Wilson Calls for War - American History, 1493-1945

Woodrow Wilson’s address to Congress on the reasons for war with Germany

2 April 1917

View the address of the President to the houses of Congress April 2, 1917 in the resource

On 2 April 1917 President Woodrow Wilson came before Congress to propose a u-turn on his policy of neutrality in the First World War. Now he called for a declaration of war against the Imperial German Government.

Wilson was responding to the German decision to resume unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. At first the President had attempted to neutralize the threat this posed by using guard ships in American convoys; but with 7 ships sunk since the announcement, this had proved ineffective.

In this speech Wilson described submarine attacks on passenger liners and hospital ships as warfare against all mankind. Opinion in America had already been hardened by stories of atrocities in Belgium and the 1915 sinking of the passenger ship RMS Lusitania, with 128 U.S. citizens on board. Yet the policy of neutrality remained popular. Here, Wilson stated ‘armed neutrality, it now appears, is impracticable’.

Wilson said he knew the enormity of the decision he was taking, and did it reluctantly. However he believed it to be his constitutional duty to advise Congress that the declaration of the Imperial German Government be seen as a declaration of war against the United States. In response, a defensive footing should be immediately employed, and all resources possible exerted to bring the Imperial German Government to terms that would end the war.

Wilson framed this purpose in the language of political philosophy. For him, this was a war between the principles of democracy and the evils of autocratic government. "A steadfast concert for peace can never be maintained except by a partnership of democratic nations. No autocratic government could be trusted to keep faith within it or observe its covenants." This was not, he claimed, a fight for conquest or national advantage, but one for the peace and safety of mankind and the further progress of democracy. He was careful to note that the quarrel was with the autocratic Imperial Government, and not the German people, who were just as much victims of that government as those at war with Germany.

This address, combined with the submarine attacks and allegations of a German alliance with Mexico, led to war being declared on the German Empire on 6 April 1917. The U.S. did not officially join the allies but acted as an independent power in cooperation with them. After a slow initial mobilisation, America started making significant contributions in materials, supplies and money to the allies and joined the fight with its own armies in summer 1918. Although these troops arrived late in the war and suffered from tactical naivety, they provided fresh recruits and renewed morale for the decisive 100-days Offensive.

Domestically, the war saw a dramatic extension of the federal government and the growth of the military. Internationally, it represented the climax of the Progressive Movement, as Wilson sought to bring reform and democracy to the world.