Woodrow Wilson essay
The main aim of this project is to talk about why Americans declared War on Germany and discuss the role of Woodrow Wilson in this process.
At the beginning of this project it is necessary to mention that Woodrow Wilson was against the World War I and he kept the country away from the entry into this war during 1914-1917. In 1916 he offered his services as a mediator, but the warring parties did not react to his suggestions seriously.
Wilson lobbied against unrestricted submarine warfare, which Germany had unleashed. German naval forces destroyed the ships belonging to the zone adjacent to Great Britain in the framework of unrestricted submarine warfare. In such a way Wilson proclaimed a fairly peaceful program, but put pressure on Germany to end unrestricted submarine warfare. In the election campaign, Wilson made an emphasis on his achievements and was re-elected exactly on this basis.
Thinking about the reasons why American president declared war on Germany, it is possible to say that it was not an easy decision, because Wilson decided to join the U.S. in the First World War exactly when Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917, and made an unsuccessful attempt to bring Mexico to its side. Wilson did not sign alliance agreements with Great Britain or France, preferring to operate independently as ‘associate’ (and not a Union) country. He formed a large army through conscription and appointed Gen. John Pershing as a commander, leaving him considerable discretion in matters of tactics, strategy and even diplomacy. Wilson urged ‘to declare war for the purpose of to end all wars,’ which meant that he wanted to lay the foundations for a piece without war, to prevent future catastrophic wars, spreading death and destruction.
Analyzing historical evidences, it seems that the role of Zimmermann telegram in the list of reasons prompted the U.S. to join the war is not as great as we can imagine: in this situation the more value plays interception, decoding and communication to the public its content. Whatever it was, the hype around the German and American intrigue stirred up American society, and prompted the U.S. government to enter into the First World War. From this perspective, the role of the telegram as a decisive motive to the beginning of hostilities of the United States can not be overstated.
Observing how neutral America had been in the WWI, it is possible to note that the United States sympathized to Western European countries at the beginning of the war; however, the desire to maintain neutrality dominated. As it was previously said Wilson, shocked by the destructive nature of the conflict and concerned about its possible adverse implications for the United States in a case of delay of military action, tried to mediate. His ultimate goal was to achieve a ‘peace without victory”. For a great regret, peacemaking efforts were unsuccessful; mainly due to the fact that both parties did not lose a hope to win the decisive battle. Meanwhile, the United States more deeply mired in a dispute over the rights of neutral nations on the sea and became involved into the war.
Nowadays it is hard to predict what would happen if America had stayed out the War, but we can state that the WWI was the threat to the whole humanity, and it would be wrong from America’s side to stay aside while western civilization would be destroyed day after day.
In conclusion, we have observed some of the reasons why America declared War on Germany and discussed the role of Woodrow Wilson in this process with all necessary details.
