The Causes Of America's Involvement In World War I

In the summer of 1914 World War I began in Europe between the Allied and Central powers. Although the war was seen as unavoidable in Europe it came as a surprise to the American people. When word reached America of the outbreak of war, President Wilson urged the United States government and the American people to hold a neutral attitude on the war in Europe(1). For the most part President Wilson’s initial stance on neutrality was strongly supported by the majority of the country. In the early stages of World War I President Wilson approached both the Central and Allied leaders and offered to be a mediator between the two sides. “The Central Powers replied that victory was certain, and the Allies required the dismemberment of their enemies' empires. No desire for

“Every man who really loves America will act and speak in the true spirit of neutrality”.1 These are the words of President Woodrow Wilson during his “Declaration of Neutrality” on August 19, 1914. Something crazy would happen, the United States would enter The Great War a three years later. A lot of things influenced the United States to finally get to their eventual declaration of war on Germany. The two factors I thought most significant were: the United States’ economic interests favoring Great Britain and Wilson’s insatiable need to have a voice at the peace talks in Europe.

Before his election, Wilson promoted American neutrality. He endorsed what he believed his Americans wanted, for this would get him elected into office. However, after his election, Wilson had a change of heart. A few events, such as the German sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmerman telegram swayed President Wilson’s stance on the war. He started a movement toward war. A large variety of pro-war propaganda was produced and American troops were sent to Europe to fight.

As soon as the war started in 1914, America decided to be neutral. My opinion, Wilson strategically planned on joining the war as soon as it started. However, he couldn't declare war without reason. For instance, before the Lusitania sank, William J Bryan, Secretary of State at the time, “warned Americans not to travel on British, French, or German ships” (America in World War I: Crash Course US History #30, 2013, Crash Course). However, Wilson refused to instate such a travel ban. Germany, who had began submarine warfare, attacked that sunk the Lusitania, though the ship was “carrying a large cache of arms... it caused the death of 1,198 passengers, including 124 Americans” (Give Me Liberty: An American History Vol. 2, Foner, 2017, pg. 743).

August 1914 Woodrow Wilson asked Americans to remain impartial to the war that broken out in Europe. In the beginning Wilson wanted to exemplify their democratic commitment to peace. Although the war challenged the neutrality of America. American farms and factories fed and armed both of Allied and Central Powers. America stayed neutral throughout the beginning even though Germany had sank a British passenger ship “Lusitania” in May 1915, which killed 1,201 people, including 128 Americans. However this did outrage many Americans and Wilson sent a strong worded warning.

American leaders had believed that they should stay out of European affairs since the founding of the United States. The United States was a melting pot for immigrants of all nationalities, because of this some Americans were from, and supported Germany. Another portion of the American population supported Great Britain, so to meet the demands of most citizens Wilson supported a policy of neutrality. However, Wilson did not stop United States companies from selling supplies to Great Britain and France, as well as loans from banks to pay for these supplies. The United States ran high risks supplying the Allies with supplies as Germany was attempting to blockade Great Britain to prevent it from receiving these American goods. This posed a serious problem for the United States as its economy greatly relied on trade with Great Britain.

At the beginning of World War I, the United States of America’s motives for the war was to remain neutral. Neutrality was a decision favored by most Americans during the time. World War I boosted the American economy because the Allies needed ammunition and Americans as their trade partners were to produce it, this will later affect Germany’s decision to continue their strategy of unrestricted submarine warfare on ships.

Woodrow Wilson, president during World War I, believed greatly in moral diplomacy. World War I had started in August of 1914. The United States had not officially entered into World War I until April 6, 1917. Neutrality was a good call from Wilson, but when President Wilson decides to send private bank loans to the Allied Alliances during World War I, and began to sell less of the United States products to Germany and Austria-Hungary, it was pretty evident that the United States would join the side of the Allied Alliances. There are many different people that had inhabited the United States up until this point. There are people from all over the world that came to the United States to start a new life. This diversity of location meant that there were many diverse opinions. There were those who agreed with President Wilson that the United States should join the war against the Central Alliances because the Allied Alliances seemed more morally correct in the sense of going into war, and there

When World War I erupted in 1914, President Wilson initially wanted to distanced America by proclaiming neutrality. The stated reason for the entry of the United States was to protect democratic nations from the threat of anti-democratic ones. The attack from Germany helped to justify the need for America to enter the war, because of the German’s decision to resume the unrestricted submarine warfare. Unrestricted submarine warfare was a desperate effort to the British Naval blockade of Germany, but it would lead to the sinking of British and Allied ships (Norton pg, 593). For almost three years, America was kept out of the war. President Wilson asks Congress for a declaration of war, he says not only will we win the war but “make the world

World War I began in August of 1914 and continued for over a span of four years. For nearly three of those years the United States managed to stay out of the conflict because many Americans believed in the U.S. policy of isolationism and keeping out of foreign or European affairs. However, Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmerman Note ultimately saw the United States enter in their first world war. Entering into war was not favorable to many Americans who saw neutrality as their best bet during war time. Woodrow Wilson, president at the time, saw a need to get American behind the war effort and to see and end of anti-war efforts. These efforts would ultimately see a drastic change in the previously held American

In order to show not only the citizens but also the other countries of the world the kind of World Power America is, joining the war and defeating Germany was the only option. One of Germany's’ biggest mistakes was sending that telegram involving America in the war. Not only was national security threatened but Americans were outraged and citizens fully supported the government's choice in joining the

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

The United States of America under president Woodrow Wilson was aiming to remain neutral in the war. Instead of directly being involved in the war, they instead found a way to make a profit off the war, by supplying ammunition to the British Army. Wilson was opposed to the war due to being raised up by an anti-violence minister and didn’t want American progress to halt by joining the war. America’s economic power was greatly increasing during the war due to the ability to trade with all sides and was recovering from the era of “false gold” or the “Gilded Age.” As the war progressed the United States were increasingly pressured to enter into the war by Winston Churchill and England. In addition to this the German hierarchy made multiple moves that led the United States to opposing them and feeling like they should enter the war effort against them and the communist government. Yet the reason that the United States entered the war is unclear, did they enter the war because they were focused on American benefits or did they join to make the world safe for democracy.

Even though the United States initially tried to stay neutral during the warfare, trading ties to the Allies, anti-german propaganda, the Zimmerman Note, and Germany’s indiscriminate submarine attacks eventually forced the Americans to enter the brutal conflict in Europe on the side of the Allies. In his speech, Wilson justifies one of the main reasons why the Unites States entered World War I, which was America’s strive to preserve global democracy and to maintain a peaceful world order. The quotation above indicates the US departure from the policy of neutrality and calls for a more equable and cooperative world. However, after the end of World War I, the Unites States did not join the League of Nations and returned to the isolationist foreign

War is atrocious, and World War I was a horrific event that involved the majority of Europe, and had spread like a contagious disease throughout a wide area of the globe. The United States, at first, was a self-proclaimed “neutral” force. The United States although claimed neutrality, was involved with the war, and eventually dropped its neutral standpoint and joined the Allied powers. Factors that affected the United States’ decision to abandon their neutral title included, but were not limited to; The sinking of the Lusitania, issues with foreign trade, the Zimmerman Note, the declaration of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare by Germany, and Woodrow Wilson’s overwhelming urge to make the entire globe democratic. Though they did claim to be neutral,