Question

With a profound sense of the solemn and even tragical character of the step I am taking and of the grave responsibilities which it involves, but in unhesitating obedience to what I deem my constitutional duty, I advise that the Congress declare the recent course of the Imperial German Government to be in fact nothing less than war against the Government and people of the United States; that it formally accept the status of belligerent which has thus been thrust upon it, and that it take immediate steps not only to put the country in a more thorough state of defense but also to exert all its power and employ all its resources to bring the Government of the German Empire to terms and end the war.—President Woodrow Wilson, from a message to Congress, April 2, 1917 a. Briefly explain the point of view about U.S. entry into World War I expressed by the author. b. Briefly explain ONE development in the period 1914−1917 that could be used to support the point of view expressed by the author. c. Briefly explain ONE development in the period 1914−1917 that could be used to challenge the point of view expressed by the author.

Answer 1

Answer:

a)The recent act of the Imperial Government of Germany is referred to be as the reason due to which we are asking Congress to declare war upon Germany. At the beginning of the world, war tension erupted between Germany and the US over the issue of quarantine of British isles. It started to drown the American ships. The first ship to be sunk was William P. Frye, a private American vessel. In may 1915 another ship Luistina was drowned near the coast of Ireland, out of total passengers 128 were Americans.

After this German govt announced that it will take into consideration the safety of the passengers before sinking the vessels. But in November Germans sank an Italian ship which had 27 American on board. Later in 1917 another American liner Housatonic was sunk by German U boat.

All these events involved the killing of citizens of a Natural state(US),that is why the author says that it is Germans who had started it, and hence its acts should be considered as an act of belligerence and it should be considered as  war against the US.

b.

Drowning of the American private vessel and after that, the ship listing which had American passengers was the one development in the period 1914-1917 which could be used to support the author's point of view.

c.

One reason why the US should not have entered the war is that since the beginning of the war Feminists, Socialists and progressive members of congress were working together by doing street demonstrations and by running antiwar candidates for local and federal officials. In the final weeks before congress, declared war Anti militarists demanded a referendum on the question of war. These are some of the developments which could challenge the views expressed above.