Abstract:
When the First World War began in August 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared that he wanted the United States to remain neutral. By avoiding the conflict in Europe he hoped to demonstrate that his country held itself to a higher standard and that he was an honest broker who could mediate an end to the war. Additionally, Wilson hoped that the United States could profit from selling goods to the belligerents. He was not, however, well-versed in diplomacy, nor was he a non-partisan observer. This disposition, along with his desire for American prosperity, regularly influenced his policies and, in turn, aided the Allies. Yet, regardless of his restricted and often parochial approach to international affairs, Wilson did not intentionally violate American neutrality in the early months of the war. His position changed as the conflict progressed because Britain and the United States gradually increased their economic and political ties to the point that U.S. and U.K. interests became Anglo-American interests. This dissertation examines how the intertwining of U.S. and British political and economic interests during the first eighteen months of the First World War induced Wilson to intentionally deviate from neutrality and provide calculated support for the Allies.
