The United States and the Outbreak of WWI

“It would be the irony of fate if my administration had to deal chiefly with foreign affairs.” - Woodrow Wilson

Upon the outbreak of WWI, Wilson tried to be an honest broker between both Great Britain and Germany. It was the intention of the United States to remain neutral in the conflict.

Why not enter the war? The fighting was between European imperialist powers. There were no vital U.S. interests at stake. Many industries benefitted from providing war material Many Americans placed their faith in the notion of “U.S. exceptionalism” – their belief that the superior democratic values and institutions set their country apart from other nations and make it immune from the corruption and chaos of international struggles. The “shining city upon a hill” all over again.

Wilson asked Americans to be “neutral in fact as well as in name, impartial in thought as well as in action.”

Weak support for the war. There were many Americans with cultural ties to both Britain and France. BUT Many Irish-Americans resented Great Britain for having occupied their country for hundreds of years. IN ADDITION The U.S. was home to over 10 million German/Austro-Hungarian immigrants.

America stood to profit handsomely from the war. New technology such as the machine gun, invented by American ex-pat Hiram Maxim while living in Britain, changed the way the war would be fought.

The Browning Rifle, of which over were in use in the war by the time it ended. Gun technology had improved to where they had an effective range of 1000 yards – far greater than the 300-yard range found in the best Civil War guns.

And LOTS of ammunition was sent overseas.

The hope on the part of America was that they could remain out of the war, then find a way to arbitrate and influence its ultimate settlement.

The cost of neutrality By early 1914, Great Britain had established a naval blockade on all shipments to the Central Powers The U.S. complained, but saw a significant increase in trade with the allies, leading to incredible increases in revenues. In 1914, American trade with France and Britain totalled roughly $824 million; by 1916, it was $3.2 billion. In contrast, by 1917, the U.S. only traded $29 with Germany.

Enter the U-Boat The British blockades forced the Germans to both respond in kind, and to help shipments meant for them to get through. The Unterseeboat was a submarine used in economic warfare - The primary targets of the U-boat campaigns were the merchant convoys bringing supplies from Canada, the British Empire and the United States to the islands of Great Britain.

How would the U-Boats affect America?

The Lusitania On May 7, 1915, the British passenger ship “Lusitania” was sunk by a German U-boat. 128 Americans died. Americans were incensed. In September of 1915, Germany vowed that they would no longer sink passenger ships without warning.

Election of 1916 Anti-war sentiment in the United States still rang strong. Theodore Roosevelt sought the Republican nomination, but largely due to his pro-war stance, he lost the nom to Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes. Democrats re-nominated Woodrow Wilson.

Wilson would win a narrow victory over Hughes, campaigning with the slogan, “He kept us out of war.”

The Zimmerman Telegram On 16 January, 1917, a telegram from Arthur Zimmerman, Germany’s foreign minister to the German minister in Mexico City was intercepted. The telegram was an effort on the part of Germany to convince Mexico to join the Central Powers. In return, Germany promised to help Mexico regain the “lost” territory of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Publication of the contents of the telegram changes the opinion of both congress and the public toward the war.

Mexico had recently undergone a revolution. The U.S. supported constitutionalist Venustiano Carranza. Rebel Pancho Villa (pictured) led raids on U.S. border towns in early Wilson sent troops to capture Villa Carranza demanded that U.S. troops leave Mexico. In early 1917, the American troops left.

In early 1917, the Germans, needing to end the stalemate in Europe, opt to re-instate unrestricted submarine warfare. Many American ships were lost – three on March 18, 1917 alone. Woodrow Wilson asks congress for a declaration of war. Wins additional public support with his explanation, that “America had no selfish aims: we desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind.” U.S. participation in the war would make the world “Safe for democracy.”

On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany and her allies. The American decision to enter the conflict confirmed one of the most important shifts of power in the 20 th century. Prior to the war, the world was dominated by European powers. By the time the war was over, and certainly since then, it has been increasingly dominated by the United States.