PART VII THE UNITED STATES AND THE WAR CHAPTER I THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES Attitude of United ward the War. FROM the beginning of the war until our entrance on April 6, 1917, the government of the United States urged a strict neutrality upon its citizens. At the outbreak of the struggle, public opinion did not clearly express itself, nor did the people realize the issues involved. The cosmopolitan character of the population of the United States naturally led to differences in opinion. Many in this country had relatives engaged in the armies of the belligerents; many had but recently come to this country, while others had natural, acquired prejudices such as spontaneously grow in considering the merits of any great struggle. It was the wish of President Wilson that the people of this country be unbiased in their judgments and neutral in their acts. Therefore, August 18, 1914, he appealed for a neutrality of sentiment in the following proclamation: "My fellow countrymen: Wilson's I suppose that every thoughtful man in America has asked himself, during these last troubled weeks, what influence the European War may exert upon the United States, and I take the liberty of addressing a few words to you in order to point out that it is entirely within our own choice what its effects upon us will be, and to urge very earnestly upon you the sort of speech and conduct which will best safeguard the nation against distress and disaster. "The effect of the war upon the United States will depend upon what American citizens say and do. Every man who really loves America will act and speak in the true spirit of neutrality, which is the spirit of impartiality and fairness and friendliness to all concerned. The spirit of the nation in this critical matter will be determined largely by what individuals and society and those gathered in public meetings do and say, upon what newspaper and magazines contain, upon what ministers utter in their pulpits, and men proclaim as their opinions on the street. "The people of the United States are drawn from many nations, and chiefly from the nations now at war. It is natural and inevitable that there should be the utmost variety of sympathy and desire among |