America From Isolation to Intervention in World War I

US Entry into WW1

Was United States entry into World War I a wise decision? What were some of the arguments in favor of U. S. entry? Opposed to U. S. entry?

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, it was a turning point in the conflict. Up to that point, the war had been largely contained to Europe, but the addition of American troops tipped the balance in favor of the Allies. There were several factors that contributed to the United States’ decision to enter the war. First and foremost was the sinking of the Lusitania, a British passenger ship, by a German submarine in 1915. Although there were American citizens on board, the real motivating factor was Germany’s policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. The combination of seeing civilians attacked and German policy being apparently so aggressive turned some Americans from isolations into being pro-war advocates. One of those was Woodrow Wilson, who actually ran for re-election on an isolationist platform but switched to wanting to enter the war so that he could promote his League of Nations idea after. He won the support of the Women’s Movement, led by Carrie Chapman, which had been staunchly anti-war—but when Wilson promised Chapman that he would push Congress to put women’s suffrage into Constitution, Chapman got onboard with entering WW1. In addition, there were economic factors at play. America was a major supplier of munitions to the Allies, and the war provided an opportunity to boost the economy.

While there were some voices of dissent, such as isolationist congressmen like Jeannette Rankin, entry into World War I was overwhelmingly popular with the American public. She voted against going to war in 1917 and stayed true to the principles of the Women’s Movement that Chapman betrayed. Rankin represented those who wanted to stay out of what they saw as a European affair—and they were still tired of (and opposed to) the Spanish-American War from the previous decade. They saw more war as antithetical to American ideals and the American way of life. Overall, I would say entry into WW1 was not a wise decision because it simply opened the door for American involvement in the second part of that enduring conflict—WW2.