USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR I

[SOURCES]
When World War I broke out in Europe, what position did the United States take?

(A) ** It tried to stay neutral.

(B) It favored Britain.

(C) It supported Germany.

(D) It declared war on Austria-Hungary.

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -When WWI began in Europe in 1914, many Americans wanted the United States to stay out of the conflict, supporting President Woodrow Wilson’s policy of strict and impartial neutrality. “The United States must be neutral in fact as well as in name during these days that are to try men’s souls.

Concept note-2: -War broke out in Europe in the summer of 1914, with the Central Powers led by Germany and Austria-Hungary on one side and the Allied countries led by Britain, France, and Russia on the other. At the start of the war, President Woodrow Wilson declared that the United States would be neutral.

Concept note-3: -Put simply the United States did not concern itself with events and alliances in Europe and thus stayed out of the war. Wilson was firmly opposed to war, and believed that the key aim was to ensure peace, not only for the United States but across the world.

Concept note-4: -When World War I broke out in Europe in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared the United States neutral. This continued the government’s 19th century policy of isolationism – staying out of the affairs of other countries.

Concept note-5: -The best policy, they claimed, was for the United States to build up its own defenses and avoid antagonizing either side. Neutrality, combined with the power of the US military and the protection of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, would keep Americans safe while the Europeans sorted out their own problems.