We're observing the 21st century today, two thousand years from now. And some bumpy parts of the 21st century stem from the 20th century. So we're going to wind the clock back from 2024 to 1914 and the Great War—1914 to 1918. The combatants to this day are not at all clear for themselves why it all started.
There is an argument to be made that no one wanted this war, and that they all got into it without reason. They just followed along. Orders were given. However, we're here to talk about not the Great War, Austria-Hungary and Germany, the Central Powers, along with Bulgaria, versus the Entente—that would be Britain, France, Russia, Serbia.
No, we're here to talk about America's position towards the Great War.
Woodrow Wilson is president in 1914. He's been successful so far with what he called the Preparedness Campaign later on. That is, we're ready for the fight, but we're too proud to fight. In 1914 and 1915, it works for him. And then there's the incident with Lusitania, and then there's Teddy Roosevelt pounding the drums for participating.
And then there's the election of ‘16. Wilson barely beats Charles Evans Hughes. However, the war in Europe is turned monstrously ghastly. Everyone knows the casualty lists are vast. America doesn't want to have anything to do with it. And neither did Wilson in 1914, 1915, nor 1916. And then there are several incidents.
At Christmas time 1916 that would be Wilson sending a note saying, I'm ready to arbitrate in some fashion.
And then in early 1917, there is an incident that still is a little vague about a note from Zimmermann, the German foreign minister, to Mexico City encouraging his ambassador to entice the Mexican government to attack America, saying that we'll provide you California if you do this for us, and by the way, the Japanese are ready to come in on your side.
Nonsense like this. However, that note is used by the British Secret Service, goes one version, to inflame Woodrow Wilson. Wilson doesn't need much more than that, and then the Germans provide what becomes the casus belli, which is declaring unrestricted submarine warfare. Well, Wilson then decides that his years of being against participating in the war go away.
He asked Congress for a declaration of war on the Central Powers in early April, and Americans are at war. However, there was a strong voice that said Wilson was wrong. Wilson was always wrong. Roosevelt agreed with him. In fact, he agreed with Roosevelt at this point.
But that voice that says it's none of our affair, we're not going to get involved, nothing will be resolved, it goes on forever, that's why we left Europe—it goes on like that. Later on that became in the 1950s isolationism.
Well, here we are again. Germanicus and I have recently familiarized ourselves with the Eastern Front. The Western Front looks like Yankee Doodle Dandy arrives to rescue our French and British allies.
Well, bunkum in East front, it was all bloodlands. They were working this territory over long before 1914, and they've been working it over ever since. Hence the Ukraine war. So the “isolationism,” so-called—it's Woodrow Wilson 1914 to 1916. It's America in that period. It's none of our affair. Is America wrong?
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The Great War