The Great Departure Daniel Smith's Great Departure illustrates very well the evolution of the United States from a traditionally isolationist nation to an interventionist nation. World War I literally dragged the United States out of its isolationist shell and placed it at the forefront of international politics. The pressure to join World War I was strongly resisted by the Wilson administration and the country as a whole. Smith does an excellent job of presenting the factors that influenced the United States to enter the war and conveying the mindset of American leaders during this period and the issues they faced relating to the war. The author illustrates the factors of interest or possible causes of involvement in the First World War in chapters II, III, IV. He offers good insights into the issues and I would now like to discuss some of the issues he has mentioned. Propaganda was a tool used by Germany and its allies to influence the United States, whether propaganda was used to keep the United States out of the war or to try to draw the United States into the war makes no difference. The extent of propaganda in the United States is demonstrated by the Dr. Albert briefcase affair, the German execution of nurse Edith Cavell, and other war atrocities committed by both sides. The author, while recognizing the importance of these propaganda stories and the heterogeneous culture of the United States, underestimates the actual impact they actually had on public sentiment. The United States, "the great melting pot", had a huge immigrant population, underestimating the effect of propaganda on a population that had close personal ties to their homeland and their ability to influence government actions in a democratic republic it's a mistake. President Wilson operated under the assumption that the people would influence the government when it neglected to accept any changes Senator Lodge made to the peace treaty. While I agree with Smith that this is not why the United States joined the Allies in World War I, I believe that the diverse makeup of the US population is perhaps the primary influence the United States has had to abandon an isolationist state. The balance of power was another major factor that influenced the United States' view of World War I. The United States and the world had come to rely on the principle of the balance of power to ensure peace, security, and commerce throughout the world, and there was no doubt that a victory by the Central Powers would catapult the Germany to superpower status and upset the balance of the country. power in Europe and therefore in the rest of the world.
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