America's Great War

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 16. OKT. 2000

In this captivating and clearly presented work, noted University of Florida historian Zieger (The CIO, 1935-1955) explores the relatively brief role of the U.S. in WWI. America's role was largely born of what Zieger portrays as President Woodrow Wilson's singularly idealistic, overtly Christian and arrogant world view that the U.S.--by virtue of its wealth and moral supremacy--alone could save Western civilization. Determined to use America's clout without involving American lives in a war that didn't threaten the country directly, Wilson very actively played the role of mediator among the warring parties for the first three years of the conflict. He finally asked Congress to declare war against Germany after German U-boats torpedoed neutral U.S. merchant ships. America's entrance into the war, therefore, set the stage for its future foreign relations policy, which until then had been primarily isolationist, and for the emergence of what Zieger calls a "national security state," with an active focus on developing the technology and securing and training the manpower necessary to maintain military readiness even during peacetime. This book also focuses on political battles fought on the home front on behalf of progressive causes in three crucial areas--race, labor and the "woman question." Growing unrest between workers and capitalists--and the growing disparity between wealth and poverty--led to an increase in labor union participation and more than 3,000 strikes, many of them violent. Leaders of the most prominent union, the AFL, pledged loyalty to the Wilson administration in return for the passage of legislation benefiting workers. Ziegler argues that America's stance in WWI was ultimately largely the result of one individual's vision, and that this involvement led to America's emergence as the world leader. 16 pages of b&w photos.