Woodrow Wilson and the US Entrance to WW1

Causes of WW1: 1914 Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, against Great Britain, Russia, and France Underlying causes: –Imperial competition between England, France, Germany –Nationalist uprisings in Balkans –Precarious alliance system Trigger for war declaration –Assassination of Austrian Arch- duke Franz Ferdinand –Austria declared war on Serbia –Russia mobilized to defend Serbia –Germany attacked Belgium and France, trying to avoid war on 2 fronts

Woodrow Wilson ( ) Academic by profession: President of Princeton University; PhD in Political Science As president, worked for idealistic goals Anglophile Originally promised to keep American neutral Hoped to lead the world towards a "just peace"

WW1 Before US Entrance German Schlieffen Plan called for pre-emptive invasion of Belgium and capture of Paris War stagnated in trenches of “Western Front” in northern France Each country’s volunteers quickly killed: drafts required Key early technologies: machine guns, barbed wire, poison gas

Naval Warfare and Blockades Trade with US vital to UK –Wilson let US trade with Europe (mainly UK) –Policy of official neutrality –US banks lent billions to UK and France –Both alliances employed naval blockades German submarine attacks risked involving USA Land battle proved inconclusive so blockade crucial

German U-Boat Warfare German "U-boat" warfare threatened –American economic interests and property –American lives –Survival of Britain and France –American "right" to the seas Central question for Wilson: did U-boat warfare merit US intervention? Central question for Germany: did objectives of U-boat outweigh risk of US entering the war? HG Wells used U-Boats in his story, The Land that Time Forgot

The Lusitania 15 May 1915: sinking of British passenger ship, the “Lusitania” –128 Americans killed –Public outcry against Germany –Later: evidence of ammunition on board Wilson protested to Germany German submarine warfare suspended

The Zimmerman Telegram January 16, 1917: Coded telegram from German Foreign Secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, to German ambassador in the US Note, forwarded to German ambassador in Mexico, suggested that: –Germany resuming naval warfare –Ally with Mexico –Promise southern US states to Mexico Britain intercepted and decoded note: US outrage when published in March 6 April 1917, Wilson declared war; US became factor in late 1917