In 1915, as the battles of the European war continued to rage, and Germany became increasingly hostile towards the United States, a few Americans recognized that the country was bound to become involved in the fighting sooner or later. But many historians believe that the distracted American president was less quick to see the inevitable. Shortly before the Allies had declared war on August 4, 1914, President Wilson’s wife, Ellen Louise Axson Wilson, had died of Bright’s disease, a disorder that destroys the kidneys. Wilson was overcome with grief, and it wasn’t until December, 1915, when he fell in love with and married a young widow, Edith Boiling Galt, that the war recaptured the president’s attention.
Throughout 1916, the country’s business and government leaders supported and attempted to retain economic ties to European countries no matter what their alliance. International trade continued unabated, while President Wilson tried to keep the peace between those advocating preparation for war and the isolationists, who preferred that America remain detached from the conflict. However, his attempts to negotiate peace in Europe were rejected as the fighting grew more intense and bloody.
Arguments for Preparedness and Pleas for Neutrality
In January, 1917, Germany announced that it would resume submarine warfare in an act of open hostility towards the United States, which made a neutral stance nearly impossible. It was reviving unrestricted U-boat warfare as a last ditch attempt to blockade and starve Britain into submission before the U.S. could act. Britain had one month’s food supply left when America finally declared war in April, 1917.
As the likelihood of American involvement drew near, the country split down the middle. Half the population believed that America’s entry into the war would bring certain victory to the Allies and this would help maintain its powerful international position. These militants had been keen for the United States to enter the war as early as 1915, when the Lusitania was torpedoed, killing many Americans. They had applauded the government when, in that year, it set up military training camps for men willing to spend their summer vacation learning to become soldiers. These trainees later volunteered for duty in June, 1916, when Congress voted to allocate more than $7 billion for national defense spending, which included increasing the size of the army. The war enthusiasts cheered President Wilson’s decision that same year to authorize U.S. merchant vessels, over Congressional objections, to carry guns as protection against attack from submarines.
But many of the country’s Socialists, anarchists, and others took a pacifist view and argued for isolationism. America’s entry into this war would be an economic decision, they argued. American boys would die to save the vast empires that capitalism had created. A popular song, "I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier," mirrored their views.
Many influential people used their own resources to campaign for their beliefs. Automobile magnate Henry Ford, convinced that America should keep out of the war and that the country’s leaders should help resolve the dispute, organized a Peace Ship filled with sixty delegates to travel to Europe in December 1915 and negotiate peace. Ford believed that "the fighting nations are sick of war." His plans to "get the boys out of the trenches before Christmas" were ridiculed by the press and failed to bear any fruit.
