Eugene Hubs Vs Woodrow Wilson

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President Woodrow Wilson declared that World War I was a fight for liberty, democracy, and humanity, but while the president felt he was making the right decision not everyone shared the sentiment. World War I was polarizing particularly since it was a European affair and President Wilson’s urge for neutrality perhaps reaffirmed these sentiments. Though Wilson stated it was a war against humanity, some prominent politicians such as Eugene Debs viewed it as more of the same. Eugene Debs and Wilson differed greatly in regards to their views on; the aims of the war, patriotism, and democracy and differed even more so with soldiers, this highlights the divisiveness of the war and its aims along with the sentiments of patriotism. Woodrow Wilson’s …show more content…

Eugene Debs was not one of these people, as self-proclaimed socialist and anti-capitalist Debs believed that the war effort would not help the lives of Americans at home. In his speech at Canton, Ohio, Debs preached against the war and against the capitalist class and the establishment. Debs viewed the American political system as; rigid, corrupt, and un-democratic. He even went as far as comparing the American political system a system that monarchs would have used in the middle ages; the working class brainwashed by the higher class to fight for their cause, to revere them and to shed blood for them but excluded from decision making. Debs believed the people should be self-governed and desired a government of, for, and by the …show more content…

Wilson rallied people behind his cause as he appealed to their emotions and sense of national pride. Debs argued that patriotism never seemed to apply to those in power and seldom did wars not benefit the upper class. Wilson and Debs also disagreed on the goals of the war and why it was being fought, but fortunately for Wilson, his soldiers shared that patriotic sentiment. Doughboy, though not happy at war, believed it was ultimately right, and this sentiment no doubt reverberated around the military and helped the United States win the war. Debs strongly disagreed with the war and patriotism, but nevertheless it unified the country and strengthened patriotism after the

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