Wilson and World War I

In Woodrow Wilson's "War Message to Congress," he argues that the U.S. needs to declare war on Germany because the Germans are not just attacking American ships, but ships that belong to nations we are "friendly" with as well.  He says, "it is a war against all nations." Though the U.S. wanted to focus on their own affairs domestically and remain neutral, the Germans had gone too far.  In his speech, he notes that our motive of getting involved in the war was not based on revenge, but on protecting the world and mankind from at first, in a literal sense, the seas, but in the long run, human rights all together.  Wilson also wanted to protect the German people from their "selfish and autocratic" rulers.  His arguments remind me of the concept of America as the global police power, the nation that makes the world "safe for democracy," which Wilson later says in his speech. Involvement in World War I was the starting point of the United States' role as the safe holder of democracy.  Getting involved in the war was not for us, but to protect other nations and their people.  Protecting democracy and fighting for the betterment of the world was too strong an ideal to ignore.  Neutrality could only last for so long and would not stand the test of time.