The correct answer is b) He wanted to maintain U.S. neutrality. President Wilson initially sought to avoid entering World War I because he believed in the importance of keeping the United States neutral and out of the conflict, as reflected in his re-election slogan, "He Kept Us Out of War."
After the sinking of the Lusitania, Wilson decided that the United States needed to prepare in case war became necessary and worked with Congress to get money to improve the army and navy. Still, neither Wilson nor the country wanted war, and in 1916, Wilson won reelection under the slogan, “He Kept Us Out of War.”
Wilson also tried to start peace talks. However, European leaders, having lost so many soldiers, rejected Wilson's call for “peace without victory.”
The United States Enters the War The Germans soon risked war with the United States again. Even though U-boats were sinking 50 to 100 British merchant ships per month, enough ships were getting through to keep the Allies supplied. Desperate to prevent an Allied victory, the Germans decided to cut off British supplies before their own ran out, and Germany resumed sinking merchant ships from other countries without warning in February 1917.
In March, U-boats torpedoed three U.S. merchant ships, killing many Americans. In fact, these ships had been carrying weapons to the Allies. The Germans knew that this attack might bring the United States into the war, but they hoped to win before America was ready to fight.
It was a fatal mistake. Addressing a special session of Congress, Wilson urged a declaration of war. America would fight alongside the Allies, not just to protect neutral shipping, but because “the world must be made safe for democracy.”
Congress greeted Wilson's speech with applause. Later, Wilson reflected, “My message today was a message of death for our young men. How strange it seems to applaud that.”
Americans Prepare to Fight After Congress declared war on April 6, 1917, the Allies rejoiced, hoping for U.S. supplies—and soldiers. Allied ships were sinking faster than they could be replaced, and to get U.S. supplies delivered safely, convoys of U.S. warships started escorting cargo vessels to protect them from attack. U.S. destroyers also helped the British navy assault U-boats. These strategies dramatically reduced shipping losses.
When the United States entered the war, it had only 200,000 soldiers, most of whom just had limited training. Congress quickly authorized a national draft. Soon, 3 million men had been drafted, and another 2 million volunteered.
Fighting and Winning U.S. troops who sailed overseas were called the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). As they began arriving in Europe in June 1917, AEF soldiers soon learned from the Allies about trench warfare. The U.S. commander, General John J. Pershing, hated these terrible conditions for soldiers and realized that trench warfare was not winning the war. He worked on a plan for driving the Germans out of the trenches and forcing them to retreat into open country.
Meanwhile, Russia had withdrawn from the war. With millions of soldiers dead and starvation spreading across the country, Russians had revolted against their ruler, the czar. Russia's new government made peace with the Germans, which enabled Germany to bring soldiers back from the east, swelling their western forces to 3,500,000 men.
The German forces rushed to capture Paris before large numbers of Americans could arrive from overseas. They pushed quickly through the village of Château-Thierry and a nearby forest called Belleau Wood. They were within 50 miles of Paris when Americans reinforced the exhausted French. Gradually, U.S. machine guns and artillery enabled the Allies to push the Germans back.
By the summer of 1918, more than a million Americans were in Europe. Pershing set into motion his Allied offensive, which took advantage of several new technologies that had been developed during the war. Tanks could advance through trenches, while airplanes could deliver machine-gun fire and drop bombs. Carefully coordinating huge numbers of soldiers, tanks, airplanes, and artillery, the Allies forced the weakened Germans back to their own border.
To avoid the invasion of their own country, German leaders agreed to an armistice, or cease-fire. On November 11, 1918, for the first time in four years, the guns were silenced.
The costs of the war horrified the world. More than 9 million people had died. Entering the war late, the United States had lost 116,000 lives.
Why did President Wilson initially try avoid entering World War 1?
a) He supported Germany military goals
b) He wanted to maintain U.S. neutrality
c) The U.S had no military forces available
d) He believed war would be over quickly
1 answer