Jennifer Keene, World War I
“I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier” (1915)
Michael E. Hanlon, “America’s Turn from Neutrality to Intervention, 1914-1917″
Senator George Norris Opposes U.S. Entry into WWI (April 1917)
Miller Center, Woodrow Wilson and Foreign Affairs
National Archives, The 14 Points (read the brief introduction and then the actual text)
Michael O’Malley, “Free Speech, World War I, and the Problem of Dissent”
Discussion questions
What caused the First World War?
Were Americans united in their support for going to war?
Why did the United States declare war on Germany?
In what ways did Woodrow Wilson’s plans for the United States’ post-war role in global politics represent a break from prior U.S. foreign policy?
How much support was there in the United States for Wilson’s approach to foreign policy? What did Wilson and his supporters argue to further their efforts to have the United States join the League of Nations?
Who were some of the major politicians that opposed Wilson’s post-war plans? What arguments did they use to defeat U.S. membership in the League of Nations?
Optional extra credit essay question:
Why did Wilson and his supporters lose the fight over ratification of the Treaty of Versailles?
U.S. History, 1865-2017 