The Impact Of Woodrow Wilson's Policy On The Ideal Of Self Determination

After the end of World War I the United States entered into a period of isolationist foreign policy. On January 8, 1918, Woodrow Wilson announced the United States’ objectives through his Fourteen Points. His fourteenth point proposed a league of nations to protect international security and stability. After the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, the Treaty

In the aftermath of World War I, during the years 1917-1921, President Wilson advocated the Treaty of Versailles, which called for the principle of self-determination, the formation of a League of Nations, and general amnesty towards Germany, as the solution for peace. However, his unwillingness to compromise led to widespread disagreement. The opposition forces in the U.S. senate consisted of the reservationists, who were willing to ratify the Treaty of Versailles with amendments, and the irreconcilables, who refused to join the League of Nations under any circumstances. If President Wilson was only willing to modify the language of the treaty, ratification may have occurred.

Whenever war broke out overseas in 1914, many Americans had ties to countries involved. Many of citizens living here were immigrants or children of immigrants who came from Germany, France, or other countries involved in the war. Out of the 92 million citizens living in the states, one-third of them were hyphenated Americans. There was strong support of the Central Powers in the states due to the 8 million German-Americans and the 4 million Irish-Americans who disliked English rule. Yet, many Americans were pro Allies due to the language bond with Great Britain. America wanted to keep to their selves as war broke out in Europe and not get involved. President Woodrow Wilson would announce in 1914 that the Unites States would stay neutral during the war. Wilson would run by the slogan “Keep Us Out of the War” whenever he was running for re-election for presidency. Americas would trade with both parties and bankers could lend money to both sides involved in the war. Trading with Germany would eventually be blockaded and trade with Allies would increase.

The end of World War I left much of America confused on the country’s role in world affairs. Many people believed that the United States should primarily worry about its own issues and problems, and let the world handle their own problems. But President Woodrow Wilson was not one of those people. He believed that the United States should be directly involved in the issues affecting all of the countries of the world. He also wanted the United States to be the country to make a push for a League of Nations. “The people of the United States could act upon no other principle; and to the vindication of this principle they are ready to devote their lives, their honor, and everything that they possess. The normal climax of this the culminating and final war for human liberty has come, and they are ready to put their own strength, their own highest purpose, their own integrity and devotion to the test.” Wilson believed that if the United States needed to be a part of a League of Nations in charge of keeping peace around the world, this would keep America

They agreed with most of the treaty that was presented to them, after the negotiations with Britain and France; however, they had an issue with the League of Nations. They did not want the United States to have to answer to the League or be tied to other countries. They believed that by joining the League, the United States would no longer be in control of its own foreign policy, jeopardizing its independence (Document A). They further believed that the American people, who up to this point had historically been isolationists (not wanting to be involved in foreign affairs), were not ready to support American participation in the League of Nations. Furthermore, they believed that collective security was unlikely to work - it would help with large scale issues like World War, but it would be counterproductive when it came to minute disputes, and they did not want the United States to be tied down by foreign entanglements and alliances (Document E). Wilson, however, was uncompromising, he realized that if the League was created without the United States in the it, Britain and France would take control and punish Germany economically for the war, which they did, and it led to another world

Wilson abandoned the imperialist policy and brought to the White House a new way of looking at America’s relations with the outside world. Wilson believed that the United States was the most politically enlightened in a sense under god, he felt that people throughout the world had their right to choose their own governments. Wilson was only protecting people rights to democracy.

After America had finally established itself as an industrialized and urbanized nation to be reckoned with, the country had turned to follow a new set of ideologies described as progressive thinking; hence, the following of the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era was a period of widespread social activism and political reform that spread across the United States, and was in a response to problems that arose from immigration, industrialization, urbanization, and governmental corruption. Following the Presidential Election in 1912, this set of progressive ideologies was most sought after in a presidential candidate. This is one of the main reasons why Woodrow Wilson had won. Although many other candidates had also followed these progressive

In the book, America's Great War: World War I and the American Experience, Robert H. Zieger discusses the events between 1914 through 1920 forever defined the United States in the Twentieth Century. When conflict broke out in Europe in 1914, the President, Woodrow Wilson, along with the American people wished to remain neutral. In the beginning of the Twentieth Century United States politics was still based on the "isolationism" ideals of the previous century. The United States did not wish to be involved in European politics or world matters. The U.S. goal was to expand trade and commerce throughout the world and protect the borders of North America.

President Wilson was a person who believed that there was a peaceful solution for any conflict. When World War I broke out in Europe President Wilson spent several years trying to keep America from entering the war. President Wilson even went as far to offer to be a mediator between the two conflicting sides to help bring the war to an end. In addition President Wilson was heavily criticized by other great American leaders when he declined to build up the U.S. Army to prepare for War. As much as President Wilson tried to fight against the war events such as the Zimmerman Telegraph, Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, and the decisive shift in American pro-war sentiment made American entering the war inevitable.

As Franklin Roosevelt began to have more internationalist views, Americans, under no circumstances, wanted to be drawn into another foreign war. The result was a relative stand still in American foreign policy. Congress pacified isolationists by passing the Neutrality Act of 1935, which was designed to isolate America from the growing Nazi monster. First, it created an embargo on the sale of arms to all belligerent nations and second it stated that American citizens that traveled on belligerent ships were doing so at their own risk. The Act was basically an attempt to prevent the World War I nightmare from happening again. Roosevelt was required to sign the bill though he would have rather it had different provisions regarding the embargo of arms to belligerent nations. He was in favor of creating selective embargoes

As soon as World War One broke out, Woodrow Wilson, the president at that time immediately declared the United States neutral to maintain the nation’s stability. President Wilson thought the United States should take no part in a war where they were not affected. But, as the war carried on it was evident that a stance of neutrality was just clearly not the case. Even though they were not fighting in World War I, the United States were definitely involved. Whether it be loaning goods to a party of the war or rising turmoil with a belligerent nation, America did take part in the war before their actual entry. Voluntary or involuntary, the United States involved themselves in the war in many ways , most definitely contradicting Wilson’s policy of neutrality.

The U.S. wanted neutrality during the war. The citizens of US knew that their involvement in the first World War had been a terrible mistake driven by bankers and business owners with business in Europe. They believed this should never be repeated again. To keep America out of the war, Congress passed a series of Neutrality Acts, and they took no part in conflicts such as the Spanish civil war, but Franklin D. Roosevelt knew that the Axis Powers would soon conquer Europe, and America would be their next target. The question of the extent of US involvement had divided the country. On one side were Internationalists, who argued that giving aid to Great Britain and France would make US going to war unnecessary. On the other side were Isolationists, who believed that US should not have association in the war and remain neutral by avoiding financial deals with countries at war. Roosevelt was an internationalist.(“The Neutrality Acts, 1930”).

During the 1920s, the United States was forced into war by the Germans. Germany, attacking and violating with the use of submarines, gave President Woodrow Wilson, who was president during World War I, no other option but to go into war. “We enter this war only where we are clearly forced into it because there are no other means of defending our rights.” (Wilson, 1917). He was a neutral person. Even though he wanted

In August 1914, Europe descended into war, without the support of U.S. Wilson refuses to get involve in the European conflict, until German forced Wilson to declare war on the central powers because of German’s declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare. When the war ended in November 11, 1918, Wilson negotiated a covenant for the League of Nation that he believed would sustain a world order. However at home, the congress rejected the League of Nations. Now, Wilson is admired by some scholars while hated by others. Some has praised him for his vision, while others criticized him for his impractical ideal.

As Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States once said, America is not anything if it consists of each of us. It is something only if it consists of all of us”. (brainyquote.com, 2014). This is true because we consider America as an entire nation. President Woodrow Wilson took office in 1913 and served his term until 1921. To many Americans he was known as a man of neutrality. He did not favor America’s entry into war under any circumstances. During the period of neutrality prior to American entrance into World War I, Wilson