States in World War I. A secondary influence on this decision derived from U.S. economic interests abroad and on the homefront. Another influence leading to America’s entrance into war was the use of Allied propaganda. Therefore, the combination of German naval policy, American economic interests, and allied propaganda influenced to the American decision

With incompetent leadership and an unhappy nation, the German people began to realize that their country was in a vulnerable situation and began to look for stable alternatives to democracy. Hitler’s

During this speech he stated, “No one can make us fight abroad unless we ourselves are willing to do so. No one will attempt to fight us here if we arm ourselves as a great nation should be armed.” He also stated, “Over 100 million people are opposed to war in this country. If democracy means anything to us, that is reason enough to stay out.” This was a very important speech that made people realize to stay out of the pathways of war. This information was stated in Document F. Also is the year of 1941, the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Great Britain agreed on various common principles in the national policies. They chose to base their hopes for a better future for the world. This was a huge action that showed how we are willing to work with other countries and stay out of war as much as we can now. Document H stated this

Since Germany was immensely affected by the war, the least the US could do was run to their aid. Since WWI, the United States had never wavered in supporting Germany, but US citizens argued that the government felt obligated to assist them. Surprisingly, Western Germany was both economically and politically stable. East Germany, on the other hand, was under the leadership of Russian dictator, Joseph Stalin. He formed the Eastern German government into a centralized and dictatorial regime. Stalin refused to accept aid from The Marshall Plan because he feared the US was plotting another anti-communist attack. General Marshall then felt the need to confront Stalin himself. Marshall approached Stalin saying, “The United States hoped to aid those countries that are suffering from economic deterioration which, if unchecked, might lead to economic collapse and the consequent elimination of any chance of democratic survival.” (Nhd). He continued by stating that he “hoped to rebuild the basis of cooperation, which had existed during the war, and that he had come to Stalin with hope, feeling that if they cleared away some of the tension it would be a good beginning for the restoration of that understanding.” (Nhd). However the tables turned when Stalin unexpectedly replied back, “Only the first skirmishes and brushes of reconnaissance forces on

Their common political origins and disapproval to the Vietnam War played a fundamental role in creating dissent in the United States and Europe (Klimke, 186). Klimke says that because of West Germany’s status in the post-war world as first an occupied nation, and later as a chief Cold War battleground, America was a pivotal player in the culture and foreign policy of the Federal Republic (Klimke, 188-192). Efforts to reeducate Germans into becoming a more democratic nation, Cold War divisions, and what Klimke refers to as “a plethora of personal contacts and networks among Americans and West Germans [that developed in the post war years” intersected in America’s cultural policy towards West Germany (Klimke,

President Woodrow Wilson’s “War Message” addresses the momentous event of breaking neutrality and declaring war on the German government. Wilson explains that America can no longer remain stagnant. He calls his audience to action, through a tactical combination of both structured logic and emotional inclusion. Wilson begins his deduction with several points, starting with the details of the submarine warfare and the “wholesale destruction of men, women, and children” endured not only by the American people but various other countries (2). Wilson asserts that neutrality is no longer possible since peace and the freedom of the individuals of the world were under a direct threat (5). He reassures the audience that although his intentions were the same and he fully intended on keeping the American people safe, avoiding the war and remaining uninvolved was no longer a reality (4).

In January 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt addresses Congress in an effort to persuade the nation away from neutrality. The president had watched with increasing anxiety as European nations struggled against Hitler’s fascist regime and was devoted to rallying public support for the U.S to take a stronger role by government intervention. He said that he needed America

Next, we had to have had some allies, right? Our policy was to maintain balance of power in Europe. Germany’s growing power made us become allies with traditional

In their book American Foreign Policy since World War 2, Steven W. Hook, and John Spanier take a historical look at American foreign policy. Since its independence, all through to the start of the 20th century, the United States had a policy of detachment. This was rooted in the believe that Europe, the only other meaningful powerful in the world in the 18th and 19th century, had intrinsic issues related to feudism that kept the continent in a constant state of war (Hook & Spanier, 2015). The U.S on its part was far away from Europe and had a unique chance to chart a different course, one free from the troubles of Europe. As a democracy free from the class systems of Europe and hence maintain peace and stability (Hook & Spanier, 2015). To maintain this peace and stability, it was in the United States interests to maintain detachment from Europe. In fact, Monroe wrote that Europe and its flawed system was evil and America should strive as much as possible to stay away from it (Hook & Spanier, 2015). However, in the 20th century, this policy of detachment was put to the test when the United States was drawn into the first and second world wars by external factors. This led the United States to get more engaged in global affairs. The idea behind engagement was to promote the ideals of democracy which, the U.S believed were the pillars of peace, as well as to protect itself from aggressors like Japan in the Second World War. After the

On December 29, 1940 President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a speech known as the Arsenal of Democracy Speech, which was given via radio. During this time period Adolf Hitler and his army, The Nazis, took over Germany and planned on doing the same to the surrounding countries in Europe and eventually the whole world. The United States was in a tough position on whether to involve themselves and help their allies in Europe, or steer away from the situation happening overseas and watch closely what would happen. The purpose of this speech was to inform the citizens about this issue and what the United States as a nation was going to do to prevent the situation from spreading to other continents and even their own without getting “involved” in the

Many countries were involved in WWI, Germany being one of them. It is arguable whether Germany is responsible for the outbreak of war or rather the responsibility of individual countries such as Britain, Russia, France, Austria-Hungary and the Balkans collectively. However, Germany should be blamed to the full extent of starting WW1 due to the reasons that Germany had unconditional support for Austria, Germany 's war plans were planned to cause more conflict and Germany 's mobilization schedule.

In 1948 three countries, USA, France and UK, held conference, where they discussed the issue of Germany and what to do next. They tackled issues such as the future of Germany, the control of the Ruhr area and the payment of reparations (Douglas R, 2013) A new conference of the three countries occurred in Frankfurt, where still dealt with the issue of Germany and came to an agreement on the division of it. In Washington was another meeting of ministers of the three countries, where they signed a document which confirmed the occupation policy of the three powers in Germany. (Douglas R, 2013)

As it began, our century drew to a close, with Germany once again the economic powerhouse and political hub of Europe. What is remarkable is how quickly this happened, how unbidden and unanticipated: the toppling of the Berlin Wall in November 1989; the reunification a year later; the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in late December 1991; a resurgent impetus to West European integration in 1992; and NATO enlargement, which was consecrated in April 1999. Unquestionably, this chain of events has profoundly affected Germany’s situation over the past decades. For the first time since the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in 1949 and the painstaking process of