America went to war. After the world war broke out 19 14, the United States declared neutrality and sold arms and materials to the warring parties, making a fortune. 1965438+In March, 2007, the US government launched an anti-German wave in China on the pretext that Germany announced the resumption of "unrestricted submarine warfare" and that Germany's secret telegram Mexico attempted to form a German-Mexican alliance against the United States. On April 6 of the same year, the United States declared war on Germany. 19 17, Brazil, Cuba, Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, Honduras, Costa Rica, Liberia, Siam (Thailand), Han Zhi (now western Saudi Arabia) and other countries declared war on Germany. By the end of the war, the number of American troops sent to the front line reached 2 million. In terms of finance and military supplies, the United States has become the pillar and main base of the Allies. During World War II, the total amount of arms, various materials and direct loans provided by the United States to its allies was nearly $654.38+00 billion.
America's Neutrality and Its Participation in the First World War
In the First World War, America's participation in the war was only an accident when the war developed to a certain stage, but in essence, from the standpoint of a rising imperialist power, it was inevitable for the United States to get involved in this imperialist war that re-divided the world.
Then, why did the United States declare "neutrality" at the beginning of the war, but did not enter the war until the spring of 19 17? What is the "line of interest" for the United States to decide to "neutral" into the war? What caused the United States to formally participate in the war and military intervention? Why did the United States join the Allies?
These are some problems that this paper tries to discuss.
Why was the United States "neutral" at the beginning of World War II?
Whether the United States is "neutral" or participates in the war, when and in what form depends on its own interests.
1965438+ World War I broke out on August 4, 2004. President Wilson declared neutrality that day. On August 19, he called on the American people to be "equally impartial in thought and action". In fact, Wilson's real purpose is to bide his time and really make a profit. Page, the American ambassador to Britain, predicted in his letter to House, the presidential adviser, in June 65438+1October of the same year that "almost all European countries are going bankrupt after the war. There will be no more Germany on the sea. Ten years later, ... the future of the whole world will fall into our hands, which is a very rare opportunity. "
Neutrality brings economic and political benefits to the United States.
Two and a half years of "neutrality" has made the United States in a leading position in international trade and become a major supplier of munitions and consumer goods to its allies. As can be seen from the following table, the export of major commodities in the United States has increased:
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Not only has the export volume of the United States increased year by year, but the export proportion of industrial products has also increased greatly. The growth of foreign trade stimulated the development of domestic industry and agriculture. The total industrial output value of the United States was $24.92 billion in 19 14 and $639.7 1 100 million in19, with an increase of 156.7%. During World War I, the number of American millionaires increased by 17000.
Countries such as Britain and France have to pay a lot of gold to the United States because of their huge deficits. The United States also took this opportunity to recover more than $2 billion in securities held by foreign countries. The United States changed from a debtor country to a creditor country. By the end of 19 19, the United States had lent about10 billion dollars in war debts to its allies and became a creditor of 20 countries. It also holds 40% of the global gold reserves.
The United States used the war to consolidate its markets in Latin America and the Far East and seize new markets. The total value of US imports and exports to Latin America increased from $798 million in 19 14 to $3.393 billion in 1920. By 19 17, the United States controlled oil and rubber in Mexico, tin mines in Bolivia, saltpeter in Chile and coffee in Brazil. The United States has also strengthened its position in China and the Middle and Near East markets. The private capital output of the United States increased from $3.5 billion in 19 14 to $7 billion in19. Politically occupied Haiti and Dominica, twice intervened in Mexico, and controlled Caribbean countries such as Cuba and Nicaragua.
The American ruling group is quite proud of the benefits of "neutrality". House consultant once said that during the same period, the United States became stronger and stronger, and the belligerents became weaker and weaker, which meant that the power of the United States doubled. On July 19 16, President Wilson said in his speech at Detroit Chamber of Commerce and Industry: "We must support the world financially, but whoever supports it should know it, understand it and be good at managing it according to his own knowledge and views."
At that time, isolationism and pacifism were very strong in the United States, and the people opposed war. Isolationism is the traditional European policy of the United States. As early as 1783, President Washington suggested that it was "unwise" to get involved in European conflicts. Warn Americans. Avoid permanent alliances with any part of the outside world. Although true isolationism is impossible, every time there is a war in Europe, the United States always declares neutrality.
As soon as World War I broke out, the United States set off an anti-war movement. Among all kinds of peace organizations, there are arms limitation alliance, anti-militarism alliance, peace association, neutral alliance, women's peace association and so on. One of the petitions submitted to Congress was "half a mile long and signed by1100,000 men and women". Intellectuals, workers and peasants, church people and other representatives from all walks of life participated in the peace group. The main interests of the central and western countries are in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, and they strongly oppose being involved in the European war. Manufacturers and exporters related to foreign trade should benefit from neutral trade and are generally opposed to participating in the war. Many big capitalists sponsor peace groups. Germany is worried that the United States will join the Allies, and it has also funded some American peace organizations and their newspapers behind the scenes. Various complicated factors have caused the prevalence of pacifism and anti-war thoughts in the United States.
Wilson's bid for re-election in the election of 19 16 is also a reason for adopting the "neutral" policy. After the war broke out, Wilson considered the "neutrality" of the United States and the possibility of participating in the war. 19 16 In the spring, Wilson held a tentative "sunrise meeting" with congressional leaders to study the necessity and possibility of participating in the war. "Do you know if they will support the United States to participate in the war and join the Allies ... These people explicitly refuse to support any such policy." Considering that there will be a general election this year, Wilson also "dare not risk splitting the Democratic Party by participating in the war before the victory of the general election is over". After the dawn talks failed, Wilson was convinced that the United States had no hope of participating in the war before the election was over. "Wilson called the Hehe Party the' War Party'. In this way, he won a gripping victory, so he was able to take the second oath of office." The Democratic Party won with the slogan "He saved us from the war", which is another proof that American pacifism is dominant.
The United States does not have enough military strength to participate in the war. When the war broke out, the US Army had only 250,000 people, most of whom were National Guard. The main forces of the United States are still stationed in the Philippines, Guam and Hawaii, and may be quickly transferred to the European battlefield. The United States, with its fledgling armament, is happy to play the beautiful banner of "neutrality" first.
At the beginning of the war, although the United States and the belligerents had some troubles to solve, they were not sharp enough to declare war. The favorable geographical location also enables the United States to watch the fire from the other side.
Why did the United States go to war?
(1) The United States cannot be truly neutral if it wants to gain the benefits of wartime trade.
W Millis, a famous American historian, believes that "to be fair, in a sense, the United States was involved in the European war in the middle of 19 15. Essentially, we are part of a complex war machine. Our economic strength supports one side as a whole and is no longer neutral in thoughts, feelings and policies. "
1915 65438+10 In October, American monopoly capitalist Morgan was appointed as the British business representative in the United States. In the summer of the same year, Morgan bought arms in the United States on behalf of its allies. "19 15 August 12, finance minister mcadoo wrote a long letter to Wilson, pointing out that a great prosperity was coming because of selling industrial products to allies. But this prosperity can't last long except for opening loans to allies. " On February 8, 65438, Wilson approved the loan. "The total amount of loans to the allies reached 2.5 billion US dollars, which can maintain their purchasing power for more than one year." The following situation shows that the trade between the United States and its allies increased during the war, which is in stark contrast to the decline of trade between the central European powers:
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From the original intention of the United States, it is certainly more ideal to maintain and expand trade relations with warring parties. However, because the British navy mastered the right to control the sea, the United States ignored Germany's repeated protests and became a unilateral military supplier to the allies, "becoming the warehouse and arsenal of the allies." "By the end of February 19 15, when Britain tried to strengthen its maritime control system, the British navy laid mines in the North Sea, set up a long naval blockade for Germany and neutral countries in Europe, and intercepted American ships, which carried some non-contraband goods, especially grain, to Italy, the Netherlands and other neutral countries in Europe for transshipment to Germany. Does the United States recognize the British system, or does it insist on free trade of all non-embargoed materials with Germany even if it wants to cause war? This is a key issue in the early days of the war. " Because the sea power is in the hands of the British, the market of the Allies is much stronger than that of Central Europe. American businessmen who develop trade with the central European powers not only risk their goods being confiscated by British warships, but also risk being blacklisted by the allies and refusing to do business. Therefore, most American businessmen turned to the Allies. Wilson actually had no choice but to accept the British ocean policy and let the United States gradually become the arsenal of the allies. "Most American industrialists naturally have the same attitude as bankers. Because Britain controls the ocean, our sales are mainly in allies, and we would like to see allies continue this war and win. " Due to the development of "neutral trade" with its allies and the continuous increase of wartime loans, the United States certainly cannot be "impartial."
(2) The United States is worried that if the Allies are defeated, they will not be able to recover their wartime loans.
When the war broke out, Germany launched a surprise attack and occupied a large number of territories for a period of time. However, after the Battle of the Marne River at the end of 19 14, the German strategy of quick victory went bankrupt. Since then, the Germans have had to fight on both sides and fall into the quagmire of a long-term war of attrition.
1917 65438+1October 3 1 day, Germany announced the resumption and expansion of unrestricted submarine warfare, and all merchant ships near the British Isles and the eastern Mediterranean, whether belligerent or neutral, were sunk without warning. British shipping soon collapsed. Britain's war materials are becoming increasingly scarce, and food supply has become a problem. In some parts of Britain, gardens have been turned into vegetable fields, and even potatoes have been planted on lawn tennis courts.
Three months after Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, the total tonnage sunk by Britain was almost equal to the total tonnage lost in 19 16. The threat of submarine warfare continues to expand, and the allied forces can't come up with effective countermeasures for a while, and the battlefield situation has turned sharply. Wilson feared that the Allies might be defeated. He told Colonel House that Germany was a madman and must be contained. "If the Allies are defeated, the United States will not be able to continue' neutral trade' and even the war reparations to the Allies will not be recovered." 19 17 At the beginning of this year, as the security of the allies began to be threatened, a financial crisis began to rise. "From the perspective of protecting debtor countries, the United States should also join the war as soon as possible." In the future, it is impossible for the United States to acquiesce in the German submarine blockade without damaging the friendly relations between the United States and its allies, and this acquiescence may make Germany win. In other words, under these new circumstances, the United States can no longer be absolutely fair; In any case, it will be beneficial to one party and unfavorable to the other. "
American historian Millis wrote: "What is actually announced is the acceleration of another way; And all these factors have an impact on our direct involvement in entanglement. It is incredible that the United States still maintains peace in the strict pseudo-legal sense. " The United States and the Allies developed the same interests in the war, and the possibility of the failure of the Allies forced the United States to join the war as soon as possible.
(3) The deterioration of the relationship between the United States and Germany is the fuse for the United States to enter the war.
The fuse of the United States' direct participation in the war was Germany's resumption and expansion of unrestricted submarine warfare, and German Foreign Minister zimmermann leaked a secret telegram to the German ambassador to Mexico, which led to the rapid deterioration of German-Mexican relations.
In the first two months of the war, there was no serious entanglement in American relations. However, the growing trade between the United States and Britain and France, a large number of munitions shipped to allies, so that the shadow of the relationship between virtue and virtue rapidly expanded. 19 15 In February, Germany started submarine warfare. Within ten weeks, 63 merchant ships were sunk without warning, and more than 200 neutral personnel were killed. 1965438+On May 7, 2005, the USS Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine, 1 198 people were killed, including 128 Americans. /kloc-In August of 0/9, the British ship Arabian was sunk, and another American died. Under the repeated protests and representations of the US, German submarine warfare was restrained, and German-American relations were once eased.
After the bankruptcy of the warring countries' peace offensive, Britain's maritime blockade against Germany became tighter, and Germany and Austria were in extremely difficult situations. In order to save the defeat, the German high command announced the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare in June 19 17, forcing Britain to "surrender within six months". "The Germans made this decision because they now have more than 100 submarines, and the naval generals convinced their government that unrestricted submarine warfare would win the war." They decided that Germany could not quickly equip a powerful army, let alone quickly cross the submarine-infested Atlantic. "Germans believe that they can win before the US military plays an active role in the European battlefield." Germany's submarine war seriously damaged the interests of the United States and became the fuse for the United States to participate in the war.
The disclosure of "Qi Merman Telegraph" also prompted the United States to go to war quickly. "When the war broke out, the British office of naval intelligence installed bugs on all transatlantic submarine cables. On 65438+ 10 19, the eavesdropper intercepted a German cipher telegram that looked like a diplomatic communication. " This is a secret telegram from German Foreign Secretary zimmermann to the German Ambassador to Mexico. The telegram instructed the ambassador to suggest to the Mexican president that a German-Mexican alliance should be formed on the basis of targeting the United States, and promised to provide Mexico with comprehensive financial assistance to help it recover the territory of New Mexico, Texas and Arizona. Zimmermann also suggested that the Mexican president mediate between Germany and Japan and form a German-Japanese-Mexican alliance against the United States. On February 23rd, Britain sent this secret message to Washington. Many American officials initially suspected that this was a hoax, which was fabricated by Britain in order to provoke German-American relations and urge the United States to enter the war at an early date. However, after carefully studying the original coded telegram, the United States came to the conclusion that the information was true. According to Thomas Martti, Wilson's private secretary, as early as June 19 16, Wilson saw the possibility that Germany bought Mexico to contain the United States. "It seems that war with Germany is inevitable."
1965438+On February 3, 2007, the German submarine was launched by USS Hausatnik. On the same day, the United States announced the breaking of diplomatic relations with Germany. On April 6, the United States declared war on Germany.
Why did the United States join the Allies?
From the above analysis, it can be seen that it is inevitable for the United States to participate in the First World War because of its entanglement with the interests of the warring parties. No matter what the subjective intentions of American leaders are, no matter whether the United States remains "neutral" in name, the United States will inevitably get involved in the war to varying degrees. So, why did the United States stand on the side of the Allies in the war?
(1) The United States and Germany are both rising imperialist countries, and Germany is the oldest potential rival of the United States.
Among the imperialist powers, the United States and Germany are both latecomers to carve up colonies, both dreaming of carving up the world again and both clinging to the same goal of "expansion". In the last century, there was a great conflict between virtue and virtue. Germany is the main rival of the United States for Samoa, and the conflict between the Philippines and other Spanish colonial heritages almost led to a direct war conflict between Germany and Germany. On the eve of World War I and during the war, the contradiction between Germany and Germany became more acute.
First of all, Germany's rapid economic growth made it one of the main competitors of the United States in the world market on the eve of World War I. In the world trade at that time, Germany accounted for 20. 1%, while the share of the United States did not exceed 17%. The potential threat to the United States is great, and the United States must defeat Germany.
Secondly, there are insurmountable contradictions between Britain, France, Italy, Russia and Japan within the allies, and the United States can make use of these contradictions to profit from them. Even if the Allies win, post-war Europe is far from empty. The United States would rather see several competing countries in its allies gain advantages than let Germany win. Colonel House, the presidential adviser, once assumed that "the victory of an ally will rarely return to Russia's superiority in Europe, but the victory of Germany will mean" unspeakable military tyranny for generations. In a letter to President Wilson, House went on to write: In the final analysis, Germany's success; Will be our greater concern. "
Third, on the eve of World War I, Germany has become a fierce competitor of the United States in Latin America. 19 13 years, the United States accounted for 28% and Germany accounted for 14.2%, but the proportion of Germany showed an increasing trend. Germany has established settlements in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and other Latin American countries, and German-controlled trading companies are active in almost all Central and South American countries. The United States is even more uneasy about Germany's attempt to establish a naval base in the West Indies near the Panama Canal. The "Qi Merman telegram" hit a sore spot in the United States.
Once Germany wins in the Great War, it will inevitably further expand to Latin America and challenge the Monroe Doctrine, which the United States, which has always regarded Latin America as its backyard, certainly cannot tolerate. "If the German navy has an advantage in the Atlantic Ocean, it will easily gain a foothold in a weak country in Latin America, so it can be used as a base for attacking other Latin American countries or the United States. Therefore, this country has a feeling that a far-sighted self-defense policy requires us to intervene in this war. "
(2) In the propaganda of the United States, the allies have obvious advantages over Germany.
"In terms of propaganda, the Allies have obvious advantages. They controlled the sea, telegraph and other communication tools, and Germany had only primitive and temporary radio links with the United States. Moreover, the propaganda machine of the Allies has better organization and more generous funds. They also feel more than the German police. As a result, most Americans think that the German invasion of Belgium, the cruelty of submarine warfare and so on. "
Because Britain controls the telegraph cable across the Atlantic, news reports from allies can reach the United States freely in large quantities. But the United States didn't just get news from its allies unilaterally. At the beginning of the war, "foreseeing this imbalance, the US government approved two German radio stations to continue operating in the United States. In addition, some newspaper reporters stayed to continue to explain the German war. Neither the government nor the public has been deprived of the possibility of obtaining news from Germany. It is not true that the US official has obtained the news about the war completely unilaterally. " Nevertheless, in American propaganda, the Allies still have an advantage. This is because: first, American industrialists and bankers have made huge profits in their trade with the Allies, and their bets are on the Allies. The large number of American newspapers they control tend to publish news that is beneficial to the allies. "Newspapers will naturally be associated with bankers and industrialists, who are customers of newspaper advertisements. The unknowable huge distribution income of newspapers will increase as we enter a big country. " Second, Britain's propaganda work in the United States is much better than that in Germany. The British propaganda to the United States is headed by the famous writer Ji Parker. They rely on American organizations and activists to hold various reports and debates, print a large number of brochures and leaflets, and use movies, slides and other forms. British propagandists are good at using the following materials to incite anti-German sentiment. For example, German submarines sank merchant ships, the Germans slaughtered innocent neutral countries, burned libraries, abused prisoners of war, executed allied medical staff, and the atrocities committed by the Germans in Belgium, destroying Leuven, the ancient center of Flemish culture, and so on. Some of them exaggerate the facts, but the effect is obvious. Third, the American population is mostly British and French immigrants and their descendants, and they are inextricably linked with their home countries in terms of ideology, culture, religion and economy. "Blood is thicker than water", a fact that British propagandists often use to arouse American sympathy for the Allies. Most American cabinet members and diplomats sympathize with allies, such as Secretary of State Lansing, Ambassador Page and Presidential Special Envoy House. "Because most of the diplomatic envoys in Europe sympathize with the allies, their reports have deepened their understanding of the allies." Fourth, the activities of German spies in the United States helped the propaganda work of the allies from the opposite side. "After the failure of diplomatic efforts to stop arms from flowing from the United States to its allies, the central European powers relied on conspiracy and sabotage as a pseudo-means to prevent the United States from supplying arms to its allies. Using German spies and pro-German American agents, they conspired to stop activities beneficial to Britain, sank ships bound for allied ports, bought or forged American passports for Germans or Austrians lurking in the United States, undermined the production and transportation of war materials to allies, and incited Latin American countries to be at odds with the United States. " All these activities were effectively used as anti-German propaganda by British propagandists.
The propaganda of the Allies convinced most Americans that if Germany won the war, it would be a disaster for the whole world, including Americans.
The whole process of world war I /D/D 1045. Suffix of html file
The Second World War
During World War II, the anti-fascist allies launched a war in Asia and the Pacific aimed at crushing Japanese fascist aggression.
After 1940, in order to get rid of the deadlock in the war of aggression against China and improve the strategic situation, Japan decided to seize the colonies of Britain, the United States and the Netherlands in Asia, plunder strategic materials in Southeast Asia and establish the "Greater East Asia Glory Circle". 19411On February 7th, the Japanese joint fleet led by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto attacked Pearl Harbor, the base of the US Pacific Fleet, and achieved great results, which made the US Pacific Fleet lose its fighting capacity. Then the Japanese bombed the Philippines and landed in Malaya, and the Pacific War broke out in an all-round way.
After the war began, Japan called 1 1 Army Division, with 205 ships and 2,300 planes, with about 400,000 people. In more than half a year, the Japanese army occupied Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaya, Philippines, Dutch East India (now Indonesia), Myanmar, Solomon Islands and parts of Aleutian Islands. Due to the lack of war preparation, the United States suffered heavy losses in the early days. In the case of fighting against Germany and Japan, the United States implemented the operational policy of Europe first and then Asia, carried out defensive and containment operations in the Pacific region, and then counterattacked according to the results of the European war. 1942 In March, the United States established two theater headquarters in the Pacific Ocean and the Southwest Pacific Ocean (with Nimitz and MacArthur as commanders in chief respectively) and began a partial counterattack. The US Navy is fighting in the Coral Sea. The first defeat of the Japanese army forced the Japanese army to stop advancing on port moresby. Soon, in the naval battle of midway, the Japanese joint fleet was hit hard, and four Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk in one fell swoop, and the operational initiative was seized. From August of the same year to February of the following year, American troops landed in Guadalcanal Islands, engaged in fierce fighting with Japanese troops, and severely damaged Lu Haijun, Japan, and the strategic situation changed fundamentally.
Since then, Japan and the United States have launched fierce air and sea battles in the central Pacific islands. Soon, the US military recovered Artu and Kiska Island in the Aleutian Islands. In June, 1943, 1 1, the US military turned to full attack. MacArthur went west to New Guinea and then north, and Nimitz crossed the truck islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to meet in the direction of the Philippines, cutting off the Japanese maritime communication line to Nanyang. Although Japan tried its best to send more troops, it was unable to recover the defeat because of its long front and scattered forces. 1944, American troops took control of the central Pacific Ocean and occupied Marshall Islands and Mariana Islands. Landed in the Philippines. 1945 occupied Okinawa for the first time and gained a forward base for attacking Japan. The United States, Britain, the sea and the air force strengthened their strategy, bombing and sea blockade against Japan. On May 8, Germany surrendered and Japan was completely isolated. On August 6 and 9, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties. On August 8th, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, sent troops to the northeast of China, and marched into Sakhalin Island and the south of Kuril Islands. China's anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians launched a full-scale counterattack. Under the joint attack of the soldiers and civilians of various countries, the Japanese invading army quickly disintegrated. 15, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. On September 2, Japan signed the surrender, and the Second World War ended.
At the beginning of the Pacific War, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. It is of great significance to cover and guarantee the implementation of its long-term strategic plan, but it is a strategic mistake to drag the United States into the war. In the Pacific War, the core of both naval fleets has given way from battleships to aircraft carriers. The war results show that carrier-based aviation is of great significance for ensuring maritime communication lines and mastering air and sea control rights. Destroying the Japanese air and sea identification with a fast aircraft carrier formation and carrying out cross-island operations under the cover of strong firepower are important reasons for the US military to win the Pacific War.