Neutrality During Ww2

The United States had no intentions of becoming part of this Great War when it first commenced despite their quest to reestablish American power in the Western Hemisphere. Even with their new found foreign policy; which was a much more threatening take on foreign involvement than it had been in the past, when the war first erupted the United States declared neutrality. However, this “neutrality” wouldn’t last to the end of the World War, and eventually the United States would join the other Central and Allied powers in the first modern war the world has ever seen. Both the Central and Allied powers had virtually the same goal overall- to build or rebuild their empires. Theodore Roosevelt believed that the way to strengthen the American empire was to become militarily strong and to “maintain and increase it economic and political stature”. President Woodrow Wilson shared Roosevelt’s belief that the United States could become a world power through peaceful commerce and political stability. Yet, Wilson’s foreign policies differed greatly from Roosevelt’s. Wilson tried to keep America isolated and had a principle that the United States “must actively use its …show more content…
After his assassination the alliance of the Central Powers and the Allies began to crumble as Europe’s empires prepared for war. The United States was not included in the war during this time because they were not yet admitted into the European alliance. Wilson declared neutrality at the outbreak of the war and by proclaiming neutrality the United States’ economy sky-rocketed. Because of the neutral state all trade with Germany ended, however trade with the Allies increased immensely. This excitement was short lived as the result of Germany declaring all waters around the British Isles a war zone, putting American trade with Britain to a screeching halt. This was the beginning of American involvement in World War