Woodrow Wilson & World War I - Essay Example

Woodrow Wilson & World War I What were the main causes that led to the eruption of World War I?There were three main causes which were the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria by a Serbian, an increase and rise in nationalism as well as continual building up of the alliances and militarism within the European countries. What role did the balance of power play in the triggering of that conflict and how did the American government initially respond to the wars outbreak in August 1914? The alliance of Britain, France and Russia had more military strength from the many soldiers in the army.

They also had high military spending budgets to utilize as well as using more powerful guns and naval support compared to the alliance of Germany, Austria and Italy. The US through President Woodrow Wilson declared neutrality in the war. When we finally decided to enter the engagement in early 1917, were we ready for going to war? Yes the US was ready by 1917 dues to the mobilization of the military to be increased by enlisting men from the age of 18 years, getting money from businessmen to finance the war and even getting naval support.

The strength however was not as great as it was by the time the war was ending. Was the issue of isolationism an obstacle to preparedness for war? Yes it was initially when America was preparing to go into war but with the sinking of the US boat, it soon became abandoned as people decided to assist in any way they could to prepare the army go into war simply for revenge against the Germans.Did mobilization cause any kinds of problems or dilemmas for the Wilson administration? People were hostile towards military service and hence did not adopt the idea of being enlisted or having their kin enlisted in the military service.

This came when the administration wanted to increase the military as a preparedness method to enter into war and this hostility as the reason US started with fewer soldiers. Were such factors as race, gender, ethnicity, and radicalism a problem for Wilsons administration? No they were not as the people of US were on the same page in as far as the issue of world war was concerned and the only minor factor was the military enlisting but this was soon resolved. Explain. Lastly, although America helped win this "war for democracy," how did Americans react to Wilsons call for vigilant peace keeping after the Central Powers had been defeated by the Allies?

The Americans did not agree with the call for peace after the war took away over 50, 000 of their military troop. The treaty of Versailles points were emphasizing something that the Americans were not ready to accept yet.