American Impact on WWI
Abstract:
My thesis is that the American impact on World War I was no less influential than militarily tipping the balance in favor of the Allies, through the positive impact of American manpower and morale, and diplomatically, through Wilson’s Fourteen Points, ending the war. The Background Chapter gives the reader a brief history of the war, a background of American foreign policy centered on the utilization of the Monroe Doctrine, and explains how the United States was forced into the war against Germany. The American Military Impact Chapter shows the initially slow movement of American troops to the European continent and the naval contribution Americans make, examines the impact of American troops on French morale, and outlines some of the main battles including the Battle of Belleau Wood. Wilson’s Fourteen Points speech will be analyzed in content as well as in purpose, and it will also be shown how the speech leads to an armistice and a closure of hostilities on the Western Front. The Conclusion demonstrates the failure of Wilson’s plan for peace: first in Europe at the hands of Allied diplomats and statesmen, and then in America with the Senate refusing to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and denying American membership into the League of Nations.