There was much debate on whether the United States should join World War I because many thought they should stay out of a war 3,000 miles away. But when Congress voted in favor of joining the war, America abandoned neutrality that they have obtained for three years, with the help of President Woodrow Wilson.
President Woodrow WilsonMany Americans wanted to stay out of the war and remain neutral, but many aspects made that difficult. The United States was an industrial and imperial power, and so they felt similar pressures as the European nations that directed them to warfare. Some of the causes were nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and the formation of a system of alliances.Many Americans felt like this war did not involve them, and it did not threaten the lives of Americans or their property. There were some Americans who felt as though we should join the war efforts and win the war. The socialists called the war a capitalist and imperialist struggle between Germany and England to control markets. Pacifists, people who do not want war and violence and who wanted to settle disputes, thought the war was evil and the United States should set an example of peace to the world. William Jennings Bryan was one of these people. Numerous Americans just did not want their sons fighting in a war and experiencing something so horrible.
William Jennings BryanCountless Americans followed the war because they still had close ties to the countries they emigrated from. Americans felt close to Britain because of ancestry, language, and similar democratic institutions and legal systems. Also, the United States started to sympathize with the Allies when Germany attacked many countries. America called Germany “the bully of Europe”.
GermanyAmerican trade with the Allies was far more important than its trade with the Central Powers. The Allies demanded many war supplies, and the U.S. sent millions of dollars worth of supplies to them. The U.S. eventually experienced a labor shortage. It was tough for American businesses to maintain neutrality because it became difficult to trade with Germany because the British stopped shipments.A large amount of Americans wanted the Allies to defeat the Central Powers, but they still did not want to join in the efforts. America had two reasons to join the war: to guarantee repayments of debt from the Allies to the United States and prevent Germany from threatening U.S. shipping.-Jessica Farrell has the same topic, so she will be finishing the rest of it. She will cover from here to when the United States declares war.SourcesThe Americans, Reconstruction to the 21st Centuryhttp://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/ww1/section8.rhtml-Sarah Konz
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