In the last 250 years the USA has been involved in more than twenty wars. The reasons for the American interventions in those wars were quite different.
The involvement in the Barbary Wars which lasted from 1801 until 1805 was caused by the fact that the pasha of Tripoli wanted to blackmail the United States. The USA had to decide whether they wanted to be protected from pirate attacks or not. President Thomas Jefferson saw only one opportunity and this was fighting against Tripoli.1 The Mexican-American War, which took place from 1846 until 1848, was another war fought by the Americans. During that time the extension of the American territory was the main aim of the American President James K. Polk. The war grew out of an argument between the Mexicans and the Americans, because the USA shifted the border between those two states in the Mexican's disfavor. After the outburst of the war it took two years until the Mexicans had to give up, facing a great loss of territory.
Another example is the Vietnam War which lasted from 1961 until 1975. The United States believed that their duty was to stop the advance of communism. The plan of President John F. Kennedy was to help the population of South Vietnam to get rid of the Vietcong guerrilla.After North Vietnam has attacked American warships, President Lyndon B. Johnson managed to get the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution accepted by the Congress. Soon after this, the USA declared the civil war in South Vietnam as a war of the United States against the communistic North Vietnam.
All in all it is obvious that the reasons for the American involvements in those wars are very different and strongly linked to the incidents in those times and the decisions of the American Presidents.
In the following I am going to take a closer look at two different wars in which the United States of America were involved in. I am going to direct my attention to the American President's role in this time and his impact on certain decisions and on the war itself.
Table of Contents
I. American wars
II. President Woodrow Wilson - His policy during the First World War
1. President Wilson's neutrality and his exertion for being a neutral mediator
2. First cracks in the American - German relation
3. President Wilson's vision of world peace
4. President Wilson being forced to join the war
5. President Wilson's "Fourteen Points"
6. President Wilson - American idealist and fighter for democracy, peace and liberty
III. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt - His policy during the Second World War
1. President Roosevelt's concentration on national politics during the Great Depression
2. President Roosevelt's struggle with the "Neutrality Acts"
3. President Roosevelt's support of the European Allies
3.1. President Roosevelt - A fighter for the "Cash-and-Carry Clause"
3.2. President Roosevelt's wish for peace - The "Arsenal of Democracy"
3.3. President Roosevelt's support of Great Britain - The "Lend-Lease Act"
4. The attack on Pearl Harbor and the American entrance in the Second World War
5. President Roosevelt - Strategist and fighter for democracy
IV. President Wilson's and President Roosevelt's intentions
V. Supplement
VI. Bibliography
Objectives and Topics
The academic paper examines the roles and foreign policies of U.S. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the First and Second World Wars, respectively. It explores how both leaders attempted to maintain neutrality while balancing national interests, international pressure, and their personal visions for global peace and democracy.
- Evolution of American neutrality policies during early 20th-century conflicts.
- Woodrow Wilson's idealist vision for a peaceful world order and the League of Nations.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt’s transition from domestic focus to interventionist support of the Allies.
- The impact of critical historical events, such as the sinking of the Lusitania and the attack on Pearl Harbor, on executive decision-making.
- Comparative analysis of the motivations and intentions of both presidents regarding war entry.
Excerpt from the Book
3. President Wilson's vision of world peace
On January 22nd, 1917, President Wilson delivered a speech to the Senate of the USA in which he talked about his vision of a peaceful world. His attempt to figure out the necessary guiding rules to avoid a new outburst of war shows that Woodrow Wilson never lost his dream of world peace. He emphasized that it would be essential to have a 'peace without victory' in order to guarantee a living together not based on hatred and the wish of reprisals. The American President wanted those principles to play an important role for the European peace-negotiations and the peace-treaty.
Furthermore, Wilson pointed out that it would be best if all nations were united, for example in a 'World League for Peace'. He dreamt that every nation would support the same aims and would be not building alliances which could endanger peace and justice again. Hence it is obvious that the President wanted a world and a harmonious living together which were not dominated by suspicion, hatred, killing and war. Further indications for that are also the principles in his "A World League for Peace" Speech. President Wilson was a man who fought for 'peace without victory', an equality of rights, freedom of life and sovereignty of the people. This can be seen in his demands for peace and justice:
(...) The world can be at peace only if its life is stable, and there can be no stability where the will is in rebellion, where there is not tranquility of spirit and sense of justice, of freedom, and of right. (...) When all unite to act in the same sense and with the same purpose all act in the common interest and are free to live their own lives under a common protection (...) These are American principles, America policies.(...) They are the principles of mankind and must prevail.
Summary of Chapters
I. American wars: Provides a historical overview of U.S. military interventions, illustrating that motivations were diverse and deeply connected to the specific political contexts of the time.
II. President Woodrow Wilson - His policy during the First World War: Analyzes Wilson's efforts to maintain neutrality, his vision for a global order, and the eventual necessity of entering the war after diplomatic efforts failed.
III. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt - His policy during the Second World War: Examines Roosevelt's shift from focusing on the Great Depression to navigating the Neutrality Acts and supporting the Allies via the Cash-and-Carry and Lend-Lease programs until the attack on Pearl Harbor.
IV. President Wilson's and President Roosevelt's intentions: Compares the two leaders, concluding that neither was a war enthusiast, but both were forced by circumstances to engage in conflict to defend national safety and democratic values.
V. Supplement: Contains brief biographical sketches of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, detailing their personal and political backgrounds.
VI. Bibliography: Lists the primary and secondary sources, including official transcripts and historical analyses, used to substantiate the research.
Keywords
Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, World War I, World War II, Neutrality, Isolationism, Foreign Policy, Peace, Democracy, Pearl Harbor, League of Nations, Fourteen Points, Cash-and-Carry, Lend-Lease Act, American History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental subject of this academic paper?
The paper focuses on the foreign policy strategies of U.S. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt during the World Wars, specifically how they navigated neutrality and eventual war involvement.
What are the central themes discussed in the text?
The central themes include the evolution of American isolationism, the role of idealism in international diplomacy, and the shift from non-interventionist policies to global engagement to protect democracy.
What is the primary research goal of this study?
The study aims to investigate whether the two presidents sought war as an intentional goal or were driven into conflict by unavoidable historical circumstances and the need to protect national security.
Which scientific methodology does the author employ?
The author uses historical analysis, examining primary documents like inaugural addresses and war messages, alongside secondary academic literature to reconstruct the political motivations of the two presidents.
What is covered in the main section of the paper?
The main section details Wilson's neutrality efforts and peace vision, as well as Roosevelt's struggle with the Neutrality Acts and the strategic transition from the 'Arsenal of Democracy' to active combatant status.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include American neutrality, World War I, World War II, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, international peace, foreign policy, and democracy.
How did the sinking of the Lusitania impact Wilson's neutrality?
The incident created significant tension and indignation in the U.S., forcing Wilson to protest against submarine warfare and navigate the delicate balance between diplomacy and the demand for a stronger response.
What was the strategic purpose of the Lend-Lease Act?
The act was a strategic instrument designed to allow the U.S. to support the British Empire and other Allies against Axis powers while technically maintaining a non-interventionist posture to appease isolationist sentiments.
How did Roosevelt prepare the public for the possibility of war?
Through speeches such as the 'Arsenal of Democracy' address, Roosevelt emphasized that the U.S. needed to support nations fighting for their own security to ultimately keep the war away from American soil.
What role did the attack on Pearl Harbor play in Roosevelt's policy?
The attack served as a definitive turning point that transformed the American domestic mood, silencing isolationists and creating a consensus that forced the U.S. to formally enter the war.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Stefanie Wunder (Autor:in), 2010, American War Presidents , München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/176184
