American History - Part 152 - Wilson - WWI - America Declares War
Channel: ListenAndReadAlong
Date: 2013-07-25

Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.
Like most Americans, Woodrow Wilson did not want war. He feared that entering the conflict would cost the United States many lives. Wilson read the reports from European battlefields. The news was unbelievably terrible. By the end of 1916, several million men had been killed, wounded, or captured.
At the Battle of Verdun, French forces stopped a German attack.
The cost was high on both sides. More than 700,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured. The Battle of the Somme followed. Britain lost 60,000 men on the first day. By the time the battle was over, losses for both sides totaled more than a 1,000,000.

Germany also was at war on its eastern border, with Russia. Losses on that battlefront, too, totaled more than a 1,000,000 men.
Germany was winning on the battlefield. The Allies were winning at sea. A British blockade cut off almost all German trade with the rest of the world. Even food shipments were blocked. As a result, Germany faced mass starvation. It urgently needed to break the blockade and get food.
 This situation finally forced Germany to make the decision that would bring the United States into the war.
It decided to use its submarines to break the British blockade. The submarines would attack any ships that came near Britain or other parts of Europe. This included ships from neutral countries, like the United States.
President Wilson immediately broke diplomatic relations with Germany. He still hoped the two nations would not go to war. He left that decision to Germany. If German submarines sank American ships, Wilson would have no choice but to declare war.
British agents had gotten a copy of a telegram from Germany's Foreign Minister to Germany's Ambassador in Mexico. The telegram said Germany was planning hostile acts against the United States. Wilson acted quickly. He began putting guns and sailors on American trade ships.
 It did not take long for the worst to happen. Within days, a German submarine sank an unarmed American ship, the Algonquin. Then 3 more American ships were sunk. Many lives were lost.
President Wilson no longer had a choice between war and peace. There would be war. Wilson called a special session of Congress. Members of both the Senate and House of Representatives gathered in one room. They stood as the President walked quickly to the front. He stood silent for a moment before speaking. This is what he said:
 'I fully understanding the serious step I am taking, I advise that the Congress declare the recent acts of the German government to be, in fact, nothing less than war against the United States.

"It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war. But right is more precious than peace. And we will fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts -- for democracy, for the rights and liberties of small nations, and for the belief that a worldwide union of free people can bring peace and safety to all nations."
 President Wilson's emotional speech brought tears to the eyes of many of the lawmakers. They felt the great seriousness of his request.
Outside, crowds lined the street to cheer Wilson as he returned to the White House from the Capitol Building. He sat in his car and shook his head sadly. "Think of what it is they are cheering," he said. "My message today was a message of death for our young men. How strange it seems they would cheer that."
On April 6th, 1917, Congress approved a declaration of war against Germany.
 The Allies -- Britain, France and Russia -- welcomed American involvement.
The war was going badly for them. It had been very costly in lives, money, and supplies. Allied shipping was suffering heavy losses from German submarine attacks. A British naval blockade had greatly reduced food shipments to Germany. Now, Britain itself faced dangerously low supplies of food.
Allied representatives went to Washington to explain what The Allies needed. They needed supplies -- especially food -- immediately. They needed money to pay for the supplies. They needed ships to get the supplies from America to Europe. And they needed American soldiers.
 President Wilson and Congress worked together to organize the United States for war. Congress gave Wilson new wartime powers. He soon formed a council to build ships, improve industrial production, and control national transportation. He formed an agricultural agency to increase food production and food exports. And he formed an information committee to build public support for the war.
Wilson's efforts succeeded. The Allies quickly got the ships, supplies, and money they requested. Most important, they soon got American soldiers.