Was it the United States Job to Step into Foreign Wars? Less than 5 decades after the end of the civil, neither the government nor the public had any appetitive for putting it’s young men and resources at risk to get involved with other nation’s squabbles. In 1912, the United States elected Woodrow Wilson president. He was an anti-war democrat, and a fervent christian, who thought that his election to office was a calling from God (Shi, p. 817). The US public still remembered the pain of losing loved ones in the civil war, and felt quite safe with a huge ocean between themselves and the massive carnage in Europe. Neither the President nor the populace felt the need to act as hegemon. Yet advances in technology made the casualty numbers, …show more content…
This fact is clearly illustrated in the lyrics of the song by Morton Harvey, I Didn't Raise My Boy to be a Soldier”. With the advent of steam ships, railroads, telegrams, and photography, came much more graphic and timely reporting on the war. It is not hard to see how frightening it would be to sign up to fight, when there was no possibility of romanticizing such actions. A good example of this is an uncredited photo from the Huffington post, titled, British troops in Trenches Flanders …show more content…
Many of the country’s residents were from Germany, Great Britain, France and Russia. Once the US jumped into the war, many of these groups were mistreated, and in 1917 Congress passed the Espionage and Seditions acts that made it illegal to criticize our government’s or leaders actions in war, or to say anything that might be considered disloyal(Shi, p. 830). All through the first three years, the Germans would use submarines to sink ships, often these were civilian ships with American citizens aboard. These actions began to change the public opinion about getting into the war. The last straw however was the Zimmerman telegram, a telegram from the German government to the Mexican government, encouraging Mexico to invade the US, in exchange, recouping some of the lost southwestern states(Shi, p. 826). The US changed the tide of the war, and gave the Allied forces victory. This allowed Wilson the opportunity to negotiate the peace with his 15 point plan. His major goal was to ensure that this never happen again (Wilson, p. 1, line 7). Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was the creation of the United Nations, for which he made many concessions (Wilson, P. 3, line 15-16). Perhaps if he’d been able to sell his plan as written the world would not have had to fight
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
Woodrow Wilson, our 23rd president, became involved in a war that he did not want any part of. Wilson wanted to remain neutral and have peace as in his first term of office. During World War I Wilson’s roles in the war became well known in all countries. Wilson wanted peace more than anything else. In seeking for peace Wilson asked Congress for the U.S. to enter World War I. which may not sound like a peace strategy but Wilson felt it was the only way to stop Germany and gain peace. Wilson wrote his speech for world peace, Fourteen Points, that he was probably most famous for. He attended and played an integral part in The Treaty of Versailles. He was the founder of the League of Nations,
America’s involvement in World War I not only impacted the war front but also the people left on the home front. When America entered World War I in 1917 the government enforced many measures on its citizens, many of which violated constitutional rights. The biggest measure inflicted on the American population was censorship. The formation of the Committee on Public Information (CPI) and the passing of the Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment stole American’s freedom of speech, created an anti-German sentiment, and led to deportation during the post-war Red Scare.
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
The US government’s efforts to fight in WW1 increased government federal power and decreased individual rights. Many liberties were restricted during WW1. For
Zieger points out a great question concerning this vague reason for going to war: If the pathological character of the German state was truly the reason for American entry, why did Wilson take so long to recognize its irredeemable evil? (Zieger, 54) Other would question Wilson's motives and influences for going to war or not going to war earlier for decades to come. Wilson's vision of neutrality and facilitating as peace maker for the warring nations as Roosevelt did in 1906 (Davidson, 647) came to questionable end. Wilson's next vision would be to facilitate peace as a member of the Allies and secure the world from another such war.
On April 2, 1917 the United States entered WWI declaring war against Germany and its allies. The deciding factor for the U.S. to enter the war is due to one document, the Zimmerman Telegram. The document was sole proof to many Americans that Germany’s intentions were not only causing harm on European soil but bringing it across the seas to American soil. It stated that Germany had no intentions on slowing down its submarine warfare to which they hoped to keep the Americans neutral, but if they failed in doing so they offered an alliance among themselves and Mexico. The understanding was that Mexico would declare war on the United States and help the Germans and in return they would receive their land they had lost to America in years past,
The Civil War of America has been discussed as the first modern war of the new industrial age. Army’s of such a large size had yet to meet head on, face to face in the battle field with weapons of such mass destruction and deadly force. America had not yet seen casualties of this magnitude to
The fourth point on Wilsons plan was the reducing of armies of all nations to a bare minimum. This did not go over well at all. No nation wanted to be told by the United States that it had to reduce its army. This point was tied to Americas participation in the war because America could significantly reduce its army and still be safe. It had 2 oceans to protect it, unlike every other nation, especially those in Europe. This was another point to basically put America on top, and secure its rank as the number one nation in the world
Wilson’s fourteen points summarise the quest for international cooperation in achieving and maintaining peace. However, this can be questioned as the first paragraph also suggests a self-centred approach taken by Wilson. The speech suggests that the USA is the only ones with the capacity to achieve such peace, the programme of the world's peace, therefore, is our programme; and that programme, the only possible programme. It reflects a world view and hierarchy, suggesting one big American alliance rather than an idea of international cooperation. This is also further illustrated on in Wilson’s speech, his concern for the safety of the USA is key in the way he treats countries such as Russia and Germany, and his disagreement with some of the terms in the Treaty of Versailles. In point six of the speech when dealing with Russia it talks of securing the best and freest cooperation of the other nations of the world. Wilson was careful in how he achieved peace, as he wanted to maintain relationships with countries within Europe, whilst keeping USA dominance ad not upsetting France and Clemenceau who wanted harsh treatment of Germany. This is illustrated in point eight of Wilson’s fourteen points.
Government censorship continued with the passing of the Espionage Act in 1917 and the Sedition Amendment in 1918. The Espionage Act and Sedition Amendment condemned any antiwar activity or desecrating of the government, Constitution, flag, or military. The American public were almost at a point where they could not have an opinion, unless in support of the war and government. Even Wilson stated, "Woe be to the man or group of men that seeks to stand in our way." These acts of censorship gave birth to a suspicious nation.
then increased trade with the Allies, Britain and France, which gave them closer ties with the Allies forces. Secondly, the German navy launched a U-boat submarine, which torpedoed the British luxury liner Lusitania and killed 128 Americans in the process. Next, the U.S. intercepted a telegram in which Germany’s foreign secretary sent to the German minister in Mexico City. The telegram was urging Mexico to join the Central Powers in the war, and Germany promised to help Mexico recover Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in return. This threatened the territorial integrity of the U.S. The final reason for U.S. involvement in the war was when U-boats started attacking American ships without warning. This forced President Wilson to ask for a declaration of war before a special session of Congress.
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
Another factor that led to the United States’ entry into World War I, was the Zimmerman Telegram. The Zimmerman Telegram was a telegram issued from the German Foreign Office in January, 1917. It proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico in the event of the United States' entering World War I against Germany. The proposal was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence. The message was in the form of a coded telegram sent by the Foreign Secretary of the German Empire, Arthur
For President Woodrow Wilson, it was essential to maintain his political popularity by withholding the United States from entering the war that was destroying Europe. In his speech called "peace without victory", he indicated that both the allies and the axis powers had shown their somewhat eagerness to talk about agreements of peace without surrendering. Instead of participating in the conflict, Wilson announced that the United States should be the negotiator for peace, using its influence together with other nations to make certain that a war of this magnitude would never happen again. President Wilson’s position was that each nation needs to be left in peace to manage itself, and that this could only be accomplished by a global compliance to lessen military strength, have the oceans be kept free and accessible to everyone, and stay away from the military alliances which had made World War I a global conflict.