World War 1

World War I and the US Participation in the War

World War I is also known as the Great War . The world conflict started in 1914 and lasted until 1919 . The war was fought between the Allies and the Central Powers . It changed the geo-political scenario of the world and witnessed the downfall of four empires in Europe , The German the Austro-Hungarian , the Ottoman , and the Russian . The immediate cause of the World War I was the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife by a Serbian in 1914 (Bruce , 11

. Although the main fight was between Germany and Russia over the supremacy in Europe the United States and Great Britain got involved in the war due to political compulsions

The United States entered the World War I on April 2 , 1917 by joining the Allies . The participation of the US in the Great War was the beginning of American dominance in the world affairs . When the war broke out in 1914 , the US maintained neutrality . The United States was only concerned about its trade and business both in land and sea . The continuous German activities on the seas in Belgium threatened the US trade . The attack on the US ships and later the sinking of Belgian ship by the German submarine in which 124 American were killed forced the US to take on Germany directly (Kent , 24

The decision of the US to participate in the war evoked a mixed reaction in the country . American population was divided over the participation of their nation in the Great War . There were a large number of people who supported the intervention of the US in the war . However , there were a significant number of people who took strong positions against the US participation in World War I

Interventionist and Anti-participation Positions

As the war intensified and causalities increased , both the hawks and doves argued over the US participation in the war . The ideological difference between the interventionist and anti-war activist was clearly visible . Those who regarded the enemy or potential enemy as a threat to the American interests and establishments vociferously advocated the involvement in the war . They were termed as interventionists . The other group of people dismissed such views as baseless and believed that such reasoning was provided to justify the war-mongering attitude . They urged the government to distance itself from the war and mind its own business

President Woodrow Wilson , who announced to remain neutral on the eve of the World War I , had a tough time in dealing with the pressure on the home front . The public pressure made it difficult for the President to maintain the neutrality of the US . When the US entered the war interventionists welcomed it and supported the government . However , the number of anti-war campaigners was equally strong and they protested everywhere . The US compulsion could be seen from the war message made by President Wilson "It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war . It was...