A. War and the National Interest--nations fight wars because they see them serving a particular national interest. Democracies must also convince their people that fighting a particular war is in their national interest
1. Convincing the American People--the Wilson administration had to put a great deal of effort to sell the war to the American people, both with propaganda and with severe punishment for speaking against the war effort.
a. Government propaganda--the US government had to sell the war to the people when the "preparedness" contingent became more vociferous after the sinking of the Lusitania and the loss of American lives.
b.German bumbling--Germany mad a series of rather bumbling attempts to keep the Unites States neutral or to at least keep the country from providing substantial aid to the Allies. These attempts ranged from the purchase of the New York World by German investors to aid the spread of German propaganda to the destruction of the Toms River Arsenal in New Jersey, which shattered windows in skyscrapers across the river in New York City. Espionage efforts by the German government were fairly easily uncovered by the US government, and eventually led to the largest portion of the American people supporting the war effort of the government.
2. Preparedness--a number of influential Americans--most prominently, Theodore Roosevelt--called for the United States' government to make greater efforts to prepare for the war than the government was then engaged in--or, indeed, than a majority of the people of the United States were willing to engage in. Much of Roosevelt's frustration was the realization that what he advocated was profoundly out of step with what most Americans wanted--and Woodrow Wilson was in step with the desires.
a. Rio Roosevelt--Roosevelt's frustrations with the result of the election led him on one of his periodic sojourns to prove his manhoood--this time to chart an unexplored tributary to the Amazon. This trip nearly cost him his life, as he developed a bacterial infection in his leg and malaria. Only the unselfishness of his son Kermit kept him alive. Ironically, his great-granddaughter Anna Roosevelt works as an anthropologist in the Amazon rainforest, and has uncovered evidence that suggests that the "new world" was inhabited well before was previously thought.
B. Peace and the National Interest--many other Americans saw the threat of war being contrary to the national interest--particularly those Americans who would be asked to fight it.
1. Socialists--argued that the war in Europe was being fought to line the pockets of capitalists, and to further their economic interests. Socialists argued that instead, workers should refuse to kill other workers in this war.
a. Eugene Victor Debs--Debs had won over 900,000 votes in the presidential election in 1912, the most ever for the party to that time Debs was an outspoken critic of the war, and continued to be so until he was arrested in Canton, Ohio for making the above speech.
b. Debs, William D. Haywood, other socialist (and IWW members) were arrested, tried, and convicted of sedition--of speaking out against the war
C. Feminism and Peace--women were very involved in the peace movement; many women (among them Jane Addams) argued that the role that women played in society--the nurturing mother--made women suited for maintaining peace in the world.
1. Rosika (Rosa) Schwimmer--Hungarian feminist and peace activist, who helped to found the Women's Peace Party with Jane Addams. Schwimmer was able to persuade Henry Ford to put up the money to pull together the first international conference, where she proposed that the women offer their services for continuous arbitration.
2. Addams' Role--Jane Addams, because of her prominence in the American political scene, was elected to head up this new organization--a role that she was very good at, and a position that she held for most of the next two decades.
D. Why the Peace Movement Fails--the Peace Movement in the United States failed because of the inept actions of the German government, the success of the British government propaganda, and the shift in support among the majority of American people
1. Government take action--the United States government, in response to the subtle shift in public opinion over the cause of war, passed repressive legislation to be used against those who spoke out against the war; indeed, the government quashed all dissident political movements, arresting and jailing members of these organizations. "Foreigners" were deported to their home countries, as a matter of fact.
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