USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR I

[SOURCES]
President Woodrow Wilson’s statement “The world must be made safe for democracy” was made to justify his decision to

(A) end United States imperialism in Latin America

(B) support tariff reform

(C) send troops into Mexico to capture Pancho Villa

(D) ** ask Congress to declare war against Germany

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -With this statement, Wilson was declaring that governments run by just one person (an autocracy), such as Germany’s during World War I, threatened democracy worldwide and must be stopped. Wilson’s speech and America’s entry into World War I is often remembered as a turning point in world history.

Concept note-2: -Elected in 1912, Woodrow Wilson came into office in 1913 with what many considered a neutral stance on foreign matters. It was Wilson’s goal to keep America completely out of World War I, which began in 1914-and have the country serve as a peacemaker to other nations.

Concept note-3: -He also argued that autocratic governments, such as the German regime, with their habitual intrigue, unrestrained by the will of their people, were a threat to free and self-governing nations. The president asserted, “The world must be made safe for democracy."

Concept note-4: -At the end of the war and during the Versailles conference, Wilson further articulated this vision of a new world with his Fourteen Points and proposal for a League of Nations to prevent future wars and ensure a lasting world peace.