Presidential Decisions: #28 Woodrow Wilson (D-NJ)

Decision:Changing from the foreign policy of neutrality to asking Congress to enter World War I on the side of the Allies to “make the world safe for democracy.”

Historical Circumstances (1/2):• When World War I began in Europe (with the

assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the United States wanted to stay out of the conflict.

• American foreign policy was based on neutrality in European wars, going back to first president George Washington.

• Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, fought the Republican-majority Congress against preparation for and entry into the war.

Historical Circumstances (2/2):• When the German navy began using unrestricted

submarine warfare, American merchant ships headed to England and France were targeted to stop the supply of weapons to the Allies.

• It was these attacks on American shipping that caused Wilson to change his stance and ask Congress to declare war on Germany and enter World War I.

SPECIFIC long-term effect (1/3):• Upon entering the war, Wilson was focused on a

detailed peace-plan he created, called the Fourteen Points of Light. He believed that his plan would prevent all future wars.

• The most important part of his plan was the creation of an international peace-keeping organization called the League of Nations.

• The League would allow countries a way to mediate their conflicts, instead of going to war.

SPECIFIC long-term effect (2/3):• At the end of the war, Wilson traveled to Paris, France

to negotiate the Treaty of Versailles.• The Allies didn’t want to listen to Wilson’s peace-plan,

wanting to punish Germany harshly instead, thinking that weakening the Germans would prevent another war.

• The only part of Wilson’s plan to make it into the Treaty was the League of Nations.

SPECIFIC long-term effect (3/3):• When Wilson returned to the U. S. with the Treaty, the

Senate had to approve it (as outlined in the Constitution).

• The Senate refused because they were unwilling to join the League of Nations, wanting to go back to being isolationist.

• Because of the harsh treatment of Germany and the failure of the weak League, just twenty years later World War II occurred.