At the start of the outbreak of World War I in Europe, the United States through its President Woodrow Wilson maintained its position of isolationism and neutrality, and did not side with any belligerent of the war nor entered it by itself. There were many new German immigrants to the country, and many of them felt that they could not be sent over to Europe again, much less to fight against their own countrymen. The United States even protested a British blockade of Germany, stating that American goods and exports would not be able to reach Germany. After negotiations with the British and the French, the United States then became the biggest supplier of war munitions, food and other supplies to the United Kingdom. In 1916, Wilson also appealed to both the United Kingdom and Germany to sit down and negotiate a peace agreement, which both sides rejected. The United States through the leadership of President Wilson did its best to remain as neutral as possible during this period (Britannica Educational Publishing, 2013, 49-50).
Many Americans today still have a negative attitude towards war. This negativity perhaps began during the Vietnam War. Due to the fact that thousands of very young US soldiers died during this war, many US citizens became violently opposed to it (Gardner, 2016). President Obama may have been said to win the US elections in 2008 as part of his platform was bringing home US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan (Cooper, Carter, Ellis, Hossain and McLean: On the Issues: Iraq and Afghanistan). This negative attitude especially when US troop casualties tend to increase during any conflict becomes stronger and stronger in the hearts and minds of the American people.
References
Britannica Educational Publishing. US Imperialism and Progressivism: 1896 to 1920. 2013. NY: Rosen Publishing.
Cooper. Helene, Carter, Shan, Ellis, Jonathan, Hossain, Farhana and McLean, Alan. On the Issues: Iraq and Afghanistan. 2008. Web.
Gardner, J. The Vietnam War. 2016. Web. Accessed 29 February 2016.
