Influence of German Naval Policy, American Economic Interests, and Allied Propaganda on the American Decision to Declare War on Germany in 1917

Ideology was another piece that fit into the now solved puzzle of why America entered the war. Wilson wanted to make the world safe for democracy. Ideology was seen partly for idealistic justification. The inhabitation of Belgium and the sinking of the Lusitania changed many people’s minds in the United Stated of Germany.

On April 2, 1917 the United States entered WWI declaring war against Germany and its allies. The deciding factor for the U.S. to enter the war is due to one document, the Zimmerman Telegram. The document was sole proof to many Americans that Germany’s intentions were not only causing harm on European soil but bringing it across the seas to American soil. It stated that Germany had no intentions on slowing down its submarine warfare to which they hoped to keep the Americans neutral, but if they failed in doing so they offered an alliance among themselves and Mexico. The understanding was that Mexico would declare war on the United States and help the Germans and in return they would receive their land they had lost to America in years past,

The United States government announced a policy of neutrality at the outbreak of the war in Europe because it did not want to risk what was at stake by entering the war. It was also believed that the fighting would be contained in Europe and would have no threat of violence for Americans. Since the imports and exports were so important for Americans they did not want to enter the war and complicate the trade. It was not until the threat to sink all ships did the United States government feel as though they needed to enter the war. It was very important for the United States to get involved to stop Germany from taking over Europe and creating a major threat for Americans.

Also, if the United States was to enter the war, national production would switch from civilian products to war materials (Economic). In the years leading up to the war, America was already in a state of recession and they did not want to spend millions of dollars on this conflict. The following quote states how much the war affected the economy of the United States. "The total cost of World War I to the United States (was) approximately $32 billion, or 52 percent of gross national product at the time" (Economic). If you were the president of the United States, would you want to put out $32 billion dollars when your country is in recession as it is? Second, another reason the United States stayed out of the war for so long was because of their policy of neutrality. On August 19, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson addressed the congress and informed them of the U.S. policy of neutrality (First). In doing this, President Wilson was saying that the United States would stay neutral during the war and not intervene. During the president’s address to congress, he states, “Every man who really loves America will act and speak in the true spirit of neutrality” (First). By saying this, the president is saying that the policy of neutrality is the absolute best choice for the United States in this situation, and any citizens that did not believe in this did not truly care for the country or its people.

Ethnicity, played a significant role in America’s neutrality from 1914-1917because roughly 30 million Americans were either born in Europe or had European parents , therefore, many Americans felt allegiance toward one side or the other. German-Americans felt that the attack by Germany was justified as the ship was secretly transporting

Public opinion regarding participation in further international conflict in World War II was also affected by history. Advocates of isolationism referenced George Washington’s precedent of isolationist roots. As one of the most admired figures in American history, Washington’s words had powerful effects on influencing public opinion towards non-interventionism. The recent history of World War I was also on the minds of the American people in the lead up to World War II. As Americans saw the massive amounts of deaths and destruction, they became weary of war. Morale was destroyed during the war and isolationism was protection from future loss and injury.

To what extent was unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany the principle reason for United States involvement in the First World War? Germany was the main culprit of using submarines in order to threaten ships of other countries and their main target Great Britain. In 1915 when Germany released a policy called “Unrestricted submarine warfare”, this would give Germany the right to attack ships that would cross the war zone. This would later on lead to attacks that would kill many from neutral countries and this would later on lead to the Declaration of War on Germany by the United States. Learning more about this topic would give the opportunity to understand why the United States joined the First World War and how this affected the United States later on.

This investigation will answer the question “To what extent did the use of unrestricted submarine warfare draw the United States closer to declaring war against Germany and the Central Powers?” Due to the specificity, this examination is limited in scope to the outbreak of war in Europe leading up to United States declaring war against the Central Powers, specifically 1914-1917. Over the course of the analysis primary sources including correspondence between United States and German governments in addition to newspaper articles provide understanding for rising tensions between the nations. Secondary sources such as works by published historians in journals and in books provide orthodox and

Belligerent nations place public opinion both domestic and international as one of the significant factors that determine a war’s outcome. While local public opinion plays an instrumental role in boosting morale and increasing voluntary conscriptions, international public opinion garners a positive impression by depicting a belligerent as the liberator of the weak rather than the pillager of the poor. The United States of America, a land of nearly a hundred million people in 1914, had a diverse society due to its immigrants from all over the world. Hence, the belligerents in the war had representation in the United States.

The threat of economic instability influenced the U.S to get into WW1. The U.S had loaned money to allies in Europe for the three years that the war had been going on. Trade with the Allies had increased from $825 million in 1914 to 3.2 billion in 1916, as trade with Britain went up, trade with Germany and Austria went down to nearly nothing as Document (B)’s graph sufficiently shows. Britain was more than three billion dollars in debt to the U.S. If Britain loses the war; that would mean the economy of the United States would be in peril. “How to remain neutral without inflicting

In conclusion it has been demonstrated how the Attack On Pearl Harbor can be considered one of the key reasons why U.S.A entered WW2. It is clear that historians will never know whether the American Government was planning to take part into war even before Pearl Harbor, but using the sources previously analyzed we can demonstrate the strong economic interests America had in Europe and in Northern Africa before that dramatic event. Equally important was the relationship between Germany and USA, more specifically between the Nazi-nationalist economy and the world-wide capitalist market. In fact the two opposite ideas could not get on due to their ideological fallacies. The attack on Pearl Harbor was simply the spark to what were already

Although the United States was determined to maintain a neutralist foreign policy, it was eventually forced into World War II following Japan’s attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, and Malaysia in 1941 (Chernow and Vallasi 1). Within a few days, Nazi Germany and Italy, the two other major Axis leaders, also declared war against the

A) America had long had a policy of isolationism and when it got involved in World War I, many Americans believed that it was a pointless war to fight. Americans were anti-Nazi and anti-Hitler; they fervently hoped that the democracies would win; they fondly believed that the forces of righteousness would triumph, as in 1918. Neutrality became a heated issue in the United States. Ill-prepared Britain and France urgently needed American airplanes and other weapons, but the Neutrality Act of 1937 raised a sternly forbidding hand and provided that the henceforth the European democracies might buy American war materials, but only on a “cash-and-carry basis,” which meant that they would have to transport the munitions in their own ships and America

A-Background on WWl- In early April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany after the attacks upon its ships in the Atlantic. Although the US did not have the supply of guns and money to engage in this war, President Woodrow Wilson decided it would greatly enhance the power of the nation. At this time, the United States had a small and powerless army. The US joined forces with Britain, France, Russia and Italy (Allied Powers). These countries fought against Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria (Central Powers). While in Germany, the US sent an endless amount of troops over to continue fighting. Eventually this led to Germany realizing they could not keep up; this led to Germany seizing fire.

As the world turned over into the 20th century the threat of war could be seen throughout European countries. Tensions arising from alliances, the arming of nations, and the deep seated hatred still present from past loses were all too present. In late July of 1914 the powder keg that was Europe would erupt and the countries would be pushed into the fires of war. However, the United States of America would stand on the sideline for some time before becoming involved in an affair they had no care to be in. Come 1917 the U.S. would enter the war though, aiding its Western European allies in their fight against Germany and the Triple Alliance. This entry into WWI was a marked shift in U.S. foreign policy, moving from a nation of isolation; the U.S.’s participation and position in WWI would forever change its standing in the world politics and its position as a unilateralist nation.