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Woodrow Wilson and the Great War
Before War broke out in Europe in 1914, The United States practiced a foreign policy of non-involvement and isolationism. The decision by President Wilson to enter into the war was therefore a difficult one. In a speech he made to Congress upon formally entering the war in 1917, the President stated, "I have called the Congress into extraordinary session because there are serious, very serious, choices of policy to be made, and made immediately, which it was neither right nor constitutionally permissible that I should assume the responsibility of making." Wilson's decision to enter into war came about directly as a result of the German's unrestrained submarine warfare tactics; in spite of agreements to the contrary, Germany continued to attack British merchant submarine ships. With the growing support of the American people, Wilson declared war on Germany in April of 1917 and on Austria-Hungary in December of the same year. The United States joined the Entente with Great Britain, France, and Russia.
Brought squarely into the foray of complex international politics, the United States and President Wilson completely altered the course of American foreign policy after World War One. In the aftermath of the war, Wilson proposed the "Fourteen Points" plan to Congress. The plan outlined ideals such as disarmament and terms of national sovereignty and political boundaries that would apply to European territories.
Therefore, the Fourteen Points plan clearly ended the history of American isolationism. Now, the United States was acting as key policy player in world politics. Wilson's Fourteen Points plan also immediately preceded the creation of the League of Nations, which would see to the mutual enforcement of many of the issues outlined in the Fourteen Points plan. While many of the Fourteen Points failed to come to fruition in Europe, the League of Nations was officially created through the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference.
Works Cited
'Neutrality in the Great War: 1914 -- 1917." Woodrow Wilson Study Guide. Spark Notes. Retrieved 21 July 2005 online from Neutrality in the Great War: 1914 -- 1917
Wilson, Woodrow. War message to Congress. Woodrow Wilson, War Messages, 65th Cong., 1st Sess. Senate Doc. No. 5, Serial No. 7264. Retrieved 21 July 2005. Reproduced online at http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/1917/wilswarm.html
"Woodrow Wilson." 19 July 2005. Wikipedia.com. Retrieved 21 July 2005 online from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson
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