President_Wilson_and_Wwi

Lesson 1- Essay Neutral: To be or not to be For the last century, our Nation has been considered the strongest when it comes to money and power. I believe that is due in part to a big step that President Woodrow Wilson made April 6, 1917, when he formally declared war on Germany. But was that the right decision to make' Wilson made many attempts to remain peacefully neutral with Germany and the American public wanted no part of the war overseas. So, was declaring war in the best interest of our country or should we have stayed complacent, remaining neutral and assisting both sides' America and its Allies When the original outbreak of war was made in 1914, the American public was unnerved but also didn’t think that the issues had anything to do with them. As unfortunate as it was that Europe was involved, they never believed that the government would become involved other than to lend financial or supply assistance. Wilson had made a statement informing the American banking system not to issue loans with the countries that were the main cause of the war. He believed that it would cause America not to appear neutral. Trade continued with the British and significantly increased as the war went on. Merchant ships carried supplies and merchandise back and forth between Great Britain and American. We shared the oceans amicably with Great Britain with the understanding that America is neutral. As progression of the war went on, our neutrality began to waiver. Introduction of German Subs February 4, 1915, Germany announced that there would be a new weapon utilized. Submarines would take to the British Isles and all enemy vessels would be destroyed. Because of Britain’s misuse of neutral flags on their ships, those vessels could be in danger of being fired upon as well. Still, Wilson remained neutral believing there was no danger or threat to us specifically. British Liners Sunk A little over a month later, the British liner, Falaba, was sunk killing one American. This caused Wilson and his advisors to react, trying to make a policy that would caution Americans not to travel on these ships. However, Wilson didn’t want to press the issue, even though the sinking of the Falaba was a flagrant violation of international law. He didn’t want to make a decision, because it would force him to take a stand and go to war. On May 7, 1915, yet another unarmed British liner, Lusitania, was sunk without warning in the waters outside of Ireland. Of the over one thousand dead, 128 were Americans. Again, though extremely unnerved, Wilson sent a note stating that there needed to be a way that safe passage could be made for unarmed, noncombatants. He feared that anything more stern could come across as choosing a side. He wished to defend the rights of neutral trade between America and Europe and the American public, though outraged, still didn’t want to go to war with Germany. Wilson takes a Stand Wilson believed that in order for relations to remain cop esthetic with Great Britain, he would have to find a way to end the war. He decided to have a meeting with the nations’ leaders to try to come to an agreement. Britain stated that if they didn’t receive assistance from America, that commerce between the two countries would cease. Wilson, feeling backed into a corner to finally choose sides, had to make a decision. After much discussion with numerous advisors, Military personnel, State Department, etc., Wilson’s hand was forced. He realized that Germany was not going to respect the policies that were in place, and to remain on good terms with Britain, decided he had no choice but to take a stand. His desire was to come to a peaceful resolution but felt that Britain wanted peace by way of a militant victory. On April 2, 1917, President Wilson delivered a war address to Congress asking the House of Representatives to declare war on Germany. Then on April 4th, America is no longer neutral, declaring war on Germany. Conclusion So why did it take so long for Wilson to finally take a stand' It almost appears as though he was a fearful leader. The leader of our Nation seemed afraid of going to war. Or was he fearful' Did he have such a strong belief system personally, that lead him to believe that the loss of American lives for such an act was not worth it' Looking over this I seem to believe it’s both. I think he didn’t want to be forever known as the president that brought our Nation, possibly, to its knees and lose their independence. I also believe that he had a peaceful spirit and like the physician’s creed, “do no harm”. I also believe that this huge decision also catapulted our nation into what it is today, a strong nation, maybe not so militarily or financially strong now, but many other nations have come to us for help for all purposes. Sometimes, neutrality can only take a person so far, at some point a stand has to be taken.