They held out the hope of independence to oppressed minority groups, such as the Poles. The other points proved no less seductive. The first 5 of the Fourteen Points were broad in scope.ġ- A proposal to abolish secret treaties pleased liberals of all countries.Ģ- Freedom of the seas appealed to Germans, as well as to Americans who distrusted British sea power.ģ- A removal of economic barriers among nations was comforting to Germany, which feared postwar vengeance.Ĥ- A reduction of armament burdens was gratifying to taxpayers everywhere.ĥ- An adjustment of colonial claims in the interests of both native peoples and the colonizers was reassuring to the anti-imperialists. He delievered his famed Fourteen Points Address to an enthusiastic Congress on January 8, 1918.Īlthough one of his primary purposes was to keep reeling Russia in the war, his vision inspired all the Allies to make mightier efforts and demoralized the enemy gov'ts by holding out alluring promises to their dissatisfied minorities. Wison quickly came to be recognized as the moral leader of the Allied cause. He fired up the public mind to a fever pitch Probably no other appeal could have successfully converted the American people from their historic hostility to involvement in European squabbles. Wilson genuinely believed in the principles he so eloquently intoned. He contrasted the selfish war aims of the others with America's shining altruism. He won over the nation with his lofty ideals. Wilson would have to claim more glorified aims, he declared the twin goals of "a war to end war" and a crusade "to make the world safe for democracy" Wilson could not get any enthusiasm, especially in the Midwest, by fighting to make the world safe from the submarine. Many in Congress had voted against the war resolution Posed a threat to the leadership skills of Wilsonįor more than a century Americans had prided themselves on their isolationism from the periodic outbursts of militarized violence that afflicted the Old World, and now German U-boats had roughly shoved America into the abyss. It fell to the Scholarly Wilson who was deeply respectful of American traditions, to shatter one of the most sacred of those traditions by entangling America in a distant European war. The weapons merchants and financiers though, were already thriving uneffected by wartime gov't restrictions and heavy taxation. In later years a myth developed that Americ was dragged unwittingly into war by munitions makers and Wall Street bankers who were desperate to protect their profits and loans. Wilson at last asked Congress for a declaration of war on the evening of April 2, 1917. The President lost a gamble that America could pursue neutral trade without being sucked into maelstrom The German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann had secretly proposed a German-Mexican alliance, with veiled promises to Mexico of recovering Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.įollowing the Zimmermann notes German U-boats sank four unarmed American merchant vessels in the first two weeks of March. The Zimmermann note was intercepted and published on Mainfuriating Americans especially westerners. To defend American interests short of war, the president asked Congress for authority to arm American merchant ships.Ī band of midwestern senators launched a filibuster to block the measure and Wilson denounced them as a "little group of willful men" who were rendering a great nation "helpless and contemptible", but their obstruction was a reminder of the continuing strength of American isolationism.
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