US Neutrality

<h1>Text Preview</h1> <p> <P>During the summer of 1914, the tensions in Europe that had been growing for many years culminated with the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian terrorist organization. Following the assassination, the Austrian-Hungary government (backed by Germany) and Serbia (strongly backed by Russia) entered into what became an intricate chain of political confrontations. Within less than a month, two coalitions emerged—the Central Powers, which primarily consisted of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and the Allied Powers, which included France, Russia, and Great Britain. <BR></P> </p> <p> <P>As posturing between the two coalitions persisted, Russia began to mobilize its forces to strike against Germany. Feeling threatened, Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914. Only days later, in an attempt to neutralize any opposition from France, Germany moved its forces through Belgium to strike the French nation. As a result of the German invasion of Belgium, Great Britain quickly sided with France to prevent Germany from accessing the French coastline from Belgium. <BR></P> <P>As war raged in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson argued that the United States should remain neutral in this conflict, urging Americans to be “impartial in thought as well as in action.” Given the distance between the United States and Europe, Americans readily embraced Wilson’s neutral stance. Although approximately one-third of American citizens had been born in Europe or were children of European immigrants, most were relieved to stay out of the conflict.<BR></P> </p> <p> <P>While U.S. policy remained neutral, both the Central Powers and the Allied Powers used propaganda in an attempt to sway American public opinion. German propaganda focused on Russian autocracy and anti-Semitism, which seemed to appeal only to German and Irish-Americans. Britain enjoyed certain advantages in its appeal to Americans, such as a common language and a closely aligned culture. Despite attempts by both the Allied and Central Powers to persuade U.S. opinion, President Wilson and the American people remained firmly neutral.<BR></P> <P>However, America’s neutrality was soon tested on what the U.S. considered free international waters. Both the Allied and Central Powers hoped to gain advantage over the other by controlling America’s trade relationships. Britain, who controlled the span of the North Atlantic Ocean, refused to allow American goods to be shipped to Germany and declared all cargo in neutral waters to be contraband. Britain then began seizing U.S. goods.<BR></P> </p> <p> <P>Although Wilson immediately protested this illegal act, he did not act against Great Britain. Instead, Wilson attempted to maintain a neutral position as Britain continued to throttle American trade with Germany. American ships traveling through the North Sea, which was the only route to access German ports, often found themselves illegally searched and seized, sometimes being held for months. Britain’s tactics proved to be highly effective—trade between the United States and Germany dropped off dramatically between 1914 and 1916. <BR></P> <P>However, Germany was not willing to concede control of the North Atlantic shipping lanes. In response to Britain’s tactics, Germany established a submarine war zone around the British Isles, declaring that they would immediately sink all enemy merchant ships encountered in the area. Wilson responded by declaring that Germany would be held to “strict accountability” if they injured American ships or citizens. <BR></P> </p> <p id="TextCopyright">Copyright 2006 The Regents of the University of California and Monterey Institute for Technology and Education</p>