Signing of the Treaty of Versailles, 1919

The American belief in reform and progress at the beginning of the twentieth century received a severe blow with the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914. Many had taken it as an article of faith that nations no longer had to resort to war to solve differences even though Germany had been perceived as a threat to democratic nations by President Woodrow Wilson and others for years. Wilson clung to the principle of American neutrality, but he was obligated to protect American maritime and commercial interests, which, as the war progressed, were being interfered with by both Germany and Great Britain. Germany’s decision to begin unrestricted submarine warfare in February 1917, in retaliation for the British naval blockade, forced Wilson’s hand. On April 2, 1917, he proclaimed that the “world must be made safe for democracy,” and days later Congress passed a declaration of war against Germany.