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Woodrow Wilson's Neutrality In World War I

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War is raging on all fronts. The United States is holding true to its neutrality in World War I. As the war continues, growing suspicions creep into the households of everyday American people. The pressures of Germany are a growing problem for the United States. Germany ultimately forced the U.S. to declare war on them. Germany’s broken policies and the decoded Zimmerman note were the major causes of Woodrow Wilson’s declaration of war. When the beginning of World War I came around, it was a very difficult time for everyone. President Wilson pledged a state of neutrality on behalf of the United States and had a vast majority of Americans backing him up in the meantime. However, it wasn’t long until tension started to rise up in America …show more content…

As an alternative, he considered methods of protecting American freight without actually arriving at the conclusion of a war. He addressed the situation with a positive attitude and was hopeful that the Germans would reassess the submarine campaign. Ships asked for the naval guard or at least protective weapons for firing at submarines on the surface. The senate never ended up acting on the issue and President Wilson armed the vessels without congressional authorization (Fordham, 301-302). These statements given to the American people add to the credibility of Wilson as a president considering he is still trying to stay neutral in World War I. He is coming up with alternative actions that may be enforced to protect the American ships from unlawful German intervention. Unfortunately, President Wilson was a fraction of a second too slow and had to bear the …show more content…

We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The settlement in detail is left to you” (Zimmerman, 1). This phrase cut out from the actual document shows Germanys real intentions in the war, and is already preparing to go to war with the United States. It was obvious to President Wilson that the Germans were not going to back down, so he called the new Congress into session prematurely and asked for a declaration of war on April 2nd. Two days later the senate approved the approved the decision, 82-6. Then the following day on April 5, the House approved the declaration of war as

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