President Woodrow Wilson address Congress in that the people of the United States choose whether we go to war or not (Doc 1). However, the United States will not go to war, because the people will remain neutral no matter their ethnic background. The joining in the war would disrupt our nation’s peace. Joining in the War would split our nation, because the United States is mixed in where people come from. Carnegie and Kellogg believed we should stay out of the war. It was wrong to take money away from the people and business in order to send men away to be killed. The war lead to approximately seventeen million Americans being killed in battle. They saw the war to be immoral and that we should not involve ourselves in something so violent.
He labeled the conflict as “a war against all nations” exemplifying the distress that other countries have experienced due to the unbiased and relentless bombing of their own neutral ships (Safire 111). By associating the United States with other friendly countries who are also at odds with Germany, Wilson’s cry for war seemed more convincing. He went on to assert that the choice made by the U.S must be befitting to the singular characteristics of the country and that they must be very clear what their motives upon entry into the war were: not vengeance or profession of physical might, but to defend the principles of peace and justice and “to set up amongst the free people of the world an observance of these ideals” (Safire 113). We were entering the war not to battle with the German people, but to combat a greater menace, the system that had impended these violations (Baker 512).
When President Wilson sought to enter the war, however, his objectives went beyond the defense of U.S. maritime interests. In his War Message to Congress, he stated that the U.S. objective was “to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world.” The U.S. Senate voted On April 4, 1917, in support of the measure to declare war on Germany. Two days later the House concurred. [5]
Politics executed a part in America entering the war also. Propaganda from both sides determined America’s decision. President Wilson did not want to go to war, but when Teddy Roosevelt wanted to run for anther term, Wilson felt intimidated and declared that there would be a preparation program and a chance that America would go to war. By taking part in the war, America was validating itself as a world power.
Whenever war broke out overseas in 1914, many Americans had ties to countries involved. Many of citizens living here were immigrants or children of immigrants who came from Germany, France, or other countries involved in the war. Out of the 92 million citizens living in the states, one-third of them were hyphenated Americans. There was strong support of the Central Powers in the states due to the 8 million German-Americans and the 4 million Irish-Americans who disliked English rule. Yet, many Americans were pro Allies due to the language bond with Great Britain. America wanted to keep to their selves as war broke out in Europe and not get involved. President Woodrow Wilson would announce in 1914 that the Unites States would stay neutral during the war. Wilson would run by the slogan “Keep Us Out of the War” whenever he was running for re-election for presidency. Americas would trade with both parties and bankers could lend money to both sides involved in the war. Trading with Germany would eventually be blockaded and trade with Allies would increase.
The end of World War I left much of America confused on the country’s role in world affairs. Many people believed that the United States should primarily worry about its own issues and problems, and let the world handle their own problems. But President Woodrow Wilson was not one of those people. He believed that the United States should be directly involved in the issues affecting all of the countries of the world. He also wanted the United States to be the country to make a push for a League of Nations. “The people of the United States could act upon no other principle; and to the vindication of this principle they are ready to devote their lives, their honor, and everything that they possess. The normal climax of this the culminating and final war for human liberty has come, and they are ready to put their own strength, their own highest purpose, their own integrity and devotion to the test.” Wilson believed that if the United States needed to be a part of a League of Nations in charge of keeping peace around the world, this would keep America
The devastating WWI left a permanent mark on the European soil, as well as in American people’s minds. People now understood what real wars are like; they are not always honorable, romantic or beneficial. As a result, isolationism ran high as the postwar United States entered the 1920s. Three presidents, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover all devoted themselves to domestic affairs starting from 1920 while trying their best to keep the country safe from the European turmoils. However, as the WWII erupted in Europe in the 1930s, president Franklin D. Roosevelt sensed the potential danger posed by Germany toward the United States. A series of changes in foreign policies from 1920 through 1941 marked the United
During this time the U.S. citizens felt they were lacking rights and independences that they once obtained due to British aggression. Some felt war was necessary due to the fact that their liberties were at risk. Federalists opposed the war, while Democratic-Republicans were in favor (Document 6). Most Democratic-Republicans were more focused on state rights, therefore making the war a favorable outcome for the country. In addition to this were the Southern, Western, and Agricultural Mid-Atlantic who waged for war during this era (Document 5). The unification of the country was a something that the Americans felt was a necessity in order to avoid war. Unity was a strong characteristic most Americans wished to maintain. The state people were to be united and indivisible with the interests of the people in mind (Document 7). Citizens wanted assurance that their natural rights and interests remained prominent as well as their country one whole unit. These ideas were displayed by the Democratic-Republicans, more specifically, James Madison. The idea of his reelection was supported by the Southern and Western regions, or those who were in support of the war (Document 8). This group of people were able to band together and commence the War of 1812. Americans were very focused on going to war in venture for unifying the
In the Woodrow Wilson: Declaration of Neutrality (1914), Wilson states, “The United State must be neutral in fact, as well as in name, during these days that are to try men’s souls.” In this statement, Wilson stated that he wants to declare neutrality to avoid war and casualties, or to avoid the “days that are to try men’s souls”. Also, he stated that the United States should avoid actions could be perceived as neutral like partisanship, taking sides, and transactions that could be construed to the preference of a certain party of the war. As stated in a letter from William Jennings Bryan to J.P Morgan on August 15, 1914, Bryan stated that United States government would be against American bankers loans to belligerent nations. This was because he did not want to run the risk of looking inconsistent with a policy of neutrality. So, it was apparent America wanted nothing to do with the
No man can sit down and withhold his hands from the warfare against wrong and get peace from his acquiescence .” President Woodrow Wilson could not maintain neutrality after a series of events that threatened the interests of the US. Wilson knew that he would not have the support of a diverse American public upon entering the war, so he came up with a plan. He designed the Committee on Public Information to advertise pro-war propaganda. He needed to convince the people that an involvement in the war was needed “to make the world safe for democracy .” Propaganda was heavily used to mobilize the public opinion of a united war effort, and it was also an attempt on homogenizing a pluralistic nation. The positive effects of this use were it unified a heterogeneous society, and it was able to get the Americans to invest their time and effort on the war. The negative effects of this were it caused hatred to those who were of the enemies’ ancestry, and false advertising lead to a loss of many innocent lives.
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.
DBQ: Analyze connections between regional issues and European struggles for global power in the mid-eighteenth century. Identify an additional type of document and explain how it would help your analysis of these connections.
There are many reasons that cause the US declared war. The important one was the US want to make the world safely for democracy. Beginning with Germany attacked the U.S. from submarine , German sunk American ships and taken American lives. It increased tension between two nation. And from the document Woodrow Wilson Speech said “ Neutrality is no longer feasible or desirable where the peace of the world is involved.” meaning they have no longer to stay out of the war. So The US. declared war to make the world safe for democracy and to make peace for the whole world.
During the 1920s, the United States was forced into war by the Germans. Germany, attacking and violating with the use of submarines, gave President Woodrow Wilson, who was president during World War I, no other option but to go into war. “We enter this war only where we are clearly forced into it because there are no other means of defending our rights.” (Wilson, 1917). He was a neutral person. Even though he wanted
Our country The United States of America, had done it’s best to not get involved in the first world war.World War I, had started in August of 1914.Many of countries were at war for political reasons, dictatorships for and opposing. The twenty-eighth president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson was a very intelligent Virginia native, whom was a prestigious college president of Princeton University. He was knowledgeable and cautious of the world events that where going on in the world. Our twenty-eighth president understood that his decisions could have a change of course for a nation that was currently at peace. President Woodrow Wilson, had attempted to bring
Woodrow Wilson was quite dedicated to maintaining the peace, he stated it was “Europe’s War”. President Wilson wanted Americans to remain neutral in spirit and deed. It was a sticky situation America was helping the allies by supplying war materials through trade; this meant the U.S was more entangled in the war. Ethnicity played a huge role in staying neutral, there were many German Americans in the U.S. who preferred to stay neutral. Irish Catholic community were based in large cities and held major power in the Democratic party were against helping