Historical Debate Essay: The United States Moves To War

After winning the election of 1916 barring the slogan, “We kept us out of war!” Wilson began his “peace without victory” crusade. (Zieger, 44) He failed to identify the secret treaties that were entered between the Allies during the war and Germany’s unwillingness to concede anything from a war they did not lose. When it was apparent that a “peace without victory” would be unattainable all that was left was a catalyst and the United States

One justification for the United States entering World War I, would be that the United States’ international transactions, money-wise, were affected. The U.S government’s perception would be to enter WWI, so that the loss of profits from Germany would, hopefully, increase the potential profits of loans and exports from France and Britain. Secretary William Jennings Bryan’s message to President Woodrow Wilson, August 10th, 1914 stated, “...because the value of the [loan] would be directly affected by the result of the war…”. This extract from the document, attests that to some extent the United States was justified to enter WWI, because of …

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.

The U.S entering World War 1 was justified. The United States didn't decide to get involved until a couple Americans died because the Germans sunk the Lusitania which was carrying about 173 tons of war munitions for Britain and contained American soldiers, 128 died. Second, it was the Zimmermann Telegram, Germany told Mexico to declare war on America which outraged them, and lastly, Germans would sink anything that goes in their way with their submarines. I believe it’s good they fought or else we wouldn't have our freedom or money back from Britain. They created a marine warfare by shooting down anything that

Beginning from the birth of the United States, a policy of neutrality and a will to stay out of foreign affairs is evident. So when archduke Ferdinand was assassinated the United States wanted to try its best to reap the benefits of the situation while avoiding joining in the conflict that would come to be known as World War 1. However, in 1917 the United States declared war on Germany despite this longstanding tradition and joined the conflict. One of the leading causes of this decision was the aggression of the German naval policy. When Great Britain set up a naval blockade to cease trade with Germany, Germany declared their U-boats would attack ships traversing those waters. This aggressive policy led to a hindrance on American trade as well as an endangerment of American citizens causing them to side against Germany. An additional factor that influenced the United States to side against the Germans In World War 1 was Allied propaganda. Since the United States was cut off from the Germans and the others of the triple alliance this was the only propaganda that they had encountered. President Woodrow Wilson’s ideology also played a factor in joining the war. Woodrow Wilson claimed that entering the war

In the early 20th century, the assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian, catapulted European powers into a string of events that led them to a World War. This war, known as the Great War, was caused by allied countries being sucked in one by one, and eventually, the United States had to make a decision: to join the war or to remain nuetral. Due to specific circumstances, such as the Zimmerman note and the sinking of US merchant ships, the United States government decided to enter the war on the side of the Triple Entente. This, however, stirred up controversy among the people of the United States, as some were pro-war and some were anti-war. The government, urging for the war, made arguments towards it through glorifying its political

It had resulted in much of Europe in ruins. It was interpreted as 'the war to end all wars'. So after World War I ended, Woodrow Wilson aimed for a peace treaty based on justice and not anger. In his Fourteen Points speech to Congress in January 1918, President Woodrow Wilson brought forth peace negotiations. The text book states that, “The key provisions called for open diplomacy, free seas and free trade, disarmament, democratic self-rule, and an association of nations to guarantee collective security. It was nothing less than a new world order to end selfish nationalism, imperialism, and war” (Davison, Delay, Heyrman, Lytle, Stoff, pg.

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.

The United States entered World War I to fight for democracy. Another reason they entered war was because the arguments about capitalism. Part of the reason they entered the war was because of the German submarine warfare. Lives of innocent people were being taken for no reason. “German submarine warfare against commerce is a warfare against mankind.” “American ships have been sunk, American lives taken, in ways which it has stirred us very deeply to learn of.” John Kenneth Turner said that the he thought that the war was a war for business. World War I made 21,000 new american millionaires, and 60,000 men made more than three billion dollars over their normal income. War makes money which is why Wall Street wanted war. America’s war aims were to keep the people safe, and increase the trading. They wanted to have peace and justice in the

By the time President Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany and its allies, the World War I had already been raging for four years (Doenecke, 2010, p. 1). Prior to this declaration of war, America had tried to remain neutral, while Germany, Autria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria waged war against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Rumania, and Japan. Many of these belligerents joined the war at various times during this four year period, so the war continued to expand during this four year period. Wilson and a significant percentage (49%) of the American public had wanted to stay out of this conflict as possible when it first started (Doenecke, 2010, p. 20), but a series of events forced America's hand.

The main reason why the United States should have entered World War I is because they needed to defend their people. According to Source 1, President Woodrow Wilson claimed that the U.S. should join the war in response to the sinking of the Lusitania ship. In his speech to Congress on April 2, 1917, he claimed, “American ships have been sunk, American lives taken...the lives of peaceful and innocent people cannot be.” He confirmed that the U.S. was being attacked and many American lives lost. Therefore, fighting for the tranquility of U.S. citizens, by joining the war, was in the best interest.

First of all, I think the United States did a good job of deciding to enter World War One (WW1) for the following reasons,

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

Throughout history there has been competition for resources and domination. This competition has led to conflicts that have caused destruction, social disruptions and death. World War I was no exception to this competition. World War I was known as the war to end all wars and was caused by a combination of factors. Some causes of World War I was nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and the main cause which was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip of Serbia. While the United States attempted to remain neutral and stay out of the war, Germany choose actions that gave the U.S. no choice but to enter and help their Allies defeat the other powers.

The notion of an American way of war informs how scholars, policymakers, and strategists understand how Americans fight. A way of war—defined as a society’s cultural preferences for waging war—is not static. Change can occur as a result of important cultural events, often in the form of traumatic experiences or major social transformations. A way of war is therefore the malleable product of culturally significant past experiences. Reflecting several underlying cultural ideals, the current American way of war consists of three primary tenets—the desire for moral clarity, the primacy of technology, and the centrality of scientific management systems—which combine to create a preference for decisive, large-scale conventional wars with clear objectives and an aversion to morally ambiguous low-intensity conflicts that is relevant to planners because it helps them address American strategic vulnerabilities.