American Isolationism
George Washington
Refused to take sides between England &
France, 1793
Urged US to remain neutral
USinterventionist in Latin America, but
neutral in Europe
Reaction to War
War breaks out in Europe in 1914
Many in US have conflicted loyalties
Close cultural and economic ties to Britain
Large population of Germans and other
Europeans
Pres. Woodrow Wilson, 1914
The United States must be neutral in
fact, as well as in name, during these
days that are to try men's souls. We
must be impartial in thought, as well as
action, must put a curb upon our
sentiments, as well as upon every
transaction that might be construed as a
preference of one party to the struggle
before another.
Question?
What does it mean to be neutral “in
fact, as well as name”?
Problems with
Neutrality
Trade
Problems with Neutrality
Immigrants
Suspicion of German immigrants in
particular
Some pro-war sentiment
Theodore Roosevelt
of State, William Jennings
Secretary
Bryan keeps pressing for neutrality
German Submarine Warfare
Warning to Passengers
Notice!
Travellers intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage
are reminded that a state of war exists between
Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her
allies; that the zone of war includes the waters
adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with
formal notice given by the Imperial German
Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or
any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those
waters and that travellers sailing in the war zone on
ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own
risk.
Imperial German Embassy
Washington, D. C., April 22, 1915
RMS Lusitania
May 7, 1915
Passenger ship
Sunk May 7, 1915
Over 1,200 people
dead
128 Americans
US outraged
Fallout
US protests German strategy
Threatens to end diplomatic relations
Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan,
resigns
Germany on notice
Arabic Pledge
Sussex Pledge
InMarch 1916
Germans torpedoed
the Sussex, a French
passenger ferry
25 Americans injuries
Germans agree to end
targeting civilian
shipping
Election of 1916
Woodrow Wilson (Democrat)
Charles Evan Hughes (Republican)
Wilson’s campaign:
“He kept us out of the war!”
1916 Election Results
Zimmerman Telegram
January 1917, Letter from Germany to
Mexico
British intercept and hand to US
Uproar!
Wilson’s “Peace Without Victory” Speech
War!
Germany increasingly desperate
February 1, 1917
Announces resumption of
unrestricted warfare
April 2, 1917
Wilson asks for Declaration of War