The World War I, also known as the Great War was fought from 1914 to 1919. It brewed as a conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungry spreading rapidly across the world especially in Europe. The immediate cause of the First World War is mainly attributed to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne. However, historians believe that other confounding factors such as imperialism, nationalism, and militarism combined to create a conflict that was fought in the World War 1. Joll and Martel (2013) illustrated that the immediate symptoms of the World War became more discernible after the emergence of two factions; the central and the allied powers. The latter consisted of Austria-Hungary and Germany while the former consisted of Russia, France, and Great Britain. As the war continued to take shape in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson maintained that the United States should continue remaining neutral asserting that the Americans ought to be ‘'impartial in thought as well as in action.'' Although the United States remained neutral during much of the World War 1, this action was far from neutral with consequences of the decision affecting both our allies and enemies.
The neutrality policy adopted by President Wilson was more inclined towards favoring the allies hence supporting the war against the Germans. In spite of his neutrality, Wilson was bound to make a decision based on the public opinion. A famous quote that Wilson kept using was that ‘'neutrality depends on the citizens.'' The public opinion was slowly going against the Germans who destroyed any vessel they found on the waters. In the wake of these events, the neutrality policy appeared to be more pro-British leading to Wilson's decision to supply the allies with goods. Therefore from this scenario, it is critical to appreciate that Wilson's main aim was to stay in isolation with regards to the war, but instead pursued a neutral policy that resulted into much tension between the warring sides. The pro-British and the anti-German sentiments hallmarked the whole neutrality policy employed by Americans hence setting a centre stage for further confrontation.
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It is also vital to appreciate that Wilson's neutrality policy had negative implications in the war because of the way it handled the situations facing America with regards to the international relations. Both Britain and German at one point in America's neutrality engaged in actions that angered America. Britain had engaged in the blockade of its sea territories while Germany in the sinking of neutral ships. However, the way these two situations were handled dashed the neutrality policy into questions because British was reprimanded for its actions while Germany was told that it was going to be held to ‘'strict accountability'' if the neutral ships were sunk. For President Wilson, he jeopardized the neutrality policies when he made it appear that the loss of lives was far more critical than the legal implications created by the British blockade. Such a thought would automatically have led America into war with Germany and also increased the tension that already existed between Britain and Germany. It is through this neutrality policy that German, through the Zimmerman telegram, read into the actions of America and started forming alliances with countries like Mexico to ensure they mitigate America's influence.
One of the major consequences of America’s neutrality in the First World War was the fact that both the allied and the central powers made attempts to sway it into the war. One of the tactics employed by the factions was propaganda that would potentially sway the public opinion of the Americans. German used propaganda that mainly centred on anti-Semitism and Russian autocracy which appealed to most American citizens including the Irish and German-Americans. Britain also made several appeals to America, and it benefited given the fact that they shared a similar language and culture with the Americans. Despite the propaganda that was heavily directed towards the American administration headed by President Wilson, the nation remained neutral and firmly stuck to its policy of non-intervention.
Other than the massive propaganda, Venzon (2013) asserted that the non-partisan approach to the war was tested to the limits by the allies. In their two factions bid to gain the advantage of America, they attempted to take control over the trade relationships of America. In what the US regarded as the free international waters, Britain for instance, which had the mandate for most of the North Atlantic Ocean, restricted the shipment of the American goods to Germany and further asserted that all cargo in the neutral waters would be contraband. Consequently, Britain began seizing goods that belonged to the US. Therefore, it is apparent that US neutrality turned out to be one of its greatest undoings as seen by the constant agitation by the warring side. In protesting America's neutrality, Britain appeared to put economic sanctions on America and even sabotaging its economic activities.
Also, Britain employed tactics that would frustrate America's economic endeavors and good relations with Germany. America's ships that used the North Sea to access German ports experienced illegal searches and seizures sometimes delaying their transportation to periods extending to months. Britain seemed to succeed in punishing America for its neutrality as witnessed by the dramatic fall in trade between 1914 and 1916. Its neutrality in principle also threatened to strain its relationship with Germany, one of its major trade partners. In retaliation to British's frustrations on its trade, Germany decided to launch a submarine attack on Britain's isles (Floyd, 2017). However, President Wilson was not pleased with this move and declared that Germany would be held accountable if they harmed the American ships or its citizens.
The relationship between the Americans and the Germans further soured when a German U-boat attacked a passenger liner that belonged to Britain. Americans were surprised by this move that leads to 1200 passengers, 128 among them being Americans. The ship was travelling from New York to England, precisely Liverpool. Frandsen (2017) asserted that Germany defended their actions to sink the ship saying that it carried ammunition, a factor that did not convince the Americans. Many Americans called for war, but President Wilson remained cautious with any need to engage in aggression. Therefore it is apparent that despite its neutrality, the actions of its allies were always going to affect America either directly or indirectly as seen by the death of the American passengers on the ship.
America’s continued neutrality meant that its enemies would have found better ways of attacking it as seen with the Zimmerman telegram. The election of President Wilson for the second term was mainly based on a slogan ‘’the man who kept us out of the war.’’ With Germany insisting on the submarine warfare, Wilson went to the Congress to seek permission to initiate war against Germans. The Zimmerman telegram disclosed that the Germans proposed an alliance with Mexico to attack America in the event that it joined the war. It asserted ‘’we make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together…to conquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona’’ ( Alexander & Childress, 1981). The telegram, therefore, revealed that America's neutrality was used as an advantage by its enemies to prepare how it would launch an attack if they entered the war.
The choice of the US to remain neutral was detrimental, especially to the Allies. The Allies were well aware that they would automatically lose in case America did not participate in the war. Their fear came from the fact that Germans and the Austrians were winning a majority of their wars. The Allies had tried too much in an attempt to bring down Germany but with minimal success. The Allies were also losing many of their men at an alarming rate, and this was a source of fear on their part. Britain had relatively weak partners in the Allied alliance including France which had initially been annihilated by Germany. Therefore, it is apparent that America's continued neutrality indirectly affected its allies because they had minimal chances of winning without them.
Further, it is critical to note that neutrality adopted by the Americans stemmed from the fact that the War had little to do with them because the country did not want to engage in European affairs. In his Congressional speech, President Wilson asserted that it was meaningless to engage in a war that had little to do with them and also the fact that the American army was still young and inexperienced at that level. However, the neutrality policy meant that America was not going to engage in the sale of weapons of ammunition to either of the countries engaged in the war. As such, both the Allies and the Central powers could potentially suffer because America was a good partner especially in the trade of arms. Therefore, this neutrality principle had negative implications on both factions because it meant that they had nobody to depend on with regards to the furtherance of the war. As a neutral party, the US remained an active partner for both groups but on all goods and services except arms and ammunition in compliance with its neutrality and international policies.
It is critical also to note that the non-participation of the United States in the World War 1 in its initial stages meant that both the Allied and the Central powers would remain at stalemate without a potential victor or a peaceful solution. The two sides were almost evenly matched before the entry of the US into the war. They had been locked in an unending stalemate in the Western Front. Historians believe that the continued neutrality of the United States would have meant that the war would prolong to the unforeseeable future. The Germans were slowly wearing down, and the British on their side desperately needed help from the US. Therefore, many assume that the entry of US favored the Allies' victory and ended the war through a peace treaty known as the Versailles. President Wilson developed what came to be regarded as Wilson's Fourteen Points which among many other points stated that there should be ‘'open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understanding of any kind..'' ( Wilson, 1918).
In conclusion, it is vital to note that as much as the United States remained neutral, many would describe it as pseudo-neutrality because its decision to not participate had an immense effect on both its allies and enemies. Many believe that Us was incline to the Allied faction from the very beginning and this created animosity between Britain and Germany. Its non-intervention in the war meant that the US and Britain would be compromised as witnessed in the Zimmerman telegram crafted by Germany. In addition, neutrality meant that the war would have prolonged and cause major economic and social damages on both sides at the expense of achieving a long-lasting solution to the conflict.
References
Alexander, M., & Childress, M. (1981). The Zimmerman telegram. Social Education , 45 (4), 266.
Floyd, R. (2017). German Propaganda and U.S. Neutrality in World War I. Journal of Military History , 81 (3), 898-900.
Frandsen, B. (2017). The Birth of American Airpower in World War I: Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the US Entry into the "Great War". Air & Space Power Journal , 31 (3), 60-73.
Joll, J., & Martel, G. (2013). The origins of the First World War . Routledge.
Venzon, A. C. (Ed.). (2013). The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia . Routledge.
Wilson, W. (1918, January). Fourteen points. In Address to Congress (Vol. 8, pp. 33-36).
