Woodrow WilsonDeclaration of War Message

Power point created by Robert MartinezPrimary Content Source: Speaking of America: Vol. II: Since 1865, Laura A. Belmonte nhs.needham.k12.ma.us

• When war erupted in Europe during the summer of 1914, few Americans were

eager to participate.

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• President Woodrow Wilson declared the United States neutral “in thought as well as

in action.” But maintaining neutrality proved quite difficult.

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• Powerful cultural and family ties connected many Americans to Great Britain.

Tower Bridge in London.

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• Economists and industrialists viewed European trade as the key to boosting a

slow economy.

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• At the same time, millions of Americans of German or Irish descent felt no affinity

(love) for the British.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/idswart/138360714/ German Immigrants

• Pacifists, Progressives, and Socialists opposed war on moral grounds and feared that U.S. entry into the conflict would end

social reforms at home.

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_fed06d.htm

Socialist presidential candidate - Eugene Debs

• Although Americans remained divided in their opinions of the war, the desire for expanded international trade and a bias

against the Central Powers soon drew the United States into the conflict.

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• German U-boat attacks, especially the sinking of the Lusitania with many

Americans onboard, generated popular demands for vengeance.

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• At first, the Wilson administration persuaded the Germans to suspend

unrestricted submarine warfare against ships traveling to Great Britain.

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• In 1916, Wilson won reelection, vowing to keep America out of the war.

• Within months, desperation compelled the Germans to resume unrestricted submarine

attacks.

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• Convinced that U.S. involvement in the war could ensure a “peace without victory,”

Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war on April 2, 1917.

http://www.vw.vccs.edu/vwhansd/HIS122/Lectures2.html

• “The present German submarine warfare against commerce is a warfare against

mankind. It is a war of all nations. American ships have been sunk.”

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• “Our motive will not be revenge or the victorious assertion…but only the

vindication of right…”

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• “I advise that the Congress… exert all its power and employ all its resources to bring the Government of the German Empire to terms and end the war…”

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• “Neutrality is no longer feasible… The world must be made safe for democracy.”

http://www.militaryspecialtiesinc.com/web/Books/ww1Hist&Memoirs/ArmyBoysOnGermanSoil.htm