"The President proposes to alliance ourselves with Great Britain, with France, with Italy, with Russia—with all of the Entente Powers... We are to enter this war, then, in order to make the world safe for democracy. But the President has not suggested that we make our own government safe for democracy... Or that we demand of our allies that they establish democratic governments at home before we pool our resources and pour out our blood to establish democracy for them."
— Senator Robert M. La Follette, Speech in the U.S. Senate, April 1917
Which of the following justifications for United States entry into World War I is La Follette most directly challenging in the excerpt?
- AThe claim that the United States had a duty to retaliate against foreign powers for the sinking of the USS Maine
- BThe belief that the United States should maintain absolute isolationism by severing all commercial ties with European nations
- The idea that United States participation was necessary to preserve and extend democratic principles globallyAnswer
- DThe argument that United States involvement was required to halt the spread of Soviet-style communism
Answer
The idea that United States participation was necessary to preserve and extend democratic principles globally
The correct answer is correct because La Follette specifically references and critiques Woodrow Wilson's famous war message statement that the war was to make the world 'safe for democracy.' By highlighting the undemocratic practices of the U.S. allies (the Entente Powers) and arguing that the United States should first focus on its own democratic shortcomings, La Follette directly challenges the moral and ideological justification that U.S. intervention was a crusade for global democracy.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Debates over United States entry into World War I and the ideological justifications presented by the Wilson administration.