The Road to World War II Essay

a. Wilson realized the economic advantages of remaining a neutral country, and understood that the United States’ abundance in industry and its large domestic consumer market meant that the national economy was not under any immediate threat. Furthermore, as the world’s leading manufacturer and economic power, the United States became the primary supplier of the Allied war effort. As a result trade with the Allied nations fueled America’s industrial, services, and agricultural sectors, as American exports of steel, grain, clothes, food, money, weapons, etc, and brought about the biggest economic boom in U.S. history. American banks lent billions of dollars to the Allied coalition. The United States, however, did not trade strictly with the Allied nations, and for a time exploited its status as a neutral country to conduct trade with Germany, that was until Britain harassed American goods back to English ports. In spite of this trade with the Allied nations continued, and the national economy flourished from the sale of non-contraband goods. Wilson therefore had little reason to claim any greater a stake in the European war than strictly business. Moreover, the United States, as a result of the Second Industrial Revolution, enjoyed a self-sufficient economy founded on the nation’s vast array of industry and a steady supply of valuable resources like oil and steel. America’s industries were perfectly suited to the nation’s

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).

into war. Wilson’s vowed to hold German’s in “strict accountability” (Zieger, 23) of future American rights violations. The Germans agreed to not attack ships without warning. Wilson’s harsh stance on German tactics and his non-equal treatment of Britain would lead to the resignation of his Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan and the end of the United States “true neutrality”.

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]

President Wilson had cautioned citizens from taking side in the war in fear of jeopardizing wider US policy, during the time of neutrality. Untied States maintained this neutrality despite increasing pressure on President Wilson after the sinking of the Lusitania. This neutrality would crumble when Germany started to introduce its unrestricted submarine

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

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.

President Woodrow Wilson responded by sending a set of three notes to Germany. The first note was in direct protest over the sinking of the Lusitania, which cost about 110 American lives; and defended the rights of Americans to travel on merchant vessels. The second was an argument protesting German claims that the British blockade was illegal (Germany argued because the blockade was illegal, this gave them the right to fight against it, by any means). The third note said that if such a thing happened again, the US would consider it "deliberately unfriendly." As stated by www.globalresearch.ca, “The sinking of the Lusitania was a major catalyst for America’s later entry into the World War.”

I believe the two most important factors leading up to this were the United States’ economic interests favoring Great Britain and Wilson’s insatiable need to have a voice at the peace talks in Europe. The United States had just invested too much in Britain winning that it couldn’t risk losing its investment if Britain lost the war. They had to enter to insure the victory and to insure that their money would not be lost. Also, the most important reason why the United States entered World War I was that Wilson wanted to be a part of the peace talks and he couldn’t achieve that goal unless he entered the war. This fact was made clear after years of trying to facilitate peace with no avail. Also, the American public added much pressure when the Germans started their unrestricted submarine. Woodrow Wilson forever changed the face of history and U.S. foreign policy. Without his decision to go into World War I, the U.S. may never have gotten involved in World War II and we may very well all might be speaking German today. Wilson’s ego and lust for peace might have saved

Wilson's attempts to mediate peace between the belligerents were ill fated from the start (Doenecke, 2010, p. 23-28). Both sides had begun to entertain the possibility of unrealistic gains if they invested more heavily into the conflict. The recent foreign relations history between the U.S. and Germany was not encouraging. In addition, Germany's invasion of Belgium on August 2, 1914, under the pretense of self-defense, was viewed by many influential Americans as indefensible and providing a window into Germany's indifference towards international law. The German invasion violated the Treaty of London and triggered Britain's entry into the war.

Woodrow Wilson was the president of the United States of America at the time during WWI. The U.S was content with staying neutral during the first world war and it proved to be extremely beneficial for them as they became rich. The economic surplus that came with being neutral was enough reason for the U.S to stay out of the war. They were eventually pushed into participating in the war and played a key role in the allies victory. The reinforcements from the U.S helped tip the scales in the allies favor in the battle against Germany in the western front. Despite the great impact that the United States made by entering the war, it took many unfavorable events to push them out of neutrality. Some of those events are detailed in the first image

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.

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

On April 2, 1917, President Wilson wrote and spoke one of his famous speech: War Message. President Wilson wants to ensure the people 's hope and faith from the war. As President Wilson (1917) stated in his speech "Each nation must decide for itself how it will meet it... Our motive will not be revenge or the victorious assertion of the physical might of the nation, but only the vindication of right, of human right, of which we are only a single champion."was to fix the issue the nation was in. President Wilson wants to show the people that we need to get involved war for the loss of many American lives that Germany took. Wilson persuades to Congress to go to war. President Wilson shows his persuasion effectively by using rhetorical strategies. Each strategy he used gave more persuasion to Congress to declare war on Germany. All the persuasion he used to convince Congress was put in his famous speech War Message.

In August 1914, Europe descended into war, without the support of U.S. Wilson refuses to get involve in the European conflict, until German forced Wilson to declare war on the central powers because of German’s declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare. When the war ended in November 11, 1918, Wilson negotiated a covenant for the League of Nation that he believed would sustain a world order. However at home, the congress rejected the League of Nations. Now, Wilson is admired by some scholars while hated by others. Some has praised him for his vision, while others criticized him for his impractical ideal.