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Woodrow Wilson's Contribution To World War I

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In 1917 President Woodrow Wilson went before Congress and stated his intentions of making the world safe for democracy. In addition to the fact that the U.S. felt directly threatened by the attacks from Germany; the untrustworthy actions of Germany contributed to the decision, “Germany’s resumption of submarine attacks on passenger and merchant ships in 1917 was the primary motivation behind Wilson’s decision to lead the United States into World War I” (history.state.gov). On February 3rd 1917 President Wilson went before Congress to address his issues with Germany but refrained from the declaration of war on them because he feared that the public would not support him without sufficient evidence of Germany attacking our naval ships and planning …show more content…
His fourteen points were set in place to get the Allied powers to agree to terms that were ideal for keeping the peace amongst disagreeing countries. “The president believed that if the fourteen points were implemented, they would establish the conditions for long lasting peace in Europe” (McGraw-Hill 570). Although the president made very good points in his proposal, the other leaders wanted to punish Germany for the damage they had caused to their countries, which was the exact opposite intent of the declaration of the Fourteen Points from President Wilson that promoted peacemaking and reparations. In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was set in place to put the blame on Germany and punish them for their expansion of the war globally. Germany is not credited with starting the war but they are credited for making it larger than what it should have been. The conference in Versailles was to dish out punishment to the Germans through a non-conflict act and the Germans agreed to pay reparations and reduce the size of their military “Article 159. The German military forces shall be demobilized and reduced as prescribed hereinafter” (fordham.edu). Eventually though in the beginning of WWII Adolf Hitler broke nearly all of the rules the Treaty set in place for Germany, “On the 15th of March 1935, Hitler starts to form his German air-force or Luftwaffe, even though he is acting directly in contradiction to the Treaty of Versailles. On the 16th of March, the next day, he introduces military conscription. A year later Hitler feels confident enough for the second step; on the 17th of March 1936 German troops re-occupied the Rhineland, again breaking the Treaty.” (histoforum.net). Hitler broke the agreements of the treaty and

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