Woodrow Wilson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Woodrow Wilson - Essay Example One, I agreed fully with my fellow Congressmen on the need for America to continue practicing its policy of Neutrality and Non-Interference, but it later got clear to me that Germany was continually taking America’s stance as a mark of weakness and an opportunity to disrespect America’s sovereignty. One of the instances in which Germany disregarded the sanctity of America’s territorial sovereignty and thereby changing my stand on America’s position is when Germany used its unauthorized submarines along America’s East coast in 1917. Germany respectively sunk the Lusitania, a British cruise ship that was bound for the United Kingdom, from New York. This incident claimed 1195 lives, 128 of them being Americans. This was part of Germany’s wider effort to use its U-boat ring to starve the Britannia Island by sinking its supply ships. It must be remembered that Germany had done this act of aggression many times, over the years (Foner, 709). Economic interests of the Unite States also underpinned my resolve and my fellow Congressmen’s decision to vote in favor of Wilson’s call to war. The countries that Germany was carrying unrelenting military onslaughts against were chiefly France and Britain, yet these two states harbored key economic interests of the United States. At the time, France and Britain owed America approximately 2 billion US dollars, compared to Germany which owed the US 27 million dollars.