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The Influence Of Woodrow Wilson's Declaration Of War

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Wilson described one main reason why he has made his decision to declare war on Germany, and that is that The German government was going too far declaring submarine warfare and ruthlessly sinking every vessel from whatever place they came from that comes near the ports of Great Britain and Ireland or the western coasts of Europe without any hesitation, warning, or thought of mercy or help. This raised the issue of the basic rights of U.S. citizens, as neutrals, to travel freely.
However, I believe that there is another event that Wilson did not mention that could have influenced his decision. The Zimmerman telegram sent from Germany to Mexico to ask for an alliance against the U.S. definitely ignited public anger. Wilson was probably very upset about this too, and with the whole submarine event and now this, Germany can not get away with this "without strict accountability for such acts."
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He wants the world to be made safe for democracy, and that its peace "must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty" and that "we are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind." He wants to ensure the basic rights of U.S. citizens.
John Winthrop's vision and Woodrow Wilson's vision does parallel in a way. "As a city upon a hill" is a statement said from John Winthrop who envisioned Massachusetts bay colony as the viewpoint from which Puritans would spread religious righteousness throughout the world. Wilson wanted to spread the righteousness of basic human rights and democracy around the world. These two views both have something to do with exceptionalism. In Wilson's case it's American exceptionalism, which is the perception that the U.S. is a uniquely free nation based on democratic ideals and personal

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