Political Opinion Shaping Military Action

24 Pages 5901 Words

“A Century of War: How Public Opinion Has Shaped American Military Actions in the 20th Century”
Clifton W. Lemoine II


The 20th century marked a significant turning point in world affairs. Significant changes in culture, technology, and diplomacy highlight this century. Great triumphs of human ingenuity such as the first manned aircraft and the Model T gave way to some of the worst tragedies the world has ever seen. These tragedies, in the form of two world wars and several smaller conflicts, gave rise to the United States’ stance as the world’s premier superpower. The United States could not have played such a vital role in these conflicts without support from its people. As technology and education has grown and advanced, so has public opinion in the United States. Public opinion in the 20th Century has been crucial to U.S. military involvement in all of its military conflicts.
At the turn of the 20th Century, America had a strong stance of isolationism in world affairs. Americans were hesitant and even unwilling to get involved with the affairs of European countries. This isolationism caused America to announce its neutrality as the first shots were fired in World War I.
As one delves further into the cause for isolationism, it becomes clear that the war held different meanings for different interest and ethnic groups. Many Irish and Eastern European immigrants had grievances against some of the allied powers and were unwilling to sacrifice lives for such an unworthy cause. Interests groups such as the Progressives, suffragettes, and prohibitionists were interested only in their causes, seeing the war as nothing more, if anything, than a way to promote their own agendas. This sense of seclusion from the rest of the world was compounded by President Woodrow Wilson’s anti-interventionist policy of strict neutrality.
As the war went on, American sentiment changed as news was relayed of events abroad. T...