Was Americas Role In Wwi Justi Essay

, Research Paper

Was America s role in WWI justified?

The U.S. entered World War I in 1917. This was very late in the war and America didn t have much of a chance to do anything very significant. However the entrance of the U.S. in the war was justified. Three of most significant reasons the U.S. entered the war for were all successfully completed. The reasons were the Zimmerman Note, to stop the U-Boats, and help France and Britain defeat the Central Powers. The U.S, and the Allied Powers successfully did all three of these things.

The Zimmerman Note was a telegram between Japan, Germany, and Mexico promising Mexico the land it lost to America during the Mexican-American war, if they joined Japan and Germany in an invasion on the U.S. The land they d gain would be Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico. This scared and angered most Americans. They were afraid of losing land they rightfully own and won. Americans also didn t want to be invaded by three other countries and lose many, many American lives (WWI The Great War). In the sense of preventing the plans contained in the Zimmerman Note the U.S. s entrance into the war was justified because the plans were never carried out, due to the entrance of the U.S. and the defeat of Germany making the plan impossible to carry out (WWI An Outline History).

The German U-boats were a major danger to the U.S. and other allied countries especially Britain. The subs prevented supplies and troops from reaching Europe. This would eventually starve Britain to death. The U-boats also sunk American and British ships killing many Americans, among others. The U.S. and Allies developed a system of getting ships to Europe without getting harmed by German U-boats. This system was called a convoy (Documentary Role of U.S.). The convoy system was battleships, destroyers, and planes surrounding the merchant and transport ships in the middle. The convoy made U-boats almost obsolete (WWI An Outline History). Because of this, another reason the U.S. entered the war was justified.

The final, and probably most important reason America entered the war was to help end it, and defeat Germany. American troops provided fresh, rested men to help the worn out European Allied armies (WWI The Great War). By 1917 Russia was out of the war and Germany was able to concentrate on the western front. France and Britain s armies were tired and running low on supplies. When American forces finally arrived the fall of Germany seemed inevitable. Germany was out manned and outgunned. Hopes were high on the Allied side and finally on November 11, 1918 the weary German army surrendered (WWI An Outline History). This was a great relief all over the world, especially in Europe. This was obviously great justification for the U.S. entering the war. America helped end the war to end all wars.

America s involvement in World War I was justified because the U-boat problem was solved by the convoy system, making allied ships safe, and due to the defeat of Germany the Zimmerman note was impossible to carry out. Lastly because Germany lost, the war was finally over fulfilling the three major reasons the U.S. entered the war. Because all three reasons were successfully done, America s entrance into World War I was indefinitely justified.