Woodrow Wilsons Decision to Join the Side of the Allies in Ww1

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

Yet, events in Europe were altering President Wilson's outlook on the war. Germany's campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare was the cause of the loss of American lives in the Atlantic. The sinking of the Lusitania, a British liner, off the coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915 by a German U-boat that killed 128 Americans was a harsh reality that

President Wilson was a person who believed that there was a peaceful solution for any conflict. When World War I broke out in Europe President Wilson spent several years trying to keep America from entering the war. President Wilson even went as far to offer to be a mediator between the two conflicting sides to help bring the war to an end. In addition President Wilson was heavily criticized by other great American leaders when he declined to build up the U.S. Army to prepare for War. As much as President Wilson tried to fight against the war events such as the Zimmerman Telegraph, Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, and the decisive shift in American pro-war sentiment made American entering the war inevitable.

America had no intention of entering WWI as President Woodrow Wilson had declared their policy of neutrality in 1914 after the continent of Europe had erupted in conflict. President Wilson aimed to deal with all participants in the war in a fair way that did not show signs of allegiance to either side as he tried to help find a way towards peaceful resolution. Happenings in Europe soon changed Wilson’s view of neutrality. Many American lives had been lost at sea after the sinking of the Lusitania and other ships due to Germany’s unrestricted submarine attacks. Germany refused to alter their methods which forced Wilson to ask Congress for a declaration of war in 1917.

Before looking into the effects of being neutral during World War I, it is important to look at why The United States was neutral in the first place. The United States hoped to stay out of the way because historically there had been no reason for the U.S. to intervene with European affairs. Wilson was also aware of the large immigrant populations residing in the U.S. who had come from those nations currently at war. (PBS) Also when the news of trench warfare and the horrors linked with it reached the shores of America, it confirmed that Wilson’s policy of neutrality was in fact a good decision. Wilson’s approach also had the full support of the majority of Americans, many of whom could not believe that a civilized entity such as Europe could commit the acts of atrocity seen within trench warfare. (PBS)

As soon as World War One broke out, Woodrow Wilson, the president at that time immediately declared the United States neutral to maintain the nation’s stability. President Wilson thought the United States should take no part in a war where they were not affected. But, as the war carried on it was evident that a stance of neutrality was just clearly not the case. Even though they were not fighting in World War I, the United States were definitely involved. Whether it be loaning goods to a party of the war or rising turmoil with a belligerent nation, America did take part in the war before their actual entry. Voluntary or involuntary, the United States involved themselves in the war in many ways , most definitely contradicting Wilson’s policy of neutrality.

Historian Howard Zinn spoke about Wilson’s decision to go to war against Germany. Wilson in his second speech says, “...the lives of peaceful and innocent people cannot be. The present German submarine warfare against commerce is a warfare against mankind.” Germany attacked American vessels killing innocent people

In response to the British’s actions, Germany organized a submarine war zone around the British Isles, threatening to sink all enemy ships that entered the area. In response, Wilson warned that Germany would be held to “strict accountability” if any ships or citizens were injured. In February 1915, Germany produced a large fleet of U-boats, or submarines. These vessels would be used to blockade Britain and attack all ships, even neutral ships, if they entered the war zone. Wilson tried to settle the submarine warfare peacefully, but none of the sides would listen. Germany began attacking British and American ships in the North Atlantic waters. Germany sunk the British steamer Falaba in March 1915 and sunk the American tanker Gulfight in May.

March 24th 1916: British liner Sussex torpedoed. This event prompted Wilson to declare that if Germany were to continue this practice, the United States would break diplomatic relations. Wilson also received letter from Page saying that the British ambassador increasingly saw the United States as of 'no use' as a peacemaker because 'we do not even keep our own pledge, made of our own volition'.

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

U-Boats were German submarines, the German word for U-Boat was U-Boot which was a shorter way of saying Unterseeboot, which literally meant undersea boat. U-Boats had self propelled torpedoes and they ran on diesel engines. In the beginning of World War One Germany had twenty-nine U-Boats. In the first ten weeks Germany took down five British ships with U-Boats. U-Boats were on and off during the beginning of the war, and virtually everyone in France and England distrusted the U-Boats and the Germans.

On the same year(1915) in November another ship was sunk by U-boat it was an Italian Liner it got attacked without warning. Again Americans drown in this ship more than 25 Americans died out of 270 or more people on board. U.S. citizens started to go against the Germans and this wasn't irreversible. On January 31,1917 Germany declared that they will use restricted warfare in war zone waters. “Three days later, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Germany, and just hours after that the American ship Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat,”(History.com). The United States were ready for war on February 22 after the congress passed $250 million arms appropriation bill. The president declared war on Germany after they sunk four more U.S. Merchant ships. “On April 4, the Senate voted to declare war against Germany, and two days later the House of Representatives endorsed the declaration. With that, America entered World War

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

When the First World War erupted in Europe on July 28, 1914; President Woodrow Wilson formally proclaimed that the United States would remain neutral on August 4, 1914. However, the United States did not stick to this proclamation, and eventually became involved in the war efforts. This investigation aims to evaluate the reasons the United States violated their neutrality in order to join the war. In inquiring into the reasons of the United States’ entry into the war, the Zimmermann telegram will be assessed. Primary sources, Message to Congress., 2d Sess., Senate Doc and War Messages, 65th Cong., 1st Sess. Senate Doc. No. 5 by Woodrow Wilson will also be assessed. Online sources, for example

The brutal acts the Germans were doing to innocent Americans put pressure on the President. Therefore President Wilson met with American citizens and discussed going to war with Germany and the price Americans would pay. In his speech he said, “There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight and there is such a thing as a nation being so right it does not need to convince people by force what is right.” The speech didn’t matter America wanted justiced.