Was U.S. participation in WW1 the worst mistake ever? Retweet
By Perry Willis ![[3 Points - Politicians & War]](https://archive.downsizedc.org/blog-content/veterans-day-sidebar.png)
This article will show how…
- WW1 would likely have ended in a draw had the U.S not intervened
- U.S. politicians favored the more evil side
- Great Britain committed and benefited from several acts of aggression against the U.S.
- U.S. intervention defended neither America nor freedom
- U.S. intervention made the world profoundly worse, not better
WW1 was one of the worst mistakes politicians ever made. U.S. involvement magnified that error to truly staggering proportions.
- Nearly 1,000 days passed between the start of the war and U.S.entry on April 6th, 1917
- Neither side had gained any advantage. “Breakthroughs” were measured in yards or miles, and quickly reversed
- Between April 16th and mid-May 1917 nearly half the French army mutinied
- Similar things began happening on the Russian front in 1917
These facts suggest a war that was going to end in a draw, without a victor. That could have been a huge disincentive against future wars. Alas, U.S intervention foreclosed that opportunity. Even worse…
We probably intervened on the more evil side
Let’s be clear: There were no good guys in WW1. Both sides were wrong. But a comparison of the pros and cons doesn’t favor the side U.S. politicians chose.
Great Britain was the largest empire in the world. Russia was second. France was third. By comparison, Germany and Austria-Hungary had small empires, and meager prospects for expanding them even if they won the war. ![[Trench warfare, in Somme, 1916 - John Warwick Brooke [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Cheshire_Regiment_trench_Somme_1916.jpg)
Russia was an autocracy when the war began. Germany and Austria-Hungary were both parliamentary monarchies similar to Great Britain. The two germanic nations also had elements of decentralized federalism similar to the United States.
Both sides were militarist. All the monarchs involved pranced around in silly uniforms (though the Kaiser did have an extra-aggressive looking spiked helmet). There was little difference between the combatants except for one crucial thing…
The countries we sided with had already subjugated the greater part of the globe!
Even worse…
Great Britain committed multiple wrongs against the American people
- The British spent vast sums in the U.S. to promote false stories of German atrocities
- Great Britain also blockaded U.S. shipping, forcing Americans to trade only with them and their allies but NOT with Germany and her partners. The British blockade was why Germany started sinking U.S. merchant ships. That was the only way Germany could compensate for the preferential trade the U.S. was giving to Britain and France. U.S. politicians would have done exactly what the Germans did if faced with similar circumstances.
Britain paid no price for these crimes. Instead, she benefitted by having U.S. forces deliver an underserved victory out of what should have been a draw. Even worse…
Our intervention didn’t defend freedom
The war made Americans less free. U.S. politicians imposed price controls and rationing, instituted a military draft, inflated the money supply, and imprisoned 6,000 dissenters.
Our intervention didn’t defend our security either
U.S. politicians could have ended German submarine warfare without sending armies to Europe. They simply had to stop honoring the British blockade. Germany would have ceased sinking our ships the moment those ships started carrying supplies to Germany, or stopped carrying them to Britain and France. To be truly neutral we needed to trade with both sides or neither.
Equally important…
It’s likely we could have ended the entire war much earlier simply by refusing to supply it!
The supply issue was crucial. Germany surrendered in 1918 largely because they were starving. This was due to the British blockade with which the U.S. collaborated. Herbert Hoover would become famous enough to run for President partly because he managed a rescue effort to save Germans from famine once the war ended. Meanwhile…
Britain and France were so dependent on U.S. supplies that both countries faced bankruptcy. They had to borrow huge sums from Americans to continue fighting. This means that U.S. politicians could have stopped the war without firing a shot, simply by prohibiting trade with or cutting off loans to the combatants.
Which is worse? Ending trade that was enabling the commission of a crime or sending innocent young men to die by participating in that crime?
Some have argued that ending the war-trade would have crashed the economy. But that happened anyway, as soon as the war ended. But the resulting depression was brief. Again, which is worse, a short depression or sending young men to murder and maim other young men?
It’s a simple fact — there was no threat to U.S. security other than Germany’s submarine warfare. German armies couldn’t even conquer a few yards of territory between the trenches in Europe. So they had zero chance of reaching and taking American soil, nor did they desire to do so. U.S. politicians could have ended the submarine attacks without firing a shot. They simply had to do one of the following…
- Stop honoring the British blockade
- Trade with both sides equally
- Trade with neither side
The verdict is clear. U.S. intervention in WW1 did nothing to protect American security. It achieved the exact opposite. It killed young Americans for no purpose and created new enemies that plague us to the present day. Which brings me to my final point…
Our intervention made the world profoundly worse, not better
Our involvement in WW1 helped unleash three great evils on the world…
- The Soviet Union
- Nazi Germany
- Radical Islam
It also led to World War 2 and then the Cold War. We’ll review these claims as we continue this series on U.S. wars and interventions. The outcomes described above, and in the next few articles, are what make U.S. involvement in WW1 the greatest mistake ever.
Thank you for being an ACTIVE DC Downsizer.
Perry Willis
Co-founder, Downsize DC
Co-creator, Zero Aggression Project
P.S. Previous articles in this series include…
- Were early U.S. wars good or bad? (covering the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, and the conquest of the Philippines)
- Did Teddy Roosevelt co-found the Japanese empire? (Covering TR’s betrayal of Korea)
PPS: Here’s a list of books I’ve consulted in this series. If you buy these books using the links below, Downsize DC will get credits that we can use to expand our research library. Thank you for your interest and support.
The Mexican War
The Spanish-American War, the conquest of the Philippines, and Teddy Roosevelt’s betrayal of Korea…
- Bully Boy by Jim Powell
- The Politics of War by Walter Karp
- The War Lovers by Evan Thomas
- Honor in the Dust by Gregg Jones
- The Imperial Cruise by James Bradley
World War 1
- The Illusion of Victory by Thomas Fleming
- World War I by Richard Maybury
- The Forgotten Depression by James Grant