Answer:
They thought people would strongly oppose it.
Step-by-step explanation:
From the beginning of the first world war on July 28, 1914, the American president Woodrow Wilson maintained the country in a position of neutrality. Without putting barriers to the commercial opportunities that war brought and turned to the questions of the American continent, Wilson tried to present itself like a mediator for the peace in Europe.
Despite specific appeals for intervention in the conflict, most Americans were satisfied with neutrality, so when the US realized the need to participate in the war, american leaders felt that the population might disapprove of that attitude.