President Woodrow Wilson Needed to Make the World Safe for Democracy

On April 6, 1917, the United States entered the Great War with the vast majority of the American populace supporting the ingress. Although there were some dissenting opinions on America intervening in the war. This dissent was typically seen from marginal groups of Irish and German immigrants who either had harsh feelings toward Great Britain or felt uneasy about fighting against family members in Germany. These demographics would be swayed by society to reform their views, or in some extreme cases be forced to. Furthermore, several groups who were not expected to support the war were given an opportunity to show their patriotism. Surprisingly, this could be seen by groups of African and Native Americans who were wanting to gain credibility

World War I began in 1914 and was a shock to the U.S but the United States chose to stay neutral up until 1917. President Wilson wanted to stay out of European conflict. The war was helping U.S. industries in 1915 because of the demand of ammunition United States Western Allies had. For two and a half years he made no preparations for the war and kept the military small. The U.S. came up with a policy of non-interventionism that tried to negotiate peace and elude conflict. Being neutral was supported among the German Americans, Irish Americans, and

Wilson explained the need for U.S. entrance into the war by stating that remaining neutral was no longer an option if world peace, justice, and individuals’ freedoms were threatened. According to him, the menace that threatened these precious principles involved “autocratic governments backed by organized force which is controlled wholly by their will, not by the will of their people” (Wilson 1917). With this mindset, Wilson justified that Americans ultimately fought for the security of democracy, the principle in which their nation was built on. As a result, U.S. involvement would encompass securing the peace of the world and affirming the rights of individuals and nations to practice self-determination.

The beginning of the 20th century was the epitome of chaos. Conflicting nationalist views in Europe manifested into a powder keg waiting to be lit by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Every nation mobilized their army for what was believed to be a short and honorable war. The reality was the exact opposite. Men left the trenches to die and hid in the trenches to barely survive. America was officially neutral and did not want to join the war of attrition in Europe. However, Woodrow Wilson was forced to declare war after the release of the Zimmerman letter, which urged Mexico to declare war on the United States. The United States' involvement was the pivotal point in the war, and the Allies quickly won afterward. After the war, Woodrow Wilson sought to prevent any such tragedy from happening again. He would spend the rest of his life trying to establish the League of Nations. This caused him to experience a tremendous amount of opposition and he made many enemies. His dream would eventually fail. In this essay, I will argue that it’s human nature to fear change, that Wilson's legacy lives on in modern politics, and Wilson's ultimate downfall was his refusal to compromise.

In 1917, the United States entered World War I on the side of the Allies. Previously angered by such events as the sinking of “Lusitania”, American President Woodrow Wilson led the nation to war after learning of the Zimmermann Telegram and Germany's resumption of UNRESTRICTED SUBMARINE WARFARE! As the war came to a close with an Allies victory, President Woodrow Wilson devised a core list of points which stressed self-determination of people, free trade, and open diplomacy. Wilson believed that it could serve as the basis for a peace agreement between the fighting European nations and the United States. Going before a session of Congress on January 8, 1918, Wilson outlined American intentions and presented his ideas as the

Woodrow Wilson originally took a neutral stance in the First World War but as US foreign economic interest was jeopardized, America made the decision to enter the war. Although some were for the war movement, large segments of the population were unsure about the United States’ entry. Their doubt was justified when America came into the fighting woefully unprepared. They had a small number of troops and an even smaller number of bullets (Bailey). Due to the lack of men volunteering, the government established a draft which forced the men to fight. In the end, more than 100,000 men died fighting in the Great War. Back at the home front, opposition was still high despite propaganda efforts. Many Americans were dissatisfied by the lack of access to resources that had been available before the war and didn’t like the idea of the draft (Chomsky). To silence the dissenters, the government passed the

Even public outrage over the 128 American lives lost on the British liner Lusitania, torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1915, did little to change Wilson’s decision to enter the war. Nevertheless he finally appealed for intervention in 1917 in favor of supporting the Allies, however, Wilson was particularly cautious in avoiding any trace of self-interest or need for revenge on the part of the United States. Instead, he justified American entry into the war by claiming that the progress of the world demanded it, because history and the United States had the opportunity to act for a cause greater than its own separate interest and gain. The need to help history to its eventual end was the essential idea behind Wilson’s message and the fuel in declaring war. He argued not for selfish American interests, but to fight a new and more conceptual enemy - autocracy, the adversary of freedom and complication to the world’s step toward democracy.

For many years since the 1870s, majority of the leading countries in Europe had been causing tension and conflicts with one another. During this time period, Germany had gained the largest power compared to France. France had been preparing for war just in case Germany decided to attack France. Many other countries feared Germany and its power over the continent, Russia hoped to ally itself with France, Great Britain and even Germany to guarantee its protection. A deadly war broke out in 1914, a war in which European powers had tried to avoid for the longest time. Some Americans felt bad for Germany, Wilson and other Americans on the other hand sided with Britain. Wilson himself sided with England, a country he admired greatly, and England’s allies. Not many Americans wanted the United States to enter the

In the years leading up to 1917, America was in a state of isolationism while paradoxically it was adopting several pro-preparadeness policies aimed to equip the nation in case of a war. The sentiment at home prior to 1916 was strongly against the conflict. The Progressives and Socialists were from the beginning critics of the war. They all clamored that this was Europe's conflict and that America had nothing to do with it. To get involved in a messy feudal conflict would be subordinating America's interest to one or two European rival. There was also an economic dimension for wanting the US out of the war. As long as there were troops in Europe requiring supplies and weapons, there were creditors and war manufacturers in the US who could provide

Prior to 1914, the United States adopted a position of isolationism and neutrality in relation to the Europeans across the Atlantic. Once the Great War erupted, President Woodrow Wilson declared American neutrality, a declaration met with popular support. Although, even with neutrality declared in the war, the United States continued to avidly trade with Europe as its trade with Europe was crucial to the nation’s economic well-being.

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.

As the war in Europe raged on, President Woodrow Wilson aimed to keep the United States out of the war, and many Americans agreed. It was an American tradition to stay out of the wars of Europe, and many people did not want to break that tradition. On August 4, 1914 Wilson formally announces the United States’ neutrality, encouraging Americans to be “impartial in thought as well as in action.” Even though America was neutral, several Americans sided with different countries. Many German and Irish Americans supported the Central powers. Other Americans supported the Allies, wanting to side with Britain. They shared a similar language, history, and culture. Slavic Americans also sided with the Allies. To win American support, the Allied and Central

At the start of the First World War, president Woodrow Wilson proclaimed neutrality both in thought, and action. Wilson did not want America to avert its attention to war during its progressive period. Being forced to enter the First World War in 1917, The United States became leaders of the free world. Woodrow Wilson gave a reluctant, yet, rhetorically rich, and persuasive styled speech to congress following the sinking of American ships. This action is the force that drove America to not seek revenge, but rather, to defend human rights for all of mankind.

After World War I started in Europe in 1914, the U.S wanted to maintain a policy of non-intervention. The U.S wanted to avoid conflict and negotiate peace. Woodrow Wilson was trying to seek out Americans to help the war effort in 1917. Wilson pledged to, “Make the world safe for democracy” (Wilson). Making the world safe for democracy was a noble pursuit to Americans who struggled with all the limited freedoms.

When the Great War broke out in the summer of 1914, Americans were shocked at the barbarism of modern warfare. They were thankful for the Atlantic Ocean which separated their country from the warring nations of Europe. People were determined to keep out of the conflict and applauded President Wilson when he asked that his fellow citizens remain “neutral in fact as well as his name.” Through the following months, while national resolve to remain neutral, many Americans began to choose sides. This was almost inevitable. Most Americans could trace family roots to England, Germany, Italy, Eastern Europe, or other countries or regions. In fact, many were themselves immigrants or the children of immigrants from one of the nations at war. Many people,