Relativley Speaking...The Causes of America's Declaration of War on Germany

Relatively Speaking... The Causes of America's Declaration of War on Germany         From as early as the late nineteenth century, the seeds for European conflict had already been sown. While a system of alliances existed which maintained a balance of power, a nationalistic fervor was running high in Austria-Hungary, which was a multi-ethnic empire. These two factors led to what the world would call "The World War" and what President Woodrow Wilson would call "The War …

…idealism gave the American people a moral reason, and not just an economic reason, to enter the war. This idealism touched the hearts of the American people, while the economic pressures touched their purses and Germany's naval policy touched both. If any of these factors had been omitted, the outcome may not have been the same. Each made its own mark in the movement which ended with a Congressional declaration of war against Germany in 1917.