Question

predict one action that Wilson in his administration could take turns sure that American citizens are mean and partial and thought as well as action. In other words, what could wilson do to enforce neutrality

Answer 1

Wilson could have enforced neutrality through Neutrality Acts prohibiting arms sales, loans, or citizens' travel on belligerent nations' ships, alongside setting legal consequences. However, economic ties and American sentiment towards the belligerents complicated neutrality. The Zimmerman Telegram and other events eventually led Wilson to abandon neutrality and ask Congress for a war declaration.

Step-by-step explanation:

Woodrow Wilson's Measures to Enforce Neutrality

To ensure American neutrality during escalating European conflicts, President Woodrow Wilson could have taken several actions. One action might have been the implementation of Neutrality Acts, similar to those enacted in the 1930s, which would prohibit the sale of arms, provision of loans, or travel on ships of belligerent nations by American citizens. Additionally, echoing Washington's 1793 proclamation, Wilson could have officially declared the U.S. neutral and set legal repercussions for Americans who engaged in acts that could be interpreted as supportive of any side.

However, in practice, neutrality proved challenging due to the mixed sentiments among the American populace, with many citizens maintaining close cultural and ancestral ties to the nations involved in the conflict. Despite the formal stance of neutrality in thought as well as action, American economic interests tilted towards the Allies, as the U.S. supplied them with significant agricultural and industrial resources, which, in turn, made true neutrality difficult to maintain.

Ultimately, the struggle to remain neutral was influenced by various factors, both internal and external, such as the Zimmerman Telegram and unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany, which collectively pushed the United States closer to involvement in World War I. After the sinking of U.S. ships and the provocative Zimmerman Telegram, sentiment shifted, and Wilson himself moved towards military intervention, asking Congress to declare war to bring the German Empire to terms, officially ending American neutrality.