Should America have gone to war? In August, 1914, Germany and Russia went to war after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and Hungary. Great Britain and France allied with Russia but America did not take part in the war. America’s goal was to stay neutral. But, one day in 1917, it was announced that we were going to war against Germany. Why should we go to war? What supports our reason for going to war? The facts presented will show why America should have joined World War 1. The Zimmerman Telegram played a big part in getting America into war. The Zimmerman Telegram was a message to Mexico from Germany trying to get them to fight against America. Germany’s message said “we make a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, generous …show more content…
financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas , New Mexico and Arizona.” The proposal promises Mexico its lost lands back and money. During the war, Germany created the U-boat, a submarine. Germany used the U-boats to sink any ship that came near. The Lusitania, a passenger boat holding American and British passengers was torpedoed, killing over 100 Americans. Wilson told the congress of the U-boats saying “the Imperial German Government that on and after the first day of February it would use its submarines to sink every vessel that sought to approach . . . Great Britain . . . or the Western coasts of Europe.” Germany’s underwater warfare was treatening America’s people and trade and the other country’s. When America was still neutral, America’s exports started to raise. The warring countries needed weapons and ammo to fight, so they bought their supplies from America. But America approached a problem when they tried to ship their trade to Germany and England was blockaded. Great Britain created a blockade, keeping America from sending their trade to Germany. Great Britain would even take the supplies that they had to give Germany. Even though we had good reasons to go to war, we had good reasons to keep out of it and stay neutral.
America was making a lot of money with their exports when we were neutral. The economic boom benefited the government and the citizens, everyone was getting more money. President Wilson said he would keep us out of war. Wilson was an advocate for peace, his slogan during reelections was “He Kept Us Out Of War” We are supporting the rich through joining the war. Senator George Norris says “Their object in having war and in preparing for war is to make money. Human suffering and the sacrifice of human life are necessary, but Wall Street considers only the dollars and cents. . . . We are going into war upon the command of gold.” Joining would only make things harder for the poor when most of the money is being handed to the rich. Our entry into the war is justified. America was being threatened by telegrams, U-boats and blockades. If Wilson did not take action, the US could have been attacked and many lives would be lost. But some facts say we should not have gone to war. Wilson had promised peace and the whole nation was benefitting from the big mass of
money.
America joining World War 1 is a huge decision that can affect the lives of millions of people and our country as a whole. There are many things that could happen that we need to consider. Some pros to joining the war could be a better economy, more jobs, and stopping Germany. Some cons of joining the war could be losing money, losing lives, and possible losing the war. Deciding whether to enter the war or not is a difficult decision and the pros and cons must be considered to make a decision.
On January 9th, 1917 a message was sent from Germany to the German minister in Mexico. This message, later to be known as the Zimmermann Telegram was the final piece to a German plot to embroil the United States into a war with Mexico, Japan or both in order to cripple Allied supply lines fueling Allied operations in Europe.
The United States remained neutral in World War One because they saw it in their best interest. At the time the war began, the U.S. industry was struggling. Staying out of the war was a way to boost the industry in America by utilizing trade with both the Ally and Central Powers. The U.S. also had no real reason to join the war. They had close ties with both sides. Some problems, however, would arise that would question the U.S. decision to remain neutral and sway their opinions to one side of the war.
On April 2nd 1917, President Woodrow Wilson of the United States of America, ??went before Congress and called for a declaration of war. Both the House and the Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of going to war with Germany.?# This was an act that led to much resistance among the American people. Not four months earlier the American people re-elected President Wilson, partly because of his success in keeping the United States out of this European war. However, a series of events, such as the Germans continuing submarine warfare and the attacks on five American ships, led President Wilson to sever diplomatic relations with Germany and send the United States into what would be labeled as World War I. As a result of the war the
Should the United States have participated in the Vietnam War? Some people felt that the US should have been there for two reasons. The first reason was the US was attempting to establish a stable democracy. The second reason was that our participation in Vietnam helped the US win the Cold War. Others believed the US should not have participated for two reasons. One reason was that the South Vietnamese government was a brutal dictatorship. Another reason was our strategy for winning the war was inept. While it appeared that we were trying to spread democracy and win the Cold War., in truth we were supporting a mini-Hitler, and our war strategy had little chance of success.
Was the War of 1812 really worth fighting? Beforehand, Britain began stopping American ships to look for British deserters, soon they began to impress American citizens on those ships. Britain decided to end the policy, unfortunately, that news never reached America in time. By the time it did America already declare war on Britain. In 1814, American and British representatives met to sign a peace agreement, The Treaty of Ghent. This treaty didn't do anything but allow peace between the two and end the war. The news of the treaty signing didn't reach the United States. One last battle took place, Battle of New Orleans. That battle leads to the American victory, leaving hundreds of British soldiers dead. The American citizens felt a new sense of respect and patriotism after the war. The War of 1812 was worth fighting forAdditionallyand it did help the young America.
The United States hoped to stay out of the way because war was viewed as wasteful, irrational, and immoral. There was no reason for the U.S. to intervene with European affairs. In addition, Wilson was aware of the huge immigrant populations whom have come to the United States just recently from those nations currently at war. Many immigrants, such as the Irish, would not support the war because of their previous hatred toward Great Britain.
The U.S. Involvement in the Vietnam War Was Justified. The Vietnam conflict has been known to be the most unpopular war in the history of the United States. The war of 1812, the Mexican war and the Korean conflict of the early 1950's were also opposed by large groups of the American people, but none of them generated the emotional anxiety and utter hatred that spawned Vietnam. The Vietnam war caused people to ask the question of sending our young people to die in places where they were particularly wanted and for people who did not seem especially grateful.
There are many different pros and cons for the United States entering World War 1. Some can be argued but there is a couple that we know about for sure and were good and bad reasons for entering the war.
The German’s unrestricted submarine warfare was the main reason for the U.S. to enter war. Wilson had tremendous support from Americans. The Germans had to be stopped. The attacks came without warning killing many innocent people (Winter and Baggett, 1996). The Germans sank numerous ships including our own. The most famous ship sunk was the Lusitiania. Aboard that ship 128 Americans were killed (http://www.angelfire.com/in3/wilson/wilson.html). The Lusitania was torpedoed without any notice. The Lusitania sunk in 18 minutes killing a total of 1198 people (http://www.poltechnic.org/faculty/gfeldmeth/chart.ww1.html).
The United States was not fighting in World War I until April 1917. Prior to the US entering the war, President Woodrow Wilson ordered a proclamation of “strict and impartial neutrality” because he was horrified by the amount of casualties the war brought. This proclamation allowed Americans to sell goods to countries in war, but seemingly they favored the Allies and America eventually declared war on Germany in 1917 for many reasons. One reason Wilson requested a Declaration of War, was because of the economy. American banks were giving huge loans of money to the Allies, and if they did not win, America would not get their money back. Putting this into consideration, bankers were influenced to start a war with Germany, the other side of
In addition to the aid Germany would provide, Zimmermann also proposed to grant many American states to Mexico after the war. Wilson, livid at the telegram, immediately released it to the press. The country replied with its own indignation after hearing of Germany’s plot, and while the president still looked for ways to avoid the conflict, his “cabinet voted unanimously in favor of going to war” (James and Wells, 26). Wilson took on the persona of the leader of a “righteous war”, and with much support from the people, approached Congress asking for a declaration of war (James and Wells, 26). While not everyone was supportive of the war, the vast majority were extremely pro-war.
America became involved in the Vietnam War to stop the spread of communism by helping South Vietnam fight against North Vietnam, which was communist. Due to that, America’s involvement in the Vietnam war was not justified. American politicians and military generals did not conduct war properly. The war caused more domestic issues than there were prior to the war, such as shootings at universities during protests. America joined the war for imperialistic reasons - to help stop communism and promote democracy to other nations.
Prior to World War I, the United States was concerned with reform at home. When the war began, the United States decided to stay neutral up until the Zimmerman Telegram. The Americans tried to stay neutral for three years in order to be able to keep trading. Woodrow WIlson, also, was aware of the large amount of immigrants who came from other nations that were already in war. Wilson’s desire to stay nonpartisan failed as America drew closer to Britain and France. The “true spirit of neutrality”(Doc. A) was not true after all. The United States went into war on April 6,1917.
War has been around for centuries. From the time modern civilizations began, war has played an integral part in human history. It shaped the world into the modern world we live in. War has been said to be a great motivator, for example, the Great Wall of China was built to fend off the attackers from the north. However, the negative aspects of war far outweighs any positive effects it might have. The destruction of civilizations, cities and countries, mass killings of men, woman and children alike, the disastrous effect it has on economy and the after effects of war can last for centuries.