President Woodrow Wilson's Speech to Congress Before Entering WWI vol. IRONY

[boys noize]

Woodrow Wilson was a scumbag president who lied to involve America in WWI. This is an excerpt from the speech he delivered to congress, asking them to declare war on Germany. Pretty funny/sad reading this in 2012.

“We have no quarrel with the German people. We have no feeling towards them but one of sympathy and friendship. It was not upon their impulse that their government acted in entering this war. It was not with their previous knowledge or approval. It was a war determined upon as wars used to be determined upon in the old, unhappy days when peoples were nowhere consulted by their rulers and wars were provoked and waged in the interest of dynasties or of little groups of ambitious men who were accustomed to use their fellow men as pawns and tools. Self-governed nations do not fill their neighbor states with spies or set the course of intrigue to bring about some critical posture of affairs, which will give them an opportunity to strike and make conquest. Such designs can be successfully worked out only under cover and where no one has the right to ask questions. Cunningly contrived plans of deception or aggression, carried, it may be, from generation to generation, can be worked out and kept from the light only within the privacy of courts or behind the carefully guarded confidences of a narrow and privileged class. They are happily impossible where public opinion commands and insists upon full information concerning all the nation's affairs.

 

[sillyputty]

*sigh*
Time for a Sig-Check:




"Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, IT IS THE LEADERS of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is TELL THEM THEY ARE BEING ATTACKED, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. IT WORKS THE SAME IN ANY COUNTRY."--Herman Goering at the Nuremberg Trials

Its kinda funny that as racist as he was, that he still supported evolution being taught in schools. 

 

[HEATHEN]

not a damn thing has changed either....all of our presidents have been scumbags every last one of them including the one presiding in office at the moment.

 

[toy collector123]

Originally Posted by SneakerHeathen

not a damn thing has changed either....all of our presidents have been scumbags every last one of them including the one presiding in office at the moment.

Son, keep it moving

 

[lukewarm skywalker]

Originally Posted by Toy Collector123

...my people...

...

 

[johnnyredstorm]

His favorite movie was Birth of a Nation...

 

[zk1mpls]

Sigh.

seen that avy quite a few times today. so random

 

[Humbled]

Originally Posted by Toy Collector123

Originally Posted by SneakerHeathen

not a damn thing has changed either....all of our presidents have been scumbags every last one of them including the one presiding in office at the moment.

Son, keep it moving

 

[HEATHEN]

Originally Posted by Toy Collector123

Originally Posted by SneakerHeathen

not a damn thing has changed either....all of our presidents have been scumbags every last one of them including the one presiding in office at the moment.

Son, keep it moving

 I bet you only like Barack because of his ethnicity.

 

[zapatohead408]

How does this make Wilson a scumbag?

He is one of the best presidents the United States has ever had, much better than Barack Obama. Also so you guys don't get the wrong idea about Wilson he did not want to go to war, one of the main reasons for the U.S not entering the Great War until the last years.

 

[beermann2]

Iran pop into my head when reading that quote.

Just nothing, but rumors of war...

 

[zapatohead408]

Originally Posted by WhatsLosinLike

Originally Posted by Toy Collector123

Originally Posted by SneakerHeathen

not a damn thing has changed either....all of our presidents have been scumbags every last one of them including the one presiding in office at the moment.

Son, keep it moving

best gif ever

 

[boys noize]

Originally Posted by zapatohead408

How does this make Wilson a scumbag?

He is one of the best presidents the United States has ever had, much better than Barack Obama. Also so you guys don't get the wrong idea about Wilson he did not want to go to war, one of the main reasons for the U.S not entering the Great War until the last years.

I disagree.
Woodrow Wilson knowingly lied and misled congress and the American public in order to enter WWI. His justification for war was the sinking of the Lusitania, a British passenger ship carrying American citizens. What he didn't tell the public was that Germany had issued a warning to the US, telling it's citizens NOT to be on board belligerent ships (Britain was actively engaged in war with Germany at the time.) What he didn't tell the public was that the Lusitania was carrying ammunition and war goods to Britain. Germany had every reason to sink the Lusitania. There is a reason why during the onset of WWII, before the US was involved, that the US government specifically and strictly warned US citizens NOT to board vessels belonging to nations at war, that if they did it would be at their own peril.

There is every indication that Wilson DID want to go to war. In his speeches he might have put on the air of wanting to be neutral and "peaceful" but the US government's actions said differently. If the US truly wanted to stay out of the war, why did they actively ignore warnings to stay off belligerent ships? Why did they actively ignore warnings not to sail in the war zone? Why did they actively trade ammunition and war goods to the Allies? Why did they loan substantial amounts of credit to the Allies? These are hardly the actions of a country staying "neutral."

I'd assert that Wilson was looking for a reason to enter the war and found it in the Lusitania. The moment Germany disrupted US trade by enacting the naval blockade was the moment the US was going to get involved. We've seen this throughout our nations history. The moment a country denies the US it's right to free trade and especially freedom of the sea, the US gets involved. More recently, when Iran threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the US sent a battlecruiser there within the week and they backed off. The quickest way to get the US into a war is to infringe upon it's right to trade.

Why else do I think Wilson is a scumbag? For one thing, if the United States had never gotten into WWI, things would have turned out much differently in Europe. Keep in mind that the German government at the time of WWI were not the same as the Nazi party that Adolf Hitler led. Germany had proven at the time to be strong leaders and should have been allowed to rule. Look at Germany now during the European financial crisis. They are the only nation that seems capable of leading Europe out of their financial crisis. I hope they leverage their lending abilities into a more central role in European rule. This was NOT our conflict. We did not have any beef with Germany but we decided to side with the Allies due to our history. If the US had never gotten involved, Germany would most likely not have lost in WWI. If Germany did not lose the war and were saddled with crippling debt and reparations, a leader like Adolf Hitler would not have risen to power. It took the financial crisis that hit Germany after the war to persuade people to turn to a more radical voice that promised the people their former greatness.

And of course, without WWII, there would be no forty year long Cold War. It's a lot of "what ifs" but I think we know enough facts about WWI to come to some of these conclusions.

 

[rko2004]

Originally Posted by Beermann2

Iran pop into my head when reading that quote.

Just nothing, but rumors of war...

 

[boys noize]

Oh yeah, and Silly Putty already said this but it deserves another mention.

Woodrow Wilson was one of the most racist presidents we've ever had in office.

There's also that whole business of him completely ignoring a young Ho Chi Minh... had Wilson not ignored Ho Chi Minh and his request for help in removing the French colonization of Vietnam, perhaps he would not have turned to more radical methods. Ho Chi Minh admired the Declaration of Independence and wanted to follow that model. Wilson never gave him a chance. So Ho Chi Minh turned to Moscow and the rest is history...

 

[teamjordan79]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRedStorm

His favorite movie was Birth of a Nation...

well to his defense, there was probably like only 3 movies out at that time. 

But dude was one of, if not the worst president, thanks for getting the federal reserve act passed 

Just to show u that just because you're a professor at Princeton, doesn't mean you're smart 

 

[frankmatthews]

[h4] In 1913, President Wilson's creation of the Federal Reserve System established a three-tier monetary system in the United States - the holders of money (public, government, business and institutions); the commercial banks that borrow from the public and issue loans; and the central bank or Federal Reserve that has a monopoly on the issuing of money. [/h4]

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men.

We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.

Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men's views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it."

-Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence

 

[savraj1]

Well US Presidents have been shown to benefit when the country goes to war, at least initially.

 

[boys noize]

Well, there's the school of thought that it was necessary for the United States to enter WWI in order to be the super power we are today. Germany winning WWI would have made them the preeminent Western power without a doubt.

 

[theone2401]

Originally Posted by FrankMatthews

[h4] In 1913, President Wilson's creation of the Federal Reserve System established a three-tier monetary system in the United States - the holders of money (public, government, business and institutions); the commercial banks that borrow from the public and issue loans; and the central bank or Federal Reserve that has a monopoly on the issuing of money. [/h4]

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men.

We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.

Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men's views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it."

-Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence

I hope people in this thread realize this and the OP's post are connected

 

[rashi]

Originally Posted by zapatohead408

How does this make Wilson a scumbag?

He is one of the best presidents the United States has ever had, much better than Barack Obama. Also so you guys don't get the wrong idea about Wilson he did not want to go to war, one of the main reasons for the U.S not entering the Great War until the last years.

Woodrow Wilson was a Banker %$@##. JP Morgan and Rockefeller OWNED this man.

 

[onewearz]

Originally Posted by Toy Collector123

Son, keep it moving

 

[theone2401]

Originally Posted by rashi

Originally Posted by zapatohead408

How does this make Wilson a scumbag?

He is one of the best presidents the United States has ever had, much better than Barack Obama. Also so you guys don't get the wrong idea about Wilson he did not want to go to war, one of the main reasons for the U.S not entering the Great War until the last years.

Woodrow Wilson was a Banker %$@##. JP Morgan and Rockefeller OWNED this man.

They split the republican party just to make sure Taft didnt win.

 

[idrinkyac]

Originally Posted by theone2401

Originally Posted by FrankMatthews

[h4] In 1913, President Wilson's creation of the Federal Reserve System established a three-tier monetary system in the United States - the holders of money (public, government, business and institutions); the commercial banks that borrow from the public and issue loans; and the central bank or Federal Reserve that has a monopoly on the issuing of money. [/h4]

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men.

We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.

Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men's views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it."

-Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence

I hope people in this thread realize this and the OP's post are connected

This

 

[rashi]

Originally Posted by theone2401

Originally Posted by rashi

Originally Posted by zapatohead408

How does this make Wilson a scumbag?

He is one of the best presidents the United States has ever had, much better than Barack Obama. Also so you guys don't get the wrong idea about Wilson he did not want to go to war, one of the main reasons for the U.S not entering the Great War until the last years.

Woodrow Wilson was a Banker %$@##. JP Morgan and Rockefeller OWNED this man.

They split the republican party just to make sure Taft didnt win.

They also split the profits off WWI.