Reflecting on World War I

What key detail in "Wilson's War Message to Congress" supports his argument for entering the war?

Germany has sunk sea vessels regardless of the vessel's nationality.

Read the paragraph from "Wilson's War Message to Congress." We have no quarrel with the German people. We have no feeling towards them but one of sympathy and friendship. It was not upon their impulse that their Government acted in entering this war. It was not with their previous knowledge or approval. It was a war determined upon as wars used to be determined upon in the old, unhappy days when peoples were nowhere consulted by their rulers and wars were provoked and waged in the interest of dynasties or of little groups of ambitious men who were accustomed to use their fellow men as pawns and tools. How does Wilson organize the text to support the viewpoint in the paragraph?

He states a main idea and offers details to make his point.

Based on "How We Entered World War I," which detail explains why the sinking of the Lusitania led the United States to enter World War I?

Of the 1,195 passengers killed, 124 were from the United States.

Read the paragraph from "Wilson's War Message to Congress." Neutrality is no longer feasible or desirable where the peace of the world is involved and the freedom of its peoples, and the menace to that peace and freedom lies in the existence of autocratic governments backed by organized force which is controlled wholly by their will, not by the will of their people. We have seen the last of neutrality in such circumstances. Which statement best describes the main idea of the paragraph?

Our country can no longer refuse involvement because it cannot allow peace and freedom to be at risk.

Read the paragraph from "How We Entered World War I." As ships piled up in home ports, American commerce threatened to come to a standstill affecting the entire national economy. The Cabinet grew seriously alarmed. Although Wilson possessed the executive authority to arm ships, he was reluctant to take the step that would inevitably start the shooting. He preferred to ask Congress for authorization, thus touching off the great debate and filibuster on the Armed Ship Bill. How does the author organize the text to support her viewpoint in the paragraph?

She details events in chronological order.

What is the best summary of the first paragraph of "How We Entered World War I"?

The United States was not considered a great power until it entered World War I, thus beginning its continual involvement in world affairs.

Which statement best describes the main idea of paragraph 5, which begins "For Wilson," in "How We Entered World War I"?

The economy of the United States improved greatly after the ban on trade was removed.

Read the sentence from "How We Entered World War I." The belief in our safe isolation was reinforced by Wilson, who, bent on pursuing the New Freedom through domestic reform, was irritated by the threatened interference with his program from over seas. Based on the author's word choice, which statement best explains what the author is suggesting in this sentence?

The use of the word "irritated" indicates that Wilson was not a strong supporter of the war.

Read the paragraph from "Wilson's War Message to Congress." Gentlemen of the Congress: I have called the Congress into extraordinary session because there are serious, very serious, choices of policy to be made, and made immediately, which it was neither right nor constitutionally permissible that I should assume the responsibility of making. Wilson's word choice in the paragraph supports the idea that

he understands the magnitude of the decision the country is faced with.

Read the excerpt from "How We Entered World War I." Nothing that Wilson said about the danger to democracy could not have been said all along. For that cause we could have gone to war six months or a year or two years earlier, with incalculable effect on history. Except for the proof of hostility in the resumed submarine campaign and the Zimmermann telegram, our cause would have been as valid, but we would then have been fighting a preventive war—to prevent a victory by German militarism with its potential danger to our way of life—not a war of no choice. Instead, we waited for the overt acts of hostility which brought the war to us? The author's word choice gives the reader a sense that

the entry of the United States into World War I was justified, and the timing was accurate.