CHAPTER 21: The Road To War
Objectives: o We will examine the various factors that led to World War I. o We will analyze what factors led the United States to be involved in the war.
(Mat 24:6) And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
The Collapse of European Peace: o The major powers of Europe were organized by 1914 in two great competing alliances. o The Triple Entente linked Britain, France, and Russia. o The Triple Alliance united Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Italy.
The Collapse of European Peace: o The chief rivalry however was not between the two alliances, but between the great powers that dominated them: Great Britain and Germany. o The trigger that started World War I was when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by a Serbian national in Sarajevo the capital of Bosnia.
Wilson s Neutrality: o Wilson called on his fellow citizens in 1914 to remain impartial in thought as well as deeds. o It was impossible with German and Irish immigrants siding with the Germans either by affection or hatred for the British. o Wilson himself sympathized with the British.
Wilson s Neutrality: o Economic factors caused America not to treat both sides equally. o The British placed a naval blockade on Germany to prevent munitions and supplies from reaching the enemy. o As a neutral nation, the U.S. had the right in theory to trade with both Britain and Germany, but for Americans to trade with Germany, they would have to defy British blockade.
Wilson s Neutrality: o A truly neutral response to the blockade would have been to stop trading with Britain as well. o But the allies, Britain and France were huge buyers of American goods during the war that caused one of the greatest economic booms in the nation s history. o So America continued to trade with Britain and transformed itself from a neutral power into the arsenal of the allies.
Wilson s Neutrality: o Germany now utilized submarines to stop the flow of supplies and sunk the British passenger Lusitania without warning, that was also carrying munitions as well. o 1,198 people were killed including 128 Americans.
Wilson s Neutrality: o Wilson angry, demanded that Germany promise not to repeat this acts and that the Central Powers affirm their commitment to neutral rights. o The Germans finally agreed to Wilson s demands but tension between the nations continued to grow.
Wilson s Neutrality: o A few weeks later, Germany attacked the unarmed French steamer Sussex, injuring several American passengers. o Again Wilson demanded that Germany abandon its unlawful tactics. o Germany again agreed.
Preparedness versus Pacifism: o Domestically, Wilson faced powerful forces that opposed intervention with elections nearing for him. o Initially, Wilson sided with those who did not want a military buildup but after the continual tensions building between Germany and the U.S. o Wilson endorsed an ambitious proposal for a large and rapid increase in the nation s armed forces.
Preparedness versus Pacifism: o In the election of 1916, supporters of Woodrow Wilson asserted that Wilson s diplomatic achievement was to keep America from war and that the Republican opponent would lead them to war. o Wilson was reelected by a small margin.
Preparedness versus Pacifism: o With Wilson elected, tensions remained high with Germany. o Wilson required a justification for American intervention that would unite public opinion and satisfy his own sense of morality. o In the end, he created that rationale himself.
Preparedness versus Pacifism: o The United States had no material aims in the conflict, rather the nation was committed to using the war as a vehicle to construct a new world order based on the same progressive ideas that motivated the reform in America.
Preparedness versus Pacifism: o In a speech before Congress in 1917, Wilson presented a plan for a postwar order in which the United States would help maintain peace through a permanent league of nations. o Peace that would ensure self-determination for all nations, a peace without victory. o Here were, Wilson believed goals worth fighting for if there was sufficient provocation. o Provocation came quickly.
Preparedness versus Pacifism: o On February 25, 1917, the British gave Wilson a telegram intercepted from the German foreign minister, Arthur Zimmerman, to the government of Mexico. o It proposed that in the event of war between Germany and the United States, the Mexicans should join with Germany against the Americans. o To regain their lost provinces (Texas and much of the rest of the American Southwest) when the war was over.
Preparedness versus Pacifism: o Widely publicized by British propagandists and in the American press, the Zimmerman telegram inflamed public opinion and helped build popular sentiment for war. o A few weeks later, in March 1917, a revolution in Russia toppled the reactionary Czarist regime and replaced it with a new republican government. o America would be spared allying itself from a despotic monarchy.
Preparedness versus Pacifism: o On April 2, two weeks after German submarines had torpedoed three American ships, Wilson appeared before a joint session of Congress and asked for a declaration of War. o War was declared in April 6.