|
|
United States Entry into World War I: Two Diametrically Opposed Views
Introduction
American foreign policy continues to resonate with the issues involved in the
entry of the United States into World War I—unilateralism versus foreign
alliances, the responsibilities of power, the influence of the military-industrial
complex on foreign policy, the use of force to accomplish idealistic goals. Understanding
the choices the Wilson administration made and their consequences provides insight
into international affairs in the years since the end of the Great War and beyond.
In this lesson, students reconsider the events leading to U.S. entry into
World War I through the lens of archival documents.
Guiding Questions:
What important events led to U.S. involvement in World War I?
What is the most compelling evidence explaining why the U.S. entered World
War I?
Learning Objectives
After completing the lessons in this unit, students will be able to:
- List important events leading to U.S. involvement in World War I.
- Take a stand on a hypothesis for U.S. entry into World War I, supported
by specific evidence.
Read the following with the class:
…I am not now thinking of the loss of property involved, immense and
serious as that is, but only of the wanton and wholesale destruction of the
lives of noncombatants, men, women, and children, engaged in pursuits which
have always, even in the darkest periods of modern history, been deemed innocent
and legitimate. Property can be paid for; the lives of peaceful and innocent
people can not be. The present German submarine warfare against commerce is
a warfare against mankind.
It is a war against all nations. American ships have been sunk, American lives
taken, in ways which it has stirred us very deeply to learn of, but the ships
and people of other neutral and friendly nations have been sunk and overwhelmed
in the waters in the same way. There has been no discrimination. The challenge
is to all mankind. Each nation must decide for itself how it will meet it. The
choice we make for ourselves must be made with a moderation of counsel and a
temperateness of judgment befitting our character and our motives as a nation.
We must put excited feeling away. Our motive will not be revenge or the victorious
assertion of the physical might of the nation, but only the vindication of right,
of human right, of which we are only a single champion.
—President Woodrow Wilson's War Message, April 2, 1917
…We have loaned many hundreds of millions of dollars to the Allies
in this controversy. While such action was legal and countenanced by international
law, there is no doubt in my mind but the enormous amount of money loaned to
the Allies in this country has been instrumental in bringing about a public
sentiment in favor of our country taking a course that would make every bond
worth a hundred cents on the dollar and making the payment of every debt certain
and sure. Through this instrumentality and also through the instrumentality
of others who have not only made millions out of the war in the manufacture
of munitions, etc., and who would expect to make millions more if our country
can be drawn into the catastrophe, a large number of the great newspapers and
news agencies of the country have been controlled and enlisted in the greatest
propaganda that the world has ever known to manufacture sentiment in favor of
war.
—Senator George W. Norris Opposition to Wilson's War Message, April 4,
1917
The failure to treat the belligerent nations of Europe alike, the failure to
reject the unlawful "war zones" of both Germany and Great Britain is wholly
accountable for our present dilemma.
—Senator Robert M. LaFollette Opposition to Wilson's War Message, April
4, 1917
Assessment
As you or students read, have them compile a list of reasons each gives for American
entry into World War I. If desired, use a two-circle Venn
diagram to identify the reasons the two pieces have in common and those they
do not.
Selected EDSITEment Websites
Standards Alignment
View your state’s standards
|
