Why did the United States first resist intervening in World War 1?

Question

The full question: Why did the United States first resist intervening in World War 1? Why did it later retreat from this policy and send troops? Did these decisions revise or reinforce earlier US foreign policy?

If you have any clue please help me. I'm NOT looking for a paper or someone to do the work for me, I'm just looking for ideas to help me with this. Thanks!

Answer 1

Well, from Britain, it looked damned unfriendly at first, basically because we spoke the same language and seemed natural allies.

But there were good domestic political reasons for the United States not intervening. Over the previous fifty years, it had absorbed and unified an enormous mixture of European entrepreneurs and refugees, the "huddled masses yearning to be free". Old Europe with its divisions and hostility represented everything they had fled from, and America's peace and unity among nationalities was showing the better way. Surely public opinion would have been against the country getting involved in exactly what it had succeeded in rising above.

Even the sinking of the Lusitania, frequently and wrongly cited as the reason for the US entering the war, didn't alter this stance.

But finally, at end-March 1917, came the admission by the German foreign minister Zimmerman that he had indeed proposed (see web site below) that Mexico and Germany should declare war together on the USA, and thereby regain for Mexico parts of the southern states lost in a much earlier war. Public opinion reversed almost overnight at this, and Congress declared war after all.

So arguably none of this was a matter of policy, or change of policy. All of it was a truly democratic response of Congress to public opinion.

Answer 2

The People believed in a policy of Isolationism. The World War was a European Problem not the matter of a nation across the Atlantic Ocean. The US entered the War because the Germans were forcing us into the war. Zimmerman Note, Lusitania, Sinking of US cargo ships. After the war the Nation left the world theater again because they didn't want to get involved again on world affairs. If they were maybe the second one would been a lot shorter.

Answer 3

The United States wasn't interested in an European conflict first and in the internal affairs the isolationist were stronger. The casus belli was the sank of the Lusitania by a German U-20 sub (Of the 197 Americans on board, 128 lost their lives.)

But the main reason is The United States had close economic and political ties to Great Britain. The States wanted back all the loans and for this had to help...
You could get some more ideas from
http://ushistory.pwnet.org/resources/pdf/Reasons_Answer_Key.pdf

Answer 4

We resisted getting involved in a European conflict and we were somewhat isoloationist in nature. We got involved when the Germans sank the Lusitania by a German U-20 sub. The Lusitania was a British ship, but it made Americans concerned about German domination of the seas and sinking of non-military boats.

Answer 5

a million is B - the Treaty did not divide germany. 2 is A - large britain replaced into the most important by technique of a mile, talked about by technique of France. 3 - no longer particular yet i might want to assert japan because it replaced into not in any respect made right into a colony of yet another usa. India and aspects of Indochina and Chna were British territories at one aspect. Nout particular about 4. 5 is debeatable. some imagine The alliance gadget contributed to WWI yet we are able to not say for convinced.

Answer 6

We really had no reason. President woodrow wanted to stay neutral. Once the Germans started to sink U.S merchant ships is when we got involved. The German leader htough that if they sank U.S ships that the British would have to back out of the war, but it turns out that they just pissed us off and payed the price for it.

Answer 7

Hmmm.. It was a sovereignty statement made by founders of this Country

Answer 8

we had no reason to. we dont just go barging into a war in which we dont belong. well we do now but we didnt used to.