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? asked in Arts & HumanitiesHistory · 6 years ago

What were the economic and political factors both for the US for against going to WWI?

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  • 6 years ago
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    Economically,US had lent the Allies a lot of money from the beginning of the war and if they lost,the prospect of getting these loans repaid soon (if at all) was slim to none.The US needed to join the war on the Allied side to protect its already large financial commitment to their cause.

    Unrestricted submarine warfare was sinking US merchant ships and merchant ships of other neutrals sailing to and from US,and all this was harmimg the US economy.Joining the war on the Allied side would help them win the war quicker and thus end this.

    Politically,Britain and France were democracies,same as USA.The Central Powers were all autocratic monarchies.Joining the war on the Allied side would haelp make the world safe for democracy.

    Against:

    Economically,US was already making lots of money selling weapoins,munitions,supplies,and other war materiel to the Allies.

    Joining the war would mean a big expansion of the puny US military,which meant a lot of government expenditure which would almost certainly mean big tax hikes - and people don't like increased taxes.]]

    Politically,there were a lot of Irish-Americans and German-Americans who were anti British and who would be against USA joining the war on the Allied side.They were unlikely to vote in the future for any government that did so.Additionally,any contribution they called on to make for the war effort was likely to be of doubtful enthusiasm and therefore not of high quality.

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