Immoral Influence Essay, Research Paper

The atrocious deeds taken against Germany in the first World War can only be described as unacceptable. It is clear to me that from the beginning of the war the United States undeniably favored Great Britain and France over Germany. The German?s were much more considerate than the British and would have been a great potential ally for the United States.

Shortly after war broke out in Europe, Great Britain, unable to beat Germany?s dominant ground forces, took a different approach to the war. The British navy, known for being one of the finest, blockaded the German coast and prevented all goods from coming in. American ships trying to make trade with Germany were sunk or confiscated. No trouble was ever given to the British for such actions. When Germany responded to the blockade with a blockade of their own, American ships that were sunk or confiscated were thought of as being dealt an immoral act.

When the war on the land was at a stalemate and blockading enemy ports was no longer affective, the vast powers of Europe came up with an alternative plan. Britain was the first to enact such an unbearable alternative. A ?War zone? was Britain?s answer to their problem. A mass of the Atlantic Ocean was taken by the British and was declared as prohibited for any ships to travel through. The ocean mass was strewn with mines that if any ship dared to travel through it, it would suffer heavy damage. The British allowed only one day for this war zone to come into effect. When Germany reacted to the prohibited zone with one of their own, they allowed fifteen days for all ships to steer clear of their zone. They even issued a warning stating that neutral ships entering the war zone were vulnerable to getting sunk. Both war zones were responsible for sinking American ships and shedding American blood. Only Germany?s actions were publicized.

The last irrational action taken by the United States was actually declaring war on Germany. The United States being its ?boiling pot? of a nation was at the time mostly of German heritage. The majority of the public favored Germany to win the war. When war was declared in April of 1917 there was an enormous upset in German derived American cities.

The United States did not give Germany the opportunity it deserved and denied her it?s right to conduct war equally with the nation of Great Britain. The United States being a nation founded on freedom, and justice did not even hold it?s ground on being ?neutral.? Our decisions and poor judgment in this war would come back to hit us harder than ever. We fueled the fire that eventually brought Nazi political leader Adolf Hitler into the picture years later.