Fujitaka Tamiya

Political Stance of the U.S. During the First World War
In an era where we are now witnessing global conflicts, there is significant importance in reviewing history
especially when people experienced chaos globally. This paper examines how the American government acted
during World War I, showing both the history before the war and the war’s consequences .

Historical Contexts of American Diplomacy
The attitude of “isolationism” can be seen in the U.S. from its founding, as the following passage of George
Washington’s farewell address indicates:“The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, inextending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as wehave already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop.” (1)This isolationism, symbolized by mutual non-interference between the U.S. and European countries, was later
articulated in James Monroe's seventh annual message to congress in 1823. Then American president,
Theodore Roosebelt, was convinced by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams that he should claim an
independent diplomacy in order to be unstrained from the foreign intervention. Nevertheless, the U.S. did send
its military forces into other nations of the Western hemisphere. (2)The U.S. had continued the policy position for a long time, but that began to change. John Hay issued “OpenDoor” from 1899 to 1900, seeing European nations dividing the territory of China, which had to compensate
the loan after its defeat of the first Sino-Japanese War.(3) Aside from Woodrow Wilson’s policy, the alterationof diplomacy can also be seen in around 1940, or when the World War 2 (WW2) started. It took Pearl Harborattack in December 1941 that Americans generally thought of entering the war against the Axis Powers. (4)After the victory in WW2, to address to the Soviet, in 1949, the country joined the alliance outside WesternHemisphere for the first time, and that is, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). (5)The United States in World War 1
July 28th, 1914, Austria-Hungary (6) declares war against Serbia as Imperial couple got assasined, being atrigger of World War 1. Although countries were divided into the Allies or Central Powers, the U.S. initiallydid not state its standpoint. The incident of Ship Luistania happened, and this led to anti-german sentiments.
However, Woodrow Wilson had stayed neutral until he finally decided to declare war on April 6, 1917.(7)Wilson’s actions, though different from previous presidents, still reflected a stable American ideology ofexceptionalism in the following points;
・Wilson insited on participating the war as “associated power”
・There was an aim to deal with the revolutionary government in Soviet
・The U.S. tried to achieve new order by destroying European order.
Considering the fact that he had won the election for his second term by stating not to intervene in a war, andannounced The Proclamation of Neutrality in 1914,(8) the significant change in American position can beseen.The extent of which the U.S. spread its propaganda during the wartime may be surprising after Wilson’s
strong message of neutrality. After the U.S. declared the war, the necessity of what it later became CPI,Committee on Public Information was discussed, and we can see that in a diary on April 9 that then-Secretaryof the Navy, Josephus Daniels, wrote. In the diary, it was also written that the president would designate
George Creel as a head of the committee. On the 13th, when the president provided authority in Executive
Order 2594, CPI was created.(9) While the initial targets were the citizens within the country, it later started toprovide posters and other sorts of propaganda outside. (10)Globe after World War 1
Wison declared, in 1918, the Fourteen Points, which nesseciated the creation of “general association ofnations” in the fourteenth point, and this idea gained strong popularity. However, when the League of Nations
was actually formed(11), the U.S. itself did not join. The Treaty of Versailles, in which the plan forestablishment of the League was included, was rejected by the Senate with 49 to 35 votes in March 1920, withopposition from isolationist.(12)The Fourteen Points and the establishment of the League of Nations, together with The Four Freedoms andAtlantic Charter, presented in 1941, are the direct origin for the liberal world order people are used to today.
(13)(14) Although there are debates concerning its justification - there is a viewpoint that challenges whether it
was liberal or not, saying that it was the hegemony and national interests of the U.S. that was prioritized, andits military and economic powers was actually a threat to other nations - it is how the world has functioned.

Conclusion
Since American diplomacy had been isolationism for long, Wilson was a unique president who aimed to shrift
into internationalism. However, the continuation of such an attitude can be also seen in his words and actions.
His reluctance to enter the war had changed after the public expressed an anger that he should fight, taking
strategies such as spreading propaganda. After the war, although the U.S. refused to join after all, he proposed
making an international body, suggesting the Fourteen Points, which became the foundation for peace
negotiations. Further research on how the citizens at that time changed their ideas should be done, in order tounderstand how the public opinion was formed, as it remains unclear precisely when they began to have aunity as Americans.

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