Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Germany (1917)

 (Office of The Historian, U.S. Dept. of State) 

"The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We see no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make." 

On this day in 1917, the United States officially entered WWI after Congress voted to declare war on Germany. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson had addressed Congress just 4 days previously, after Germany renewed unrestricted submarine warfare AND after the release of "The Zimmerman Telegram" (in which Germany had secretly planned an alliance w/ Mexico & Japan if the U.S. entered the war). Despite the previous 3 years of neutrality, Pres. Wilson told Congress that war could no longer be avoided, adding: 

"Our motive will not be revenge or the victorious assertion of the physical might of the nation, but only the vindication of right, of human right, of which we are only a single champion." 

Quote Of The Day

On This Day The United States Enters WWI 

Today in History — April 6 (Library of Congress) 

Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Germany (1917) (National Archives

Quick. Concise. Nonpartisan.

Leah Jahn