Analysis of World War 1 and American Involvement in History 101

This essay analyzes America's involvement in World War 1, beginning with its initial attempts at neutrality and President Woodrow Wilson's policy of non-intervention. It explores the factors that led to the country's eventual shift towards interventionism, including economic ties with the Allies and Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare. The essay examines Wilson's declaration of war against Germany, framed as a defense of democracy and American rights, and the subsequent implementation of the Overman Act of 1917, which granted the President unprecedented authority over the federal government and the economy. It argues that these events set a precedent for future American foreign policy, marking a departure from neutrality and paving the way for interventionist policies in subsequent conflicts, such as World War II and the Vietnam War. The essay also discusses the impact of the Overman Act on American values of freedom and economic liberty, and how it was later used by other presidents. The provided essay uses various sources to support its claims and provides a comprehensive overview of America's transformation during the war.

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World War 1 and American Involvement
WW1 took place in Europe, especially between Germany and Great Britain and France
from 1914 to 1918. Up until 1917, America and their president Woodrow Wilson were trying
whatever it could not get involved in the War between Europe, and they were trying as hard as
they could to be “neutral” about the conflict (Rubin 2014).
Most American’s at the time didn’t want to get involved in the war because the country
had a lot of immigrants from each fighting country, including Germany. And almost everyone in
America felt that the conflict between the European powers wasn’t their problem, so they
decided to isolate themselves, and President Wilson made a policy to keep out of the war. He
was even reelected because he had “kept America out of the war” (Keene, “What Did It All
Mean?”)
President Wilson declares war against Germany to protect democracy and the rights of
the American people. The Overman Act of 1917 was drafted, which gave President Wilson
absolute authority over the federal government, and America’s industry. These documents show
that the tone set by WWI was America’s shift to an interventionist policy, under the claim that
America needs to protect its Constitutional rights of liberty. America got involved before 1917
by becoming trade partners with Great Britain and France because everyone at the time realized
that if the allies lost the war, then America wouldn’t have any “friends” and it would just be

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America VS Germany because America was partners with France and Britain even before the
war. So the U.S.A decided to start shipping supplies to Great Britain and France (Kazin 2017).
President Wilson declared war on Germany as a result of Germany’s unrestricted
submarine warfare. Wilson claimed that America’s involvement in WW1 was to protect
democracy and was necessary to maintain America’s peace and safety. Wilson’s declaration of
war against Germany helped set the tone for the rest of the 20th century because it shows the
deviation from President Washington’s policy of neutrality, and how America should stay
neutral from forwarding affairs. Taking sides with the Allies and breaking that policy of
neutrality was not only for the sake of America’s peace but for the peace of all nations. Wilson
talks about the “rights and liberties of small nations,” (Lloyd 2014) as if he has jurisdiction over
the rights of “smaller nations.” This document shows how America began to see itself as a world
superpower and how it would begin to intervene in foreign affairs and dictate how other nations
should conduct themselves. This document settled the foundation of WWII and other upcoming
wars, as this document shows how later presidents would engage in later foreign affairs and
battles, such as the Vietnam War, under the claim of protecting American freedom and
democracy.
The Overman Act of 1917 bypassed the Constitution and gave President Wilson
unprecedented power over the economy of America, and total authority over the federal
government. This act was passed during President Wilson’s intervention in WWI, and its
purpose was to boost industrial output to aid in the war against Germany. The president was
given the power to control the distribution of goods, ranging from war goods to food, and how
businesses distribute those goods. The Overman Act essentially turned America into a command
economy during times of war (Keene, “America in the First World War”). The Overman Act of

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1917 helped set the tone for the rest of the 20th century because it shows how America was
willing to put aside the values of freedom, and economic liberty, such as the theory of laissez-
faire, where the government has a hands-off approach to private business. These are the same
values America fought for during past wars, such as the American Revolution against the British.
Later presidents would use this act in times of war to gain the same kind of rule over the
government and the American economy, to achieve victory in wars they thought were necessary
to fight in to protect democracy and American peace (Schlenoff 2020). By mobilizing America’s
people and resources for the sake of defeating the Central Powers, the Overman act showed how
America had shifted into an interventionist policy and sacrificed its principles to fight in WWI.
Wilson’s declaration of war against Germany and the Overman Act of 1917 both helped
set the tone for the rest of the 20th century. America, then, was willing to sacrifice its morals and
bypass its Constitution, to shift to an interventionist policy and intervene in foreign affairs. This
same reasoning would be used in future wars, such as the fight against communism, to protect
not just American peace and democracy, but global peace and democracy.

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Works Cited
Kazin, Michael. “Opinion | Should America Have Entered World War I?” The New York Times,
6 Apr. 2017. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/opinion/should-
america-have-entered-world-war-i.html.
Keene, Jennifer. “America in the First World War.” The British Library, The British Library, 5
Mar. 2019, https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/america-in-the-first-world-war.
---. “What Did It All Mean? The United States and World War I.” Histoire@Politique, vol. n°
22, no. 1, Centre d’histoire de Sciences Po, Oct. 2014, pp. 120–36.
Lloyd, Nick. “How the U.S. Helped Win World War I.” Wall Street Journal, 25 Jan. 2014.
www.wsj.com, https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-us-helped-win-world-war-i-
1390611318.
Rubin, Richard. “Why Don’t Americans Remember WWI?” The Atlantic, 29 Sept. 2014,
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/08/why-dont-americans-remember-
the-war/373469/.
Schlenoff, Dan. “Before America Joined the Great War.” Scientific American,
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/war-opinions/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020.