Woodrow Wilson and the Great War

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.