Woodrow Wilson: Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War against Germany

Audience

Wilson's immediate audience was the members of Congress—both the Senate and the House—whose votes he needed to prosecute the war against Germany. Both houses were under Democratic Party control, so blatant partisanship could be minimized. At the same time, certain key party members were far more anti-interventionist than Wilson had ever been; among them were House majority leader Claude Kitchin of North Carolina; chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, William J. Stone of Missouri; and Senator James K. Vardaman of Mississippi. The same was true for House minority leader James R. Mann of Illinois and certain Republicans of progressive leanings, such as Senators Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin and George W. Norris of Nebraska. In March 1916 Wilson had to exercise all his political leverage to prevent Congress from passing a resolution introduced by Democratic Representative Jeff McLemore of Texas; it requested the president to warn Americans not to travel on armed belligerent vessels. He had to exert similar pressure to block a similar resolution offered by Democratic Senator Thomas P. Gore of Oklahoma.

Wilson was also speaking to the American people and offering a rationale as to why the United States must enter the conflict. Admittedly, public opinion played a mostly negligible role in Wilson's own decision for war. Certainly, much of the urban press as well as many senators became belligerent once the Zimmermann cable became known, a sentiment reinforced on March 18 in the wake of the sinking of the three American ships on that day. But Arthur S. Link, Wilson's biographer, finds no “great, overwhelming, and irresistible national demand” to enter the conflict (1965, p. 411). Link argues that even as late as April 1, 1917, “the majority of people held firmly for peace” (1954, p. 275). Link continues in saying that popular belligerency, encouraged by Theodore Roosevelt's demand for immediate entry, was just beginning to burgeon as Wilson was making his own decision. Wilson hoped that his emphasis on what he called “the vindication of … human right” as well as the altruistic nature of America's war aims would win over recalcitrant countrymen.

There was a third audience as well: world opinion. While he was obviously no longer endorsing a “peace without victory,” he was putting the Allies on notice that the United States was fighting for “a universal dominion of right,” not for territorial or commercial gain. He also wanted to absolve the German people, whom he portrayed as innocent of the warlike activities of their government. Similarly, he sought to stress that the new democratic Russia fully shared his goals of peace, justice, and freedom.