>> washington is a horse whisperrer. he has a certain -- he is a person of volcanic temperament but he learns to control himself. he learns self-mastery and he actually calms the very high strung, very skiddish, very fast hamilton. hamilton when washington is around gets into a lot of trouble. >> for our complete schedule go to c span.org. sunday night on after words national security columnist bill girts with his book i war. he is interviewed by congress woman of new york, member of the house select committee on intelligence and chair of the armed services subcommittee on emerging threats and capabilities. >> i war is a look at what i feel is the new form of war fare that is emerging in the 21st century. i have covered national security affairs for over 30 years, been all over the world covering these issues. i think it's a reflection of the information age that we are now looking at this new form of warfare which i call information warfare. i define that as the technical cyber that we have seen so much of in terms of cyber attacks from the russians and chinese as well as the content influence type of thing which really emerged in the last presidential election with the russians, what has been called the cyber enabled influence operation. so these two things i believe are going to be the dominant form of warfare. >> watch sunday night at 9:00 eastern on book tv. now more umt franational world war i museum and memorial for events marking the 100th anniversary of the entry into the war. the ceremony includes retelling of the debate over the decision to join the global conflict. this is an hour and 45 minutes. > ♪ o say, can you see by the dawn's early light ♪ ♪ what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? ♪ ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight ♪ ♪ o'er the ramparts we watched streaming? ♪ ♪ and the rockets' red glare the bombs bursting in air ♪ ♪ gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ o'er the land of the free ♪ ♪ and the home of the brave ♪ please take your seats. april 6, 1917, for three years the great war raged bringing death, destruction, famine, disease and displacement of peoples across europe, africa and asia. from the atlantic to the pacific. during these years the united states of america remained neutral keeping our distance from the conflicts of the old world. on april 2 president woodrow wilson addressed a joint session of congress. >> nueutrality is no longer desirable where peace is involved. to minister the lies in the existence of autocratic governments. we are at the beginning of an age in which it will be insisted that the same standards shall be observed among nations that are observed among individual citizens of civilized states. >> on april 6, 1917, 100 years ago today united states congress voted to pass a declaration of war and sent it to president woodrow wilson for signature. in november 1916 wilson won his second presidential term campaigning on slogans he kept us out of war and america first but developments in the early months of 1917 forced a reckoning bringing the united states to a decisive moment in its history. wilson signed the declaration when it arrived marking the end of a heated debate over competing visions of america. those in favor of joining the conflict believed in an outward looking america ready to play its world. those opposed saw only the futility of war and zealously favored inward looking homeland free from old world entanglement s. before this moment the united states had kept the rest of the world at arm's length. after she would become a key participant in events that reshape the old world. on this day 100 years later it is appropriate that we as a nation look back at the decision hear the voices spoke for and against entry, remember the devastation and suffering inflicted and reflect on the war's impact on the world, our nation and on our people. two years before the beginning of the war a symbol of change appeared to me in the french sky. i was sitting in a friendly garden basking in the warm sunshine savoring as a new englander can the charm of being again in france. no sign of life but a solitary pony cart. no sound but the click of garden sheers among rose bushes. suddenly an ominous, mysterious pulsing throb. staring up i saw the long shadow of on army plane sharp against the sky. those mechanical wings left a sinister echo. i became aware of the new tension, a half concealed anxiety, a subtle change in the french temper. 1916. >> the start of a great war in 1914 quickly became a great unraveling, shaking the foundations of european civilization. barbara tutman, author of the proud tower, a portrait of the world before the war writes. >> the tower built up through the great age of european civilization was an edifice of grandure and passion, of riches and beauty. its inhabitants lived with more self-reliance, more confidence, more hope, greater magnificence and elegance. more careless ease, more pleasure in each other's company and conversation. the old world had much that has since been lost. looking back on it from 1915 the belgian poet dedicated his pages with emotion to the man i used to be. ♪ ♪ september 1914, the germans rushed west across belgium aiming to deliver a decisive blow to france and a quick end to the war. at the first battle 90 miles from paris the germans suffered defeat at the hands of the allies. over a million soldiers fought with more than 100,000 dead. >> afterwards the war grew and spread until it drew in the nations of both hemispheres and entangled them in a world conflict no peace treaty could dissolve. it was one of the decisive battles not because it determined that germany would ultimately lose or allies ultimately win the war but because it determined that the war would go on. the nations were caught in a trap from which there was no exit. the guns of august on the battle september 1914. [ inaudible ] the new york stock exchange closes due to war in europe and won't reopen until december. >> even with the united states remaining resolutely neutral, many young americans needed no persuasion to join the war effort. victor chap man, the first american pilot to die in the war, was a dual citizen who enlisted with the french foreign legion a month into the war. the wounded in combat, he was not killed until june 1916 while attempting to fly a box of oranges to a fellow wounded aviator who was in the hospital. >> i get the idea that you are wearing yourselves out worrying about the danger i am in. it's all very presental and i appreciate it, but i wish you would not principally because it does not benefit me or anyone. this is the first thing i have ever done that has been worthwhile. it is easier to pilot an airplane than drive an auto, and far less dangerous than the autoing i used to do daily at cambridge. >> mary glad win, a nurse from akron , ohio was among the first american red cross nurses to go to europe during the war, serving as the supervisor of nurses at the american hospital in belgrade. she wrote. >> the canon atting lasted all the time. there was no time in the 24 hours in the first six months that some of the guns were not fired. my room was a little whitewashed one. every time one of the big french guns would fire, it would illuminate all the wall, and then i would hear the boom of the guns. that kept up night after night until the time came that we did not hear them any more. >> and eugene bullard, the only african-american pilot to fly in world war i, did so not for the united states, but for france. the son of a freed slave, bullard stowed away to europe in 1912, determined to escape racism in the u.s. after working as a boxer and vaudeville performer in england, bullard settled in france. when hostility broke out he joined the infantry of the french legion. after sustaining injuries declared unfit for infantry service, bullard earned his wings with the mill tear i of france and joined the lafayette flying corps in 1916. his plane was decorated with the slogan, all blood runs red. when the u.s. entered the war, bullard tried to enlist as a flyer for the americans. >> i was more and more puzzled until it suddenly came to me that all my fellow country men who transferred were white. later i learned that in world war i knnegros were not accepte as fliers in the united states army. this hurt me deeply. >> when hostilities broke out in europe, thousands of americans touring the continent descended on london hoping to find safe passage home only to find themselves unable to obtain accommodations or tickets for the few ships sailing. a 40-year-old mining engineer and financier from iowa by the name of herbert hoover, was living in london in 1914. hoover organized an american relief committee that provided food, shelter, and financial assistance to over 100,000 americans. hoover's leadership earned him the respect of the u.s. ambassador to great britain walter heinz page. ambassador page tapped hoover to lead a relief mission to belgium after the battle of the marn, belgium faced starvation. germany had invaded but refused to take responsibility for feeding the populous. on the other side britain's naval blockade prevented ships from entering belgian ports. on october 22nd, 1914, herbert hoover established an organization to procure and deliver food to the starving belgian population, rescuing a nation from certain ruin. >> there was no former human experience to turn for guidance. it would require that we find the major food supply for a whole nation, raise the money to pay for it, get it passed navies at see and occupy on land. set up an agency of distribution of supplies for everybody justly and see that the enemy took none of it. it was not relief in any known sense. it was the feeding of a nation. ♪ the nation is sad as can be a message came over the sea ♪ a thousand or more who sent from ashore have gone to eternity ♪ the statue of liberty high must now have a tear in her eye ♪ i think it's a shame someone is to blame, but all we can do is just sigh ♪ some of us lost a true sweetheart, some of us lost a dear dad ♪ some lost their mother, sisters and brothers, some lost the best friends they had ♪ it's time they were stopping this warfare, if women and children must drown ♪ many great hearts went to sleep in the deep when the lucitania went down, when it went down ♪ [ applause ] >> on the morning of may 8, 1915, the banner headline of the "the new york times" read, lucitania sunk by submarine, probably 1260 dead. [ inaudible ] >> in 1915, german u-boelgts sank over 90 ships. leading up to the election of 1916, many americans favored the allies in the war, yet embraced president wilson's urging to remain impartial in thought as well as in action. at this time one-third of u.s. citizens were either born in europe or were descend ants of european immigrants. sympathy for both countries on both sides of the conflict ran high. the descend ants of german immigrants found themselves torn. on the one hand identifying firstly as americans, yet on the other sympathizing with their relatives abroad. when the u.s. entered the war, german americans were labelled alien enemies and faced severe restrictions on their civil liberties. irish americans preferred neutrality as well as the prospect of the u.s. entering the war on the side of the british was an anathema to irish nationalist sentiment. the sinking of the lucitania led many americans to call for an immediate reprizal against germany. wilson proceeded with caution, demanding an apology, compensation for the victims and assurances that germany would cease unrestricted submarine warfare. in a speech delivered at a citizen naturalization ceremony on may 10, 1915, wilson affirmed the anti-war u.s. stance. >> america must have this consciousness that on all sides it touches elbows and touches hearts, with all the nations of mankind. the example of america must be the example not merely of peace because it will not fight, but of peace because peace is the healing influence of the world. there is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight. there is such a thing as a nation being so right that it does not need to convince others by force that it is right. >> wilson's measured response faced opposition from figures like former president theodore roosevelt who believed germany's aggression warranted a strong military response. >> i am pretty well disgusted with our government and the way our people acquiesce and support it. i suppose, however, in a democracy like ours the people will always do well or ill in proportion to their leadership. if lincoln had acted after the firing on sum ter the way wilson did after the sinking of the lucitania, in one month the north would have been saying they were so glad he kept them out of war, and that it all has it war should be averted >> the words were not mere bluster. he would eventually see three of his sons off to war. only two would return alive. his youngest son quinten died when he was shot down over france in 1918. disagreement about the u.s. stance raged not only in washington but also among intellectual circles. in early 1917, writer randolph borne would lament the shift among his left wing compatriots towards a pro-war footing. >> to the american academic mind of 1914, defense of war was inconceivable. they would have thought anyone mad who talked of shipping american men by the hundreds of thousands to die on the fields of france. the nerve of the war, feeling centered, of course, in the richer and older classes of the atlantic seaboard, and was keen est where there were french or english business. it must never be forgotten that in every community it was the least liberal and least democratic elements among whom the war's sentiment was found. ♪ there's a million mothers knocking at the nation's door ♪ a million mothers, yes, and there will be millions more ♪ and while within each mother's heart they pray ♪ just hear what one brave mother has to say ♪ america, i raised a boy for you ♪ america, you find him staunch and true ♪ place a gun upon his shoulder ♪ he is ready to die or do ♪ america, he is my only one ♪ my hope, my pride and joy ♪ but if i had another, he would march beside his brother ♪ america, here's my boy ♪ 2 million to the soldiers to the war have gone ♪ some may never return again ♪ 10 million mother's hearts must break for the ones who died in vain ♪ and bow down in sorrow, in her lonely his ♪ i heard a mother through her tears ♪ i didn't raise my boy to be a soldier ♪ i brought him up to be my pride and joy ♪ who dares to put a musket on his shoulder ♪ to shoot some other mother's boy ♪ nations are the future troubles ♪ it's time to put the sword and gun away ♪ there be no war today if mothers all would say ♪ i didn't raise my boy to be a soldier ♪ muramerica, i raised my boy f you to be staunch and true ♪ place a gun upon his shoulder ♪ he is ready to die or do ♪ i didn't raise my boy to be a soldier america, here's my boy ♪ [ applause ] >> at the other end of the political spectrum, the editors of the conservative north american review argued for u.s. participation. >> we know now what this war is. it is the last of the great battles for freedom and democracy. america fought the first a century and 40 years ago. france followed through seas of blood and tears. just lately the great charter has passed from the barrons to the people of england. japan has ceased to be a monarchy except in name. china as a republic defies the power of might. can anyone doubt that the beginning of the end of absolutism is at hand? >> legendary newspaper reporter walter lip man offered his third way assessment of the role america could play in the war. >> in may 1916, the president made a speech which will be counted among the decisive utterances of american foreign policy. the speech was an announcement that american isolation was ended and that we were prepared to join a league of peace. it was intended to make clear to the world that if america has to fight, it would fight for peace and the order of the world. it was a great point in human history, but it was overshadowed at the time by the opening of the presidential campaign. >> the united states absorbed a massive influx of immigrants from the end of the 19th century through the war. capitalizing on the idea that immigrants traveled to distant shores seeking freedom from tierney, recruitment efforts appealed to immigrants indebtedness. in exchange for their freedom and their children's freedom, they were urged to show their patriotism by enlisting in the fight. ♪ to these broad shores my fathers came from lands beyond the sea ♪ they left their home, they left their fames to breathe in air more free ♪ to them with customs strange and new ♪ for to my heart knows just one dear flag, the red, the white, the blue ♪ the red, the white, the blue ♪ there is no hiding in my heart what can't be cut in two ♪ oh, flag of bars and silver stars, i give them all to you ♪ yeah, there is no hiding in my heart, it can't be cut in two ♪ oh, flag of bars and silver stars, i've given all to you ♪ >> the 1916 election hinged on the question of america's neutrality in the war. wilson, running for a second term, built his candidacy around the idea that america ought to prepare for the possibility of war, yet his campaign slogans, he kept us out of war, and america first, persuaded the american public that a vote for the republican candidate, charles evans hughes, would be a vote for war. while many embraced the slogans, others criticized them. teddy roosevelt. >> president wilson did noble shirking of responsibility has been misclothed in the phrase of a coward. he kept us out of war. in actual reality, war has been creeping nearer and we face it without policy, plan, purpose, or preparation. >> in september 1916, wilson accepted the democratic nomination for president. >> we have been neutral, not only baupz it was the traditional policy of the united states to stand aloof from the politics of europe, but also because it was manifestly our duty to prevent the indefinite extension of the fires of hate and des lags kindled by that terrible conflict and to seek to serve mankind by reserving our strength and our resources for the difficult days of restoration and healing. when peace will have to build a house anew. >> the debate reached every corner of american society. voices for and against the u.s. joining the war included not only politicians, but men who would likely be called to serve, women, african americans, and native americans fighting for an equal role in american civic life. american arthur bullard who had lived in war-time france and england, wrote in early 1917 -- >> whatever the diplomats may like to call it, this is war. and we do not know how to fight. we have no american general whoever commanded an army core, not one of our naval officers fought against a dread knot. no artillery man shot at aircraft. we must learn, the war is upon us and we must decide what we are going to do about it. we who love peace ought to keep out of war as long as possible. and when we are forced to go in, go in hard. >> for women, the prospect of war also provoked debate. many of the american red cross nurses had experienced the tribulations of war firsthand. jane delano founder of the red cross nursing service wrote in the winter of 1915 -- >> we have learned that women can be mobilized without confusion, but their chances of illness seem to be no greater than men's. that they face danger with equinimity. we should be able to guarantee a satisfactory nursing personnel, not only for national relief in times of calamity, but for efficient service should our country be confronted with that greatest of all disasters. war. >> a year later, bessy r. james for the national league for women's service wrote. >> on november 8, 1916, the foresight of the women is something which cannot but arouse admiration. that anyone should organize to prepare half the populous of the country for war, while the president was being put back into office because of a supposed peace policy would seem ridiculous. this, however, was exactly what happened. >> in january 1969, helen keller delivered her famous strike against war speech. >> we are facing a grave crisis in our national life. the few who profit from the labor of the masses want to organize the workers into an army which will protect the interests of the capitalists. it is in your power to refuse to carry the artillery. all you need to do to bring about this stupendous revolution is to straighten up and fold your arms. strike against all ordinances and laws and institutions that continue the slaughter of peace and the butcherys of war. strike against war, for without you, no battles can be fought. be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction. be heroes in an army of construction. >> wilson's message of neutrality appeal to american women of a dozen states where women had won the right to vote, wilson carried 11. the first years of the war coincided with the beginning of the great migration, a transformative period for african americans who fled the entrenched races in the south for better living conditions and wages in pittsburgh, chicago and new york. at the outbreak of war, many african americans viewed service in the military as an opportunity to show their willingness to serve and improve on their standing as second class citizens. others were more skeptical. in a 1917 issue of the messenger, chandler owe en, and a. philip randolph challenged the hypocrisy of the american democratic ideals in relation to the african-american struggle. >> patriotism has no appeal to us. party, justice has. party has no weight with us. principle has. >> in his 1914 editorial world war and the color line, w.e.b. due bose drew connections between the crisis in europe and the condition experienced by african americans at home. >> many colored persons may easily make the mistake of supposing that the present war is far removed from the color problem in america. this attitude is a mistake. the present war in europe is one of the great disasters due to race and color prejudice and it but foreshadows greater disasters in the future. >> as the likelihood of war increased in early 1917, dubois raised his pen to segregated training camps. >> we must choose in between the insult of a separate camp and the irreparable injury of strengthening the present custom of putting no black men in positions of authority. there is only one thing to do now, and that is to organize the colored people for leadership and service if war should come. a thousand commissioned officers of colored blood is something to work for. >> diplomat, lawyer and official of the naacp james weldon johnson called for an end to what he termed the excess patriotism which had led the world's nations to war. >> it is this hot, high tempered, foolish bad mannered patriotism that keeps further away the day for which all lovers of humanity pray. the day when men shall not hate each other because of the boundaries of domain or the differences of race, but when universal brotherhood shall be established and a lasting peace shall reign. ♪ as they sit in consultation seeking peace for all the world ♪ i wonder if their thoughts will turn to me ♪ i was at the concentration of a truce to stop the world ♪ of the kaiser in his dash the wars the sea ♪ as i sit in meditation seeking solace from on high ♪ i wonder if they see i stand in awe ♪ as they plan the federation for the races for and i a ♪ are they equal in the eyes of the law ♪ are they equal in the eyes of the law ♪ the black man faces death and cry hoo ra ♪ his soul was pure and bright, he fought a many fight ♪ no more patriotic soul you ever saw ♪ are they equal in the eyes of the law ♪ the black man faced his death and cried hoo ra ♪ they were the same in no man's land, tell me now how do they stand ♪ are they equal in the eyes of the law ♪ >> america's native peoples overwhelmingly supported the united states during the great war. although a few leaders such as dr. carlos montazuma objected. he wrote -- >> we are not citizens. they have fewer privileges than have foreigners. they are wards of the united states of america. without their consent or the chance of protest on their part. >> but most indian leaders saw the conflict as an opportunity to gain recognition and to affirm tribal sovereignty as did the onendaga and owe need a nations that declared war on germany. in 1917, oglala chief red fox, a nephew to crazy horse, went to washington and urged secretary of war newton d. baker to offer the services of the indians in the great war. >> from all over the west, we now stand 50,000 indians between the age of 17 and 55. we beg of you to give us the right to fight. we guarantee you, sir, our hearts could be no better cause than to fight for the land we love and for the freedom we share. >> chief red fox's sentiments were echoed by the seneca arthur parker, president of the society of american indians in 1917 who wrote -- >> the american indian has common cause with the allies. the indian fights because he loves freedom, and because humanity needs the defense of the freedom-loving man. the indian fights because his country, his liberties, his ideals and his manhood are assailed by the brutal hypocrisy oppressionism. challenged, the indian has shown himself a citizen of the world and an exponent of the an ethical civilization wherein human liberty thrives. >> the outcome of the 1916 election reflected divisions in the country. winning by a slim electoral college margin, wilson's second term would soon face a series of crises that would determine the fate of his neutral position in the war. while debate raged in america, the slaughter continued in europe. rapid advances in the technology of weapons of war led to vast devastation. for the first time in history, the battle field saw the use of tanks, chemical weapons, machine guns, long-range artillery, and aircraft. >> 65 million men fought in the war from 40 countries. >> 21 million were wounded. >> 8 million died, roughly 3,000 every day. >> 6 1/2 million civilians were killed including 2 million in russia alone. >> 110,000 tons of poison gas was used, killing nearly half a million men. >> in europe alone, approximately 10 million people were displaced by the war, including 1.8 armenians forcibly deported to the syrian desert. >> 1.5 million belgians were refugees from the germans. >> in the battle of sun fought between july and november of 1916, 1.2 million men perished for a meager allied gain of 7.8 miles of territory. >> during the battle of the som, it is estimated that in the first week of fighting, over 1.5 million artillery shells were fired, almost three shells per second for 168 continuous hours. never before had human kind unleashed terror on this scale. and its effects permanently scarred the landscape and the souls of those who were there. [ gunfire ] ♪ >> not long after the election of 1916, events would unfold at a rapid pace until the united states reached a tipping point where isolationism could no longer be an option. january 19, 1917, arthur zimmerman, foreign secretary of the german empire, sent a telegram to the german ambassador to mexico, proposing an alliance between germany and mexico in the event of u.s. entry into the war. >> we intend to begin on the first of february unrestricted submarine warfare. we shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the united states of america neutral in the event of this not succeeding, we make mexico a proposal of alliance. make war together, make peace together, and an understanding that mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in texas, new mexico, and arizona. you will inform the president of the above as soon as the outbreak of war with the united states of america is certain. >> the british admiralty which had cracked the german diplomatic siefr systems, decoded the message within hours. seeking to influence the american government, the british provided the americans a copy of the telegram. on the 28th of february, president wilson released the telegram to the press. the appearance of the news nationwide on march 1st galvanized american support for entry into the war. january 31st, 1917, robert lancing, secretary of state, received a note from the german ambassador to the united states. >> a new situation has been created which forces germany to new decisions. england is using her neighbor power for a criminal attempt to force germany into submission by starvation. in brutal contempt of international law, the powers led by england, by ruthless pressure compel neutral countries either to altogether forego every trade not agreeable to the powers, or too limited according to their arbitrary decrees. from february 1st, 1917, sea traffic will be stopped with every available weapon and without further notice. >> this message from the german ambassador directly contravened the german guarantee to wilson that ended unrestricted warfare after the sinking of the lucitania in 1915. germany's renewed aggression decisively changed american's attitudes about the war. on february 3rd, 1917, the united states formally ended diplomatic relations with imperial germany. on february 25th, 1917, the ka nard line ship la cone i can't was struck by german torpedoes. the chicago tribune was on board and lived to describe the scene. >> at 10:30 p.m. there was a muffled noise. five sharp blasts, a signal to abandon. we walked hurriedly down the corridor to the lounge which was amid ships. we moved fast, but there was no crowding and no panic. we looked down the slanting side of the ship and noticed her water line was a number of feet above the waves. the life boats rested against the side of the ship. i could see that we were going to have difficulty in the descent to the water. lower away, someone gave the order, and we started down toward the seemingly hungry swells. the stern of the boat was down. the bow up, leaving us at an angle of about 45 degrees. the tiers of lights dimd slowly from white to yellow, then to red, and nothing was left but the murky morning of the night. the ship sank rapidly at the stern until at last its nose stood straight in the air. then it slid silently down and out of sight. >> all ston, the machinery company executive in london cabled president woodrow wilson after the sinking of the liconia. >> my beloved mother and sister, passengers have been murdered. i call upon my government to preserve its citizens' self respect and save others of my country men from such deep grief as i now feel. i am of military age, able to fight. if my country can use me against these brutal assassins, i am at its call. if it stullifies my manhood by remaining passive under outrage, i shall seek a man's chance under another flag. >> events abroad also served to tip american opinion. the fall of the russian czar's regime on march 15th, 1917, resulted in a greater moral clarity for the allied cause. the war was now a struggle of democratic nations against autocratic empires. but despite the passions aroused by the zimmerman telegram and the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, wilson himself had no personal desire to bring the u.s. into conflict in europe. wilson told a journalist off the road -- >> if there is any alternative for god's sake, let's take it. ♪ ♪ little mary's bow said i've got to go ♪ i must fight for uncle sam ♪ standing in the crowd, mary called aloud ♪ where my loving man ♪ all the girls were tall ♪ mary answered yes and that's no all ♪ if you can fight like he can love ♪ what a soldier boy he'll be ♪ if he's just half as good in a trench as he was in the park on a bench ♪ then every one had better run and find a great big little dream ♪ i know he'll be a hero over there ♪ 'cause he's a barris for his care ♪ if he can fight like he can love ♪ it's good night germany ♪ every single day all the papers say mary's love is oh, so great ♪ with his little gun chasing every hun ♪ he is something to behave ♪ little mary proudly shakes her head and says, do you remember what i said ♪ if he can fight like he love ♪ oh, what a soldier boy he'll be ♪ if he's just half as good in a trench as he was in the park on a bench ♪ then every hun had better run and find a great big lemon tree ♪ i never saw him in a real good scrap ♪ but you're gonna when you're in his lap ♪ and if he fights like he can love ♪ then it's good night germany ♪ [ applause ] >> march 20, wilson confers with his cabinet. they unanimously vote for war. march 21, wilson calls congress into special session for april the 2nd. on the evening of april 2nd, 1917, president wilson addresses a joint session of congress asking for a declaration of war. >> while we do these momentous things, let us make clear to all the world what our motives are. our object now as then is to vindicate the principles of peace and justice as against selfish and autocratic power. neutrality is no longer feasible or desirable where the peace of the world is involved and the freedom of its principles. and the menace to that peace and freedom lies in the existence of autocratic governments. we have seen the last of neutrality. we are at the beginning of an age in which it will be insisted that the same standards of conduct and of responsibility for wrong done shall be observed among nations and their governments that are observed among the individual citizens of civilized states. >> the congress rose to its feet and applauded enthusiastically, cheering crowds lined the streets as wilson departed from the capital. as author byron far well wrote -- >> it was the greatest speech of wilson's life. at about 10:00, when the president had returned to the white house, he and his wife had dinner with friends after which wilson wandered into the empty cabinet room. his secretary, joseph, found him there. think what they were applauding, he said to him. my message today was a message of death for our young men. how strange it seems to applaud that. he put his head down on the table in the cabinet room and sobbed. >> still in the face of aggression, there were voices of opposition. arkansas senator george norris. >> the sea would benefit only the class of people who will be made prosperous should we become entangled in this present war. who have already made millions and who will make hundreds of millions more if we get into the war. to whom does the war bring prosperity? not to the soldier, not to the broken hearted widow, not to the mother who weeps at the death of her brave boy. i feel that we are about to put the dollar sign on the american flag. >> the senate passed the war resolution with only three republicans and three democrats opposed. the house voted 373 for with 50 opposed. jeannette rankin, the first woman to serve in congress and the lone female representative voted against the resolution. the improved declaration of war was sent to president wilson on april 6, 1917, at 1:00 p.m. that day he signed, approved, 6 april 1917, woodrow wilson. >> announcer: ladies and gentlemen, please stand for a moment of silence. ♪ [ ringing chimes ] [ canons fired ] >> please sit. as the country mobilized, we leave you with the voices of two soldiers. >> major general john j. pershing to president woodrow wilson april 10, 1917. dear mr. president, as an officer of the army, may i now extend to you as commander in chief of the armies, my sincere congratulations upon your soul stirring patriotic address to the congress on april 2nd. your strong stand for the right will be an inspiration to humanity everywhere. but especially to the citizens of the republic. it arouses in the breast of every soldier feelings of the deepest admiration for their leader. i am exalt and my life has been spent in soldier in camp and in field that i may more worthily and more intelligently serve my country. and you, the great respect your obedient servant, john j. pershing, major general u.s. army. >> and from the diary of my great grandfather alvin c. york serialized in liberty magazine in 1927. >> i had no time to bother much about a lot of foreigners quarreling and killing each other over in europe. i just wanted to be left alone to live in peace and love. i wasn't planning my life any other way. i figured that if some people in the wolf river valley were quarreling, it wasn't any of my business to go and interfere. and europe was much further away. i never dreamed we'd go over there to fight. so, i didn't pay much attention to it. i didn't let it bother me until i received from the post office a little red card telling me to register for the draft. that's how the war came to me, in the midst of all my peace and happiness and dreams, which i felt all along were too good to be true and just couldn't last. >> i have a rendezvu with death, with apple blossoms fill the air, i have a rendesvu with death when spring brings back blue days and fair. it may be he shall take my hand and lead me into his dark land and close my eyes and quench my breath. it may be i shall pass him still. i have a rendezvu with death, on some scarred slope of battered hill when spring comes round again this year and the first meadow flowers appear. god knows were better to be deep pillowed in silk and scented down where love throbs out in blissful sleep, where hushed awakenings are dear. but i have a rendezvu with death at midnight in some flaming town, when spring trips north again this year and i, to my pledged word, am true. i shall not fail that rendezvu. r ♪ ♪ peace from my childhood are with me ♪ i'm in the lot behind our house upon the hill ♪ a spring day sun is setting ♪ mother with tom in her arms is coming towards the garden ♪ the lettuce rows are showing ♪ rows of smoke for the town stronger comes the breeze from the ridge ♪ tis after 6:00 ♪ the whistles have blown ♪ the milk train's gone down the valley ♪ the east coming of the hill from the dill ♪ we run down the lanes ♪ ♪ but today in freedom's cause tom sailed away ♪ for over there, over there, over there ♪ scenes from my childhood are floating ♪ before my eyes >> announcer: ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our international guest. [ applause ] >> the strangest political leaders in april 1917 were focused on strain recruitment. prime minister william hughes delivered a speech in victoria on the 27th of march, 1917, noting the probability of american entry into the war. events had moved with great stride. the fury of the titanic conflict has indeed so far from abating gathered strength with every passing day. until now at this very moment, the whole world threatens to be engulfed. america is trembling on the verge of war. we are today so far from having won our way out of the mail strom of war into the calm, smooth waters of peace, in the very vortex of its awful fury. the sidney morning herald reported 6th of april, 1917, there is nothing in the history of war more remarkable than the enthusiasm with which the american people have received the president's advice to declare themselves at war with germany. great britain will find part of a burden taken off her hands by the united states. an australian at the front line, private james joseph macon, wrote to his mother and father in london on the 9th of april, 1979. i suppose you are following all the latest operations with much interest, and you should be exceptionally glad america has come in at last. >> from a diplomatic message sent by foreign minister of the hungarian empire to the declaration of war to germany. since the united states of america has declared that the state of war exists between it and imperial german government, austria, hungary and the german empire has decided to break off diplomatic relations with the united states and the imperial and royal embassy at washington has been instructed to inform the department of state to that effect. while regretting under these circumstances to see a termination of the personal relations which he has had the shashada fair of the united states of america, the undersigned does not fail to force at the former's disposal the passport of the austria and hungary of himself and the members of the other embassy. at the same time the undersigned avails himself of the opportunity to renew to the fair the expression of his most perfect consideration. signed, december 7, 1917, the u.s. declared war on austria, hungary. and although there had hardly been any actual hostilities between the two countries, america's entry into the war and its subsequent diplomacy contributed greatly to austria, hungary's demise. >> the belgian prime minister and minuister of warsh send the following message by cable to president wilson. the belgian government decided in august 1914 to make an unprecedented application to your excellency. it was faith and hope in the moral of the republic friendly to belgium. our people, small in number but strong in indomitable purpose, had foreseen that in the american people and in you were its noble est expression it would find support for its honor and an avenging arm for its martyr dom. it has distinguished between those groups that had directed the assault against the right of peoples and those that have deemed it necessary to follow them, moved perhaps by a false understanding of solidarity that had been accepted for other objects than the gratuitous aggression of which civilization was the victim in 1914. the royal government has contracted an unforgettable debt to the generosity of the united states of america. as in 1914, it counts upon her to those whose only fault was to have thought like free and honest men and acted rather as a servant of honor than a stratus in it. the belgian government salutes with joy a motion and respectful admiration, the decisive act that through the intermediary of your excellency honors the man, the nation, and humanity. >> following is an excerpt from the honorable sir robert warden in a speech he gave to the house of commons in canada, may 18, 1917. the great kindred and neighboring nation has entered into the war on the allied side, the united states of america. that important event which took place during our absence must exercise a tremendous effect not only upon the issue of this war, but upon the future of the world. the fact that citizens of the united states are to fight side by side with the soldiers of our empire cannot but have a splendid influence on the future of our -- of the two nations. [ speaking in french ] there are in this canadian expeditionary force more than 9,000 men who give their next of kin as resident in the united states of america. i do not say that all of these men have come directly from the united states. some of them may have immigrated to this country, leaving their relatives or next of kin on the other side of the line. but 9,000 who were undoubtedly born in the allegiance of the united states are now fighting in the canadian expeditionary force. although the united states has entered the war, we do not know how long it will be before the tremendous power of that nation can be translated into military effort. it cannot be done in a few weeks. it cannot be done fully in a few months. we know that from our own experience the british government know it from their experience, and therefore it must not lead to any relaxation on the part of the empire or any part of the allied nations. >> before reading my text, i think we should have a thought to all our soldiers who right now on the most difficult, most trying battle fields once more shoulder to shoulder, side by side are fighting for the defense of our liberty and our civilization. [ applause ] on april fifth, 1917, the french president of the consul of ministers is addressing the french senate. what particularly touches us is that you ask as always kept alive that friendship towards us, which was sealed with our blood. we recognize with joy that the u.s. flag is going to float beside ours. our hands shall join and our hearts shall beat in unison. president wilson makes it plain to all that the conflict is totally won between the liberty of modern society and the spirit of the domination of military despotism. it is this which closes the president's message to stir our hearts to the depths as a message of deliverance to the old world. the people, who in the 18th century made the declaration of rights and the inspiration of the writings of our sufferers, the people who placed washington and lincoln among the foremost of its heroes, the people who in the last century liberated the slaves, is well worthy to give the world such an exalted example. for us, after such death and win, such heroic suffering, the world of president wilson mean all the sentiments which sustained us through this long trial. the powerful and decisive assistance which the u.s. brings us will be not material aid alone. it will be moral aid, above all, a very tabl consolation i. as we see the conscience of the old world still, against the atrocities of which we are victims, we feel that we are fighting not alone for ourselves and our allies, but for something i mortal that we are striving to establish a new order. and, so, our sacrifices have not been in vein. the blood pours out so generously by the sons of france and been shared in order to spread liberty and justice which are necessary for the establishment of concord among nations. in the name of france, in the name of the government of the french republic, we address to the government and the people of the united states an expression of our gratitudes and our most ardent greetings.

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