Woodrow Wilson’s Wartime
Leadership, 1914-1920
How the President’s Neutrality Policy Failed and Why the President’s
Wartime Goals Proved Illusive both at Home and Abroad
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Themes and Topics
• Empire Foreign Policy Traditions: Non-Alignment and Imperialism
War Aims
World War One: Economic Watershed
Creating a Liberal Internationalist World Order
Multilateralism versus Unilateralism in Foreign Policy
• Role of Government Reasons for the U.S. Declaration of War Against Germany
U.S. War Preparation and Mobilization
• Private Enterprise Economic Aspects of U.S. Diplomacy during World War One
• Social and Cultural Outsiders American Socialism, 1900-1920
Central Analytical Questions
• Why did the U.S. reluctantly depart from traditions of neutrality and non-alignment to become a belligerent in April 1917?
• Why did Americans, after getting involved and dictating the outcome of the war, reject the peace treaty which their own President had largely shaped, and which presumably justified the sacrifices of the war?
European History, 1815-1914
• No general war-a century of peace
• Industrial Development Emergence of Germany as continental leader
Emergence of France, Russia, Italy, and Austrian-Hungarian industries
• Political Development Nation Building
• Italy, 1859
• Germany, 1870
Nation Beating • Ottoman Empire retreats from Southeast Europe
• Ethnic tensions threaten Austria-Hungarian Empire
• Pan-Slavic movement unites Russians and Southeastern Europeans
European History, 1815-1914
• Imperialism Creation of English, French, German, Italian, and
Russian empires
Increasing tensions over who gets what territory
• Arms Races Naval Arms race pits Germany against Great Britain
Army Arms race pits Germany against France and Russia
Alliance System and War
• Alliance Systems Central Powers-Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, The Ottoman Empire, and Italy
Allied Powers-Great Britain, France, Russia, and smaller nations
Italy switched sides in 1915
July-August, 1914: The Trap is
Sprung
• A local conflict became a regional conflict Serbian nationalists assassinated the Archduke
Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary at Sarajevo
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
Serbia appeals to Russia for help
Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary
• A regional conflict became a continental conflict Germany declares war on Russia
France declares war on Germany
• A continental conflict became a world war Great Britain and all her dominions declare war on
Germany
Non-Alignment: A U.S. Tradition
• Based on George Washington’s Farewell Address, 1796
Avoid “entangling alliances”
• Based on two ocean barrier
Until 1914, U.S. strategic concerns limited to Caribbean and Pacific
U.S. practices imperialism in its own sphere of influence
• War in Europe reinforced idea that non-alignment was the correct position
Wilson War Cabinet
President Wilson
W. J. Bryan, Sec. State
Col. Edward House, Advisor
Robert Lansing, Asst. Sec. State
Positions of Wilson and Cabinet to
War in Europe
Sec State William J. Bryan
President Woodrow Wilson
National Security Thinkers: Edward House and Robert Lansing
Declare war on Germany because outcome of war will affect U.S. interests Germany is the real threat, therefore, aid Great Britain
Don’t get Involved Both sides Are to blame for war Meet war with Christian Love Offer to mediate conflict
Don’t get Involved Embrace official Neutrality Offer to mediate conflict
Why Embrace Neutrality?
• It was tradition
• Segments of the American people were very interested but deeply divided by the war
Eight million Germans and Four million Irish supported Germany
WASPs favored Great Britain
• Most American were horrified at the war and relieved the U.S. wasn’t involved
Wilson’s Foreign Policy Ideas
• Not experienced in foreign policy
• His ideas shaped by his morality Wants U.S. to be a force for
good in the world
He rejected imperialism
He apologized for Panama Canal Takeover
He believed the U.S. could mediate the conflict
He spent two and a half years trying to get the belligerents to state their war aims
What did neutrality mean?
• The U.S. claimed the right of a non-combatant or neutral
Under international law, the U.S. had the right to trade with anyone they wanted, therefore they could trade with both Germany and the Allies
By 1915, both sides became unable to pay for the goods they purchased, did neutrality include loans to the belligerents?
• Bryan argued no
• House and Lansing argued yes
• Wilson sided with House and Lansing
• Bryan resigned as Secretary of State
• Lansing became Secretary of State
Economic Success of Neutrality
• The U.S. had been a debtor nation since its inception
• Even it reached the stage when its exports exceeded its import of goods, the U.S. still borrowed more money than it lent to foreigners
• With the dramatic increase in exports and loans to the belligerents, the U.S. achieved an economic watershed
US banks became the center of world finance
US businesses achieved a trade surplus
Political Success of Neutrality:
Election of 1916
Charles Hughes
Woodrow Wilson
Violations of the Rights of Neutrals
• Britain controlled the ocean surface with its conventional navy Britain seized some 400
American merchant ships destined for Germany
• Germany attempted to break British control through the use of an unconventional vessel, the U-Boat Germany sank British and
American merchant ships destined for Great Britain
Violations of Belligerents Rights
• Wilson defended the right of Americans to travel on belligerent ships
• In 1915, a British ship, the Lusitania sailed from New York with military supplies and 128 Americans on board
• Germany’s warning it would be sunk were ignored
• Its sinking lead Wilson to threaten war against Germany
• Germany suspended U-Boat operations
Trade, Loans and War
Belligerents Trade Loans
Allies $3.2 Billion $2.5 Billion
Germany $29 Million $27 Million
Germany concluded the U.S. was objectively Pro-Allied and renewed U-Boat Warfare on February 1, 1917 Between February and April, 1917, Germany sank five U.S. merchant vessels, Wilson broke diplomatic relations Wilson sought a declaration of war on April 6, 1917
Zimmermann Telegram
• Became Germany’s Foreign Minister at a crucial moment in January 1917 As the Germans prepared to renew U-
Boat warfare, with the likelihood of war with the U.S., Zimmermann devised a plot to form an alliance with Mexico
Mexico, with German help, would attack the U.S. and take back its northern provinces
The U.S. would be unable to engage in the European conflict
• British superior crytanalysis abilities intercepted the coded message and turned it over the Americans
Western Front, 1918
• Germany invaded France through Belgium at the start of the war
• After gaining considerable French territory, the war devolved into “trench warfare,” where armies fought each other from fortifications dug into the ground
• Given each sides commitment to ‘Total War,” trench warfare became a formula for military stalemate
American Expeditionary Force,
1918
• It took a little more than a year to get U.S. forces organized, trained and shipped to Europe
• AEF did not suffer loses crossing the Atlantic First actions against
Germans, June-July 1918
AEF fought its only major offensive in September, which ended in stalemate after 120K casualties
German sued for peace November 11, 1918
Moral Man/Immoral World
• Wilson’s war aims: The Fourteen Points End Secret Diplomacy
Freedom of the High Seas
End economic barriers to trade and investment
Reduce armaments
Adjust colonial claims
Restore Russia to family of nations
Various self-determination principles (7-13) affecting Eastern Europe
A League of Nations
Impact of the 14 Points
• Wilson lifted hopes everywhere of Europeans sick of war Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany
was toppled and replaced by a new German Republic in an early diplomatic success for Wilson
Pro-Tsar and liberal forces in Russia begin a civil war against the Bolshevik regime, Wilson supported intervention
The U.S. had the advantage of asking nothing for itself
This forced the Allies to accept the 14 points, at least officially
U.S. and Allied Intervention in Russian
Revolution, 1918-1920
Critical Thinking Question
• Were the Fourteen Points practical? They were highly idealistic
But not impractical
They were popular
Wilson went to Europe to negotiate them himself, the first president to travel abroad during his presidency
He was very prepared thanks to a team of over 200 experts he took along
14 Points and the Versailles Treaty
Fourteen Points Versailles Treaty Evaluation
End Secret Diplomacy League of Nations No end secret diplomacy, at Versailles secret closed-door sessions occurred among victors!
Freedom of the Seas League of Nations Rejected by Great Britain
End Trade Barriers League of Nations Rejected by all major trading nations, even U.S.
Reduction of Armaments Treaty disarmed Germany Germany secretly re-armed
Adjust Colonial Claims Addressed by League thru a surrogate colonial system
Colonial system persists until post-WWII era
Restore Russian Government Not Addressed in Treaty Justified Allied intervention in Russian Civil War
Self-Determination Principles Treaty recognizes Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Estonia
Did not acknowledge mixing of populations; fostered nationalism; secret treaties self-determination
League of Nations Accepted by Allies Germany, Russia and US out
Europe After Versailles
• With Russia going communist, the Allies believed it important to create a “cordon sanitaire” to separate Europe from the red infection
• Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria had aborted communist revolts
Key Problem and Achievement of the
Versailles Treaty
• German War Guilt Clause
An act of Vindictiveness
Germany slapped with bill for war: $33 Billion
Germany stripped of colonies
German population shifted west in order to establish Poland and Czechoslovakia
• League of Nations
First formal commitment by nation states to an international organization designed to achieve collective security
Why didn’t the US join the League?
• Wilson’s initial mistakes He spent too much time in Paris, lost touch with
domestic politics
He politicized the treaty by making it a Democratic Party document
• No Republicans accompanied him to Paris
• He assumed a Democratic Congress would ratify the treaty, but the Republicans took control of both houses of Congress in November 1918
He failed to explain why it was necessary to end non-alignment and join an international security organization
Why didn’t the US join the League?
• Wilson’s mistake upon returning home in July 1919 Republicans control Senate 49 to 47
• Fourteen GOP Senators are “irreconcilably” to treaty
• Ten GOP Senators accept treaty with slight modifications
• Twenty-Four Senators accept treaty with major modifications Reject Article X of treaty requiring U.S. to uphold independence
of other states
Republicans see this as an infringement on Congressional Power: only Congress has the power to declare war
Wilson and Democrats are strong internationalists, who favor collective security
Wilson refused to compromise on the issue
Why didn’t the US join the League?
• Wilson attempted to arouse the public in support of the treaty with a series of speeches he would give around the country He suffered a stroke in September 1919, effectively removing him from
politicking
• Wilson ordered the Democratic Party in the Senate to vote against any modifications to the treaty The vote on an unmodified treaty was defeated 38 to 53
The vote on a slightly modified treaty was defeated 39 to 55
A final vote in March 1920, again with modifications was defeated 49 to 35
• Thus, Wilson defeated his own treaty: Why? Two reasons
• Wilson’s personality was rigidly self-righteous
• Wilson’s stroke rendered him incompetent
Conclusion: It’s the same old
Unstable Imperial World
Except Germany, Soviet Russia, or the U.S., are outsiders