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THE MAKING OF A NATION - 'Right Is More Precious Than Peace,' Wilson Declares as U.S. Enters World War OneBy Frank Beardsley

Broadcast: Thursday, March 23, 2006

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VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

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There was one main issue in America's presidential election of nineteen sixteen: war. Europe was in the middle of what is now remembered as World War One. It was the bloodiest¹ conflict the world had ever known.


Woodrow Wilson

Most Americans wanted no part of the struggle in Europe. They supported their country's official position: neutrality. This desire was the main reason President Woodrow Wilson won re-election. People gave Wilson their votes, because they hoped he would continue to keep America out of war.

I'm Maurice Joyce. Today, Larry West and I tell more about Wilson's presidency².

VOICE TWO:

Like most Americans, Woodrow Wilson did not want war. He feared that entering the conflict would cost the United States many lives. Wilson read the reports from European battlefields. The news was unbelievably terrible. By the end of nineteen sixteen, several million men had been killed, wounded, or captured.

At the Battle of Verdun, French forces stopped a German attack.

The cost was high on both sides. More than seven hundred thousand soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured. The Battle of the Somme followed. Britain lost sixty thousand men on the first day. By the time the battle was over, losses for both sides totaled more than a million.

Germany also was at war on its eastern border, with Russia. Losses on that battlefront, too, totaled more than a million men.

VOICE ONE:

At the time of America's presidential election in nineteen sixteen, Germany seemed to be winning the war. Its losses were terrible. But the losses of its enemies -- The Allies -- were even worse. German forces occupied much of northern France and almost all of Belgium. German and Austrian soldiers also held parts of Russia, Italy, Romania, and Serbia.

Germany was winning on the battlefield. The Allies were winning at sea. A British blockade cut off almost all German trade with the rest of the world. Even food shipments were blocked. As a result, Germany faced mass starvation. It urgently needed to break the blockade and get food.

VOICE TWO:

This situation finally forced Germany to make the decision that would bring the United States into the war.

It decided³ to use its submarines to break the British blockade. The submarines would attack any ships that came near Britain or other parts of Europe. This included ships from neutral countries, like the United States.

Earlier, Germany had made a promise to the United States. Its submarines would not attack civilian⁴ ships unless warning was given and the lives of those on the ships were saved. Now Germany was withdrawing that promise. It said unrestricted submarine warfare⁵ would begin immediately.

German ruler Kaiser Wilhelm said: If Wilson wants war, let him make it, and let him then have it.

VOICE ONE:

President Wilson immediately broke diplomatic relations with Germany. He still hoped the two nations would not go to war. He left that decision to Germany. If German submarines sank American ships, Wilson would have no choice but to declare war.

Most American shipping⁶ companies feared attack by German submarines. Throughout the early part of nineteen seventeen, they kept their ships in home ports. They wanted protection. So they asked for permission to arm their ships. At first, President Wilson refused to seek such permission from Congress. He did not want to do anything that might cause Germany to declare war. Then he received secret news from Britain.

British agents had gotten a copy of a telegram from Germany's foreign minister to Germany's ambassador in Mexico. The telegram said Germany was planning hostile acts against the United States. Wilson acted quickly. He began putting guns and sailors on American trade ships.

VOICE TWO:

It did not take long for the worst to happen. Within days, a German submarine sank an unarmed American ship, the Algonquin. Then three more American ships were sunk. Many lives were lost.

President Wilson no longer had a choice between war and peace. There would be war. Wilson called a special session of Congress. Members of both the Senate and house of representatives gathered in one room. They stood as the president walked quickly to the front. He stood silent for a moment before speaking. This is what he said:

VOICE ONE:

'I fully⁷ understanding the serious step I am taking, I advise that the Congress declare the recent acts of the German government to be, in fact, nothing less than war against the United States.


President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany, 1917.

It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war. But right is more precious than peace. And we will fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts -- for democracy, for the rights and liberties of small nations, and for the belief that a worldwide union of free people can bring peace and safety to all nations.

VOICE TWO:

President Wilson's emotional speech brought tears to the eyes of many of the lawmakers. They felt the great seriousness of his request.

Outside, crowds lined the street to cheer Wilson as he returned to the White House from the Capitol Building. He sat in his car and shook his head sadly. Think of what it is they are cheering, he said. My message today was a message of death for our young men. How strange it seems they would cheer that.

On April sixth, nineteen seventeen, Congress approved a declaration of war against Germany.

VOICE ONE:

The Allies -- Britain, France and Russia -- welcomed American involvement.

The war was going badly for them. It had been very costly⁸ in lives, money, and supplies. Allied⁹ shipping was suffering heavy losses from German submarine attacks. A British naval¹⁰ blockade had greatly reduced food shipments to Germany. Now, Britain itself faced dangerously low supplies of food.

Allied representatives went to Washington to explain what The Allies needed. They needed supplies -- especially food -- immediately. They needed money to pay for the supplies. They needed ships to get the supplies from America to Europe. And they needed American soldiers.

VOICE TWO:

President Wilson and Congress worked together to organize the United States for war. Congress gave Wilson new wartime powers. He soon formed a council to build ships, improve industrial production, and control national transportation. He formed an agricultural agency to increase food production and food exports. And he formed an information committee to build public support for the war.

Wilson's efforts succeeded. The Allies quickly got the ships, supplies, and money they requested. Most important, they soon got American soldiers.

VOICE ONE:

Allied military leaders said only about a half-million troops were needed from the United States. But American officials decided to build a much larger army. Before long, large numbers of American soldiers were crossing the Atlantic Ocean. They would fight the Germans at the western battlefronts of Europe.

The extra strength they gave the Allies would play a major part in helping¹¹ defeat Germany. That will be our story next week.

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VOICE TWO:

You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Your narrators were Maurice Joyce and Larry West. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. Join us again next week at this same time, when we will continue the story of American president Woodrow Wilson.

1 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

6 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

10 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。