Analysis Of Woodrow Wilson's War Message

Improved Essays
Americans remain very patriotic; this feeling is one that has stood for years since the founding of our great nation. In April of 1917 when Woodrow Wilson declared war it was not because he felt like it, it happened because our nation was called into action. Wilsons War Message and W.W Norton America and The great War: Document Overview Gives readers the insights on what was going on behind the message, however they also come presented differently with when each document was presented and the contents in the document. In Wilsons War Message Woodrow Wilson delivers an impactful speech to congress in hopes that it leads the United States into the Great War. Woodrow Wilson delivers this message after Germany had broken the promised neutrality …show more content…
Being that this reading comes from a textbook the research information behind this document helps everyone. The document informs readers on the many problems Woodrow Wilson had trying to keep peace. He was not a man of much action he believed in words to settle problems. What he did not understand is why other nations wanted to go to war with each other. The document also presents the idea on how Americans believed they were untouchable to this war. But the Triple Alliance had other plans for the United States being that they were the main suppliers of the Triple Entente, the United States was bound to get tangled up. Also it points out on how once the United States got involved with the great war Woodrow Wilson took advantage of this opportunity to talk about international relations and try to establish world peace. Moreover it ends with the United States not knowing what type of side they had shown the world. A side that would have to be used in the future for the protection of many different …show more content…
And the actions occurring during the Great War after the message was delivered. Both of the documents also talk about the reasons on why the involvement of the United States was very important. It was not only to protect what was right, in this case democracy, but it was also a show the United States could put on to show the world how they could handle problems. Another similar thing these documents do is show and tell us the impact Woodrow Wilson was having on the world once this message was delivered. How he wanted to spread world peace and start up different international relations to make sure another problem like that never occurred again. The differences come in little ways one document being the speech Woodrow Wilson Delivered for congress, and the other being a analysis on what went on that made this message get delivered and what went on after it was

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Throughout Woodrow Wilson’s political career, he kept a firm neutral stance towards war. When he ran for reelection in 1916, his campaign slogan was, “He kept us out of war.” It was his promise to the people to keep the safe and alive that won him the election. However, not even a month after his inauguration, Woodrow Wilson petitioned to congress to declare war on Germany. Wilson’s change of heart was due to valuing the rights and voices of people worldwide over peace.…

    • 1630 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “Over Here: The First World War and American Society,” is a historical novel that shows the American society’s viewpoint and emotions about the First World War during the 1910s. Author David Kennedy focuses more on the home front experience during the war rather than the military side. He educates us with the parts of history that most people seemed to forget about or pretend to forget about. With a lot of amazing details of events, Kennedy explains the period from early 1917 to late 1918. He overlooks the political aspect of the war, the American population’s reaction to Germany’s actions, and decisions made by the President and other government organizations that led to the United States to join the war.…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    At the beginning of the 20th century, many factors inspired the United States to declare war on Germany and join arms with the Allied Powers. The two elements that seemed crucial were America’s financial interests with England and President Woodrow Wilson’s choice to have peace talks in Europe. However, because of the time this took place and the situation that America was in, the decision to go take arms would be a hard one to make. During the commencement of the war, it became clear that the right choice for Wilson was to keep the United States a neutral nation.…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1895-1920s Dbq Essay

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages

    After President Wilson declared a war, he much rather avoid, Germany had put aside its restraints of law and humanity (Doc. G). Whereas, Germany had agreed to not destroy any more American merchant ships without notice, which occurred after their U-Boat warfare was re-established. This left America in the stance of demeaning its power or joining the war effort to defend their own reputation. In the end of the war, the Treaty of Versaille made President Wilson compromise in numerous situations with one thought in mind, the League of Nations (Doc H). Although a republican delegate should have attended the meeting for the treaty, President Wilson made his appearance and had his intentions of getting what he wanted.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Up until April 6th, 1917, the US had remained innocent bystanders to WWI. The government had deemed it best to remain on the sidelines of this destructive war; civil and isolated. Upon hearing of the terrible things that were going on in this war they believed they had made the right decision. On April 2nd, 1917, Woodrow Wilson presented congress with a idea, to declare war on Germany. Four days later, after some debate, the US had officially declared war on Germany.…

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Apush Dbq 2 Analysis

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Because of this Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, the President of the United States and the Prime Minister for Great Britain, came together and set aside eight principles we all were to follow. They did this “for a better future for the world”. The synopsis of this included no wars against each other, we needed to respect the right of all individuals, and we encouraged the loving of each other inside of using forces against allied countries. Similarly, in document F, it reinforced the fact that war is not inevitable. No one can force us to help them or fight against them.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Wilson’s “War Message” was filled with emotion by stating things such as “Property can be paid for; the lives of peaceful and innocent people can not be” (Wilson, par 2). Throughout the letter, he is determined to restore peace in the world. In contrast, “America and The Great War” deemed Wilson to be an inefficient president by explaining his attempt to settle everything peacefully and his inability to get the Senate to support the Versailles Treaty. Overall, “War Message” is a much more intimate document showing exactly how Wilson was feeling during this tragic time while “America and The Great War” only provides an overview of the war and criticizes Wilson’s executive…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Born in Illinois, Bryan inherited a fervent commitment to the Democratic party and an acute Protestant faith from his parents. In 1887, when Bryan graduated from Illinois College and Union Law School, he married and, seeing no political future in Illinois, moved to Nebraska. Bryan won the election to congress in 1890, when the Populist party disrupted Nebraska politics; he was re-elected in 1892. Bryan’s great oratory skills won him great respect in Congress and he became a leader among free-silver Democrats. He ran for Senate in 1894, and supported the state Populist party, but lost by a landslide to the Republicans.…

    • 1586 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Americans have been fascinated with the concept of war for centuries. War has evolved from a last resort into an opportunity for America to prove its superiority against other countries, and to instill fear within the nation. In short, war is a grandiose weapon. In the novel, The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War, Andrew J. Bacevich discusses the relationship that has existed and continues to exist between America and war. Although Bacevich is able to pinpoint a plethora of explanations as to how militarism has evolved into what it is now, he does not present a clear thesis.…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    World War 1 Dbq

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Wilson expressed an understanding that many US citizens had strong ties to the countries engaged in the war raging in Europe. Wilson shared his desire that our Nation be seen as a “Nation…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After World War 1, Wilson went overseas to discuss his fourteen point plan with the rulers of the other empires of the world, and in this process only one of his points to his plan was accepted and implemented; this one point that was successful was the League of Nations. There was however a problem within this birth of the League of Nations and that was that when Woodrow came back home to America and confronted the citizens of joining the League of Nations, he was not supported and America was the only nation who did not join this group; this lead to serious issues which ultimately lead to the…

    • 1017 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Wilsonian Moment: Self-Determination And The International Origins Of Anticolonial Nationalism was written by Erez Manela in 2007. As stated by the author “This book is an effort to reconstruct the story of the colonial world at the Wilsonian moment.” This book looks outside of the usual mold of international relations which encompass the events following the First World War, and instead Manela looks at how countries outside the European powers viewed the events of the Paris Peace conference. There is more to be said about the impact of Wilsonian ideology on the rest of the world apart from the notion that it fizzled as a utopian ideal within the context of the World’s great powers in 1919. Manela demonstrates the way any idea can have…

    • 1585 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    American Identity Dbq

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Our nation was acting on it’s own interests and now had begun to have the power to back them up. Some examples of our growing power was “gunboat diplomacy”, which was when the military and the navy would use their power to get what they wanted, like when we gained influence over Japan. Another name for this was Roosevelt’s “Big Stick Diplomacy” which was the idea that we would use our military power to keep countries from fighting, therefore ensuring peace. One of the main things that allowed these actions was the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine which was written in 1904. One of the lines found in this doctrine, clarifies that “In asserting the Monroe Doctrine, in taking such steps as we have taken in regard to Cuba, Venezuela, and Panama, and in endeavoring to circumscribe the theater of war in the Far East, and to secure the open door in China, we have acted in our own interests as well as in the interest of humanity at large.”…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    George Washington’s Farewell Address to the People of the United States was, in essence, Washington’s last-ditch effort to keep America going on the right path before he left office. Washington could see the growing tensions spreading across America, and he knew that factors like split political parties and foreign intervention would only cause the still very young America great stress. When Washington finally made the decision to retire from office, he left behind a series of growing issues that the next president, John Adams, dealt with; however, the original plan Washington had was to retire after only one term, so the first draft of his Farwell Address, co-written with James Madison , didn’t include many of the issues Washington brought up in his publicized speech. When he turned to Alexander Hamilton to edit what Madison had originally written, Hamilton expanded on issues like “foreign affairs, and updated it to reflect the Washington Administration’s revised neutrality policy .” The final draft, published on September 19, 1796, went through several stages of revision and was edited by Thomas Jefferson and Timothy Pickering , among others, and it mainly focused on the importance of a unified government, the dangers of a two-party system, and the negative influence of getting involved in foreign affairs.…

    • 1636 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Universal Pictures film Charlie Wilson’s War (Nichols, 2007) tells the story of a Congressman from the state of Texas and his involvement with covert actions in the Middle East. Charlie Wilson was not necessarily the most influential man in Washington, D.C. at the time, but throughout the movie his roles in Congress seemed to expand. The film covers the paramilitary covert action of supplying weapons to Afghanistan during their war with the Soviet Union. Charlie Wilson is a key component that initially urges the covert action into existence; He also oversees the action until its end in 1989. Key characters in the film include a coarse Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) case officer named Gust Avrakotos and a wealthy right-winged socialite named Joanne Herring.…

    • 1917 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays