World War I
The name commonly given to the war of 1914-1918, which began in Europe
and was
fought principally on that continent but eventually involved all the
continents
of the world. While the wars between Great Britain and France from
1689 to 1815
had been extended to North America, Africa, and Asia, they
remained wars between
European governments. The term "world war" is
properly applied to the
conflict of 1914-1918 because the various parts of
the British Empire in all
continents as well as many countries in Asia and
North and South America
participated in it. For the first time, all the great
powers of the world were
engaged: Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great
Britain, Italy, and Russia in
Europe; Japan in Asia; and the United
States in North America. It is estimated
that by the end of the war about 93
percent of the population of the world was
in greater or less degree
involved. The two opposing sides in the war were; The
Allies Or Entente
Powers Britain, France, Russia (left December 1917), Italy
(entered May
1915), Serbia, Belgium, Romania (entered August 1916), USA (entered
April
1917) The Central Powers Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey
(entered
November 1914), Bulgaria (entered 1915) THE ENTERY OF THE USA TO
THE WORLD WAR I
The United States was never neutral throughout The Great
War, despite the
President Woodrow Wilson's declaration of neutrality,
and a direct declaration
of war against the Central Powers was an inescapable
occurrence. When war was
come into existence in Europe in 1914, it was
impossible for the United States,
an emerging world power, to avoid conflict
despite its efforts to. President
Wilson immediately issued a declaration
of neutrality because entering into a
war would be against the prevalent
progressive spirit of the time and America
had a tradition of avoiding
European conflicts whenever possible. Nevertheless,
The United States
remained completely neutral from 1914-1917. " Continued
interruption of trade
and travel on the seas by both the allies and central
powers, especially
attacks by German submarines, which was the main reason for
the United States
to enter the war in 1917." Great Britain's powerful navy
quickly took control
of the Atlantic and set up a blockade, cutting off American
trade with
Germany. Germany, on the other hand, attacked British supply lines
with their
new invention, the U-boat. The United States accepted Great
Britain's
blockade and stopped trade with Germany, although a demand by the
United States
that free trade allowed surely have been agreed to. On the
other hand, instead
of accepting Germany's attempt to stop American shipping
to the Allies, Wilson
demanded that Germany stop all attacks on American
ships, but accepted nearly
the same thing when perpetrated by the British.
The population of America,
although against involvement in the war, supported
the Allied cause. This was
due to both the cultural similarities and roots
shared between the United States
and Great Britain and the large scale
British propaganda campaign in America, in
an attempt to get the United
States involved in the war. The propaganda along
with German practices of
sinking ships without giving passengers a chance to
escape and attacking the
neutral country of Belgium (both of which violated
international law) led to
an intense Anti-German sentiment throughout the
population. America was
clearly not a neutral country, but Americans did not
wish to become directly
involved in the war. German U-boats had taken many
American lives with
their attacks on merchant ships, including the Lusitania
where 128 Americans
were killed, which lead to America demanding an end to the
U-boat
attacks. The Germans responded by temporally ceasing submarine warfare
in
1916 under the Sussex Pledge until 1917 when Germany announced the
continuation
of submarine warfare and ended diplomatic relations with the
United States. In
an attempt to eliminate the threat of American involvement
in Europe, Foreign
Minister Alfred Zimmerman of Germany attempted to
provoke Mexico into attacking
the United States with the promising her Texas,
New Mexico and Arizona in
return. The British decoded a message containing
Zimmerman's intent and sent to
the US, further swaying Americans to action.
Berlin, January 19, 1917 "On
the first of February we intend to begin
submarine warfare unrestricted. In
spite of this, it is our intention to
endeavor to keep neutral the United States
of America. If this attempt is not
successful, we propose an alliance on the
following basis with Mexico: That
we shall make war together and together make
peace. We shall give general
financial support, and it is understood that Mexico
is to reconquer the lost
territory in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. The
details are left to you for
settlement.... You are instructed to inform the
President of Mexico of
the above in the greatest confidence as soon as it is
certain that there will
be an outbreak of war with the United States and suggest
that the President
of Mexico, on his own initiative, should communicate with
Japan
suggesting adherence at once to this plan; at the same time, offer to
mediate
between Germany and Japan. Please call to the attention of the President
of
Mexico that the employment of ruthless submarine warfare now promises
to
compel England to make peace in a few months. Zimmerman (Secretary of
State)
These actions by Germany left America with little recourse other
then to declare
war. Furthermore, On April second, 1917, President Wilson
asked for a
declaration of war against Germany. " The world must be safe
for
democracy," he said, as he insisted the Americans to fight for peace
and
safety to make the world truly free. The Americans had hesitated about
siding
with the autocratic Russian government, but the overthrow of the tsar
in the
March revolution removed this obstacle and on April 6, 1917, the
United States
declared war on Germany and began mobilisation and they were
now fighting for
France, Great Britain, and Russia, resulting in an
Allied victory by November
1918. CONCLUSION The U.S.A involvement in the
war helped turn the tide and
played a major role in the eventual defeat of
Germany. The U.S made an important
contribution to the Allied victory,
supplying Britain and France food, merchant
ships and credit, though actual
military help came slowly. Most important was
the psychological boost which
the American potential in resources of men and
materials gave the Allies and
corresponding blow it gave to Germany morale. it
came down to us standing up
to Germany, and showing the world that the U.S. is a
new world power, and
major player in world affairs. That is what we did by
joining the war and
setting the stage, for future global power structures.
Despite the fact
the war was fought in Europe and U.S. casualties and property
loss were far
less than that of the allies, the war had a significant impact
economically,
politically, and socially on the United States. While the
mobilisation effort
brought great economic prosperity to the country from the
production of
wartime goods, postwar demobilisation ought about widespread
unemployment,
increased labour problem, racial hatred, and poverty. Propaganda
campaigns,
designed to create support for the war effort,resulted in strong
anti-foreign
and anti-Communist feelings, which led to violence and the
violation of civil
rights for many Americans.