What It Means To Be An American Essay

America had a strict policy of neutrality set by Wilson and did not want to interfere in conflict that didn’t concern the Country as a whole. Wilson did not want to waste American lives on a war that did not concern America.

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.

In 1912, Woodrow Wilson became the next President of the United States. He won the election by promising the people ‘new freedom’ which consisted of lesser tariffs, banking restructuring, antitrust legislation and he planned to modify Theodore Roosevelt’s gunboat diplomacy. Once Mr. Wilson became president, he sent the military to some Caribbean countries and Mexico, and he claimed he did this because he only wanted peace and social equality in the world. When World War I broke out in Europe, President Wilson decided to stay neutral although he had compassion for Great Britain. Moreover, he mainly won re-election in 1916 by making a promise to the American people to keep them out of the war. However, in 1917 President Wilson requested a declaration of war while meeting with Congress. He said it was a combination of pro-British propaganda in the United States and German submarine attacks on American ships. The war had become a war considered against all nations because not only American ships were sunk and lives were lost, and we were a peaceful county. Our nation decided to go to war, and the other countries would have to decide what they wanted to do to

President Wilson had no choice but to enter World War I to protect the American people and our way of life. Sometimes it is necessary to stay neutral and to not engage. Other times it is our duty to engage the enemy to protect our families, our freedom, and our way of life. President Wilson did all he could to remain diplomatic and finding a solution other than going to war with Germany and its allies. In the end he made the right choice to fight for this nation and the other nations Germany was trying to tear apart.

When WWI broke out , president Wilson announced that America would remain neutral(Nash 496). Wilson repeated his slogan “ keep us out of the war” during his reelection campaign in 1916(Unveiling History Par 1). Many Americans agreed with this and they sought out to promote peace and help end the war. Unfortunately, others were ecstatic for the adventure and could hardly wait(Nash 496). Over time, Wilson came to believe that it was the duty of the U.S to intervene on the side of England and France. I believe that Wilson and the government tried extremely hard to promote participation for soldiers and make the war seem like a good thing.

His own ideology of war coupled with the fact that America had no rea need to go to war as they were not exactly in danger meant that he had great public support on his policy of neutrality. He confirmed his position on the issue of war when he declared in 1914 that the American people should be “impartial in thought as well as in deed”, thus he didn’t want any involvement in the matter. However one could argue that Wilson appears here to be quite hypocritical, he proclaimed that America remained neutral, although by giving loans to the Allies he contradicted this whole approach and soon began to see the detrimental impact the war would have on his country and in doing so began to support the Allies against Germany. This is pointed out in Mastering Modern United States history by John Traynor (2001) who quotes Wilson “England is fighting our fight” (1914 p48). When Wilsons policy of neutrality proved difficult to uphold the American people were on board with the fight against Germany which was made easier with the use of British propaganda that portrayed Germany as according to John Traynor (2001) “militaristic, autocratic and aggressive country”(p 49). As stated previously America helped the Allied countries by providing them with Loans which Wilson agreed upon even though William Bryan warned him not to. His defence of his actions was due to his belief that If these countries had no money they would lose the war and be unable to pay back their loans to the US, which would as a result lead to much suffering at

Wilson’s relationship with the peace movement was varied through his entire presidency, and especially so through the wavering beginning of World War I. The extent to which he allowed the peace movement to shape his stance on World War I can be further analyzed by investigating the context surrounding his constantly shifting views on the coming war and his relationship with the effort. In the very beginning, Wilson and the aggregating peace movement were in a symbiotic relationship, as Wilson had been the initial figure head for the peace movement (Brewer, 50-53). However, Wilson saw Germany’s violence increasing greatly and becoming a threat to the safety of the United States, and that his responses were greatly limited to ensure citizen

'There have been fluctuations in American opinion about the war. The actions of the German Zeppelins have revived the feeling in favor of the

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.

In this book, Robert Saunders takes a look into President Wilson’s life. He takes a look at his childhood and how it shaped his political outlook. Saunders’s claims that Woodrow believed that it was God that lead him down the political path, where it was Wilson’s divine duty to be an honest president. The author also claims that Wilson wanted to unite America as well as supporting his notion to join the World War I, where Wilson believed that by entering the war he was protecting democratic form the wrong doings of Germany. Where once Germany signed the armistice, Wilson was being extremely precautious where Wilsons claimed that having an army occupy Germany boarders was absurd to ensure that Germany follow through with its treaty. One of the quotes that stood out to me was, where Saunders stated that Wilson believed it was his, “Personal role...to serve civilization and humanity,” (Saunders, 57) that shows how deeply embedded his Presbyterian roots were, especially in his outlook.

Why did he change his mind? After the Germans pushed Wilson to a certain point he entered the war for justice and peace. The reason that America entered WWI was because of Wilson’s idealistic principles and morals. He continually talked to Congress about the moral issues until he persuaded them to allow America to enter the war.

In December 28, 1856, Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born and raised in a Presbyterian family, in Staunton, Virginia, during a time where the Civil War was occurring (Biography.com Editors, 2017). He graduated from Princeton and from the University of Virginia Law School and also “earned his Ph. D. in political science and history at Johns Hopkins University and entered upon an academic career. His thesis, Congressional Government, was published, launching a university career, with appointments at Bryn Mawr and Wesleyan” (Biography.com, 2017, para. 4). During his time in office, World War I had broken out and Wilson had declared the country neutral, “…believing that ‘to fight, you must be brutal and ruthless, and the spirit of the ruthless brutality

In his message he explained to congress why the United States should definitely join the war. Wilson stated that America must fight for the right of the nations, both big and small

President Woodrow Wilson called for a war in Germany "to make the world safe for democracy." (McKinley). This would be an effort to establish principles for all nations to follow, which could be otherwise referred to as American principles. The world needed to be made safe for all and the threat of constant war and the taking away of people's liberties led the US to enter the war. Wilson was worried that if the US did not get involved in the war then Germany would win and be a threat to the Western Hemishphere. Americans feared that the British navy would be destructed and this would pose a threat to the US's security (America).

The role of the United States during the early twentieth-century can be described as semi-engaged in the World affairs going on during this period. At this point in time the United States aimed to be as neutral in the war as possible, as proved by the statement made by the then President, Woodrow Wilson, “I am bitterly opposed to my country entering the war, but if, notwithstanding my opposition, we do enter it, all of my energy and all of my power will be behind our flag in carrying it on to victory” (Opposition to Wilson’s War Message George W. Norris). Instead, the desire to continue foreign trade rights for economic and political benefits took over along with other convincing reason, eventually leading to America’s involvement in the World