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How Did Woodrow Wilson Support Neutrality

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Words 826
Pages 4
Philip Hackett
History Research Paper
Professor Saperstein
4/30/15
Neutrality and Woodrow Wilson Woodrow Wilson, the leader of the progressive movement, was elected to be President of the United States in 1912. Amongst other accomplishments and struggles, the 28th President's greatest challenge would come in the form of World War 1. His legacy would begin as the man who kept us out of war and then the man who plunged us into it. Wilson had an impassioned stance of neutrality throughout his first term, when the war first broke out. But shortly after his re-election in 1916, the President would reconsider and urge Congress to join the conflict. So what caused the sudden reversal? Why did Wilson, who so vehemently supported neutrality, suddenly change his mind? In this paper, I intend to illustrate why the President made the decision to go to war. Utilizing newspapers, scholarly novels, and Wilson's own words, this paper will analyze his mindset and ultimate decision. It will demonstrate that Wilson was forced to take the course of action he took due to changing public opinion, increased German provocations, and the necessity for post-war power. Woodrow Wilson was …show more content…
The effect of cutting off trade with Europe completely would have been disastrous to the economy. Ernest R. May, author of The World War and American Isolation 1914-1917, discusses the issue of fairly administering transatlantic trade in detail. He outlines the difficulties of trade by saying, "if the United States permitted the export of contraband, she benefitted the allies; if she forbade such trade, she greatly aided the enemies" . Each course of action presented its own issues, and President Wilson had to make a choice. In the end, it became a careful balancing act of throttling German naval ability, exporting openly to France and Britain, and supplying Germany with raw goods such as cotton and

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