Download Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 1917

Sandwich High School Model United Nations VIII
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 1917: Should the United
States Declare War on Germany?
Introduction.
It is 1917. The United States has spent last three years trying to avoid getting
drawn into a war that Americans see as a battle between all the crowned heads of
Europe. As the nations of Europe bleed themselves in the trenches on the
Eastern and Western front, the situation for all the nations at war has become
desperate. Russia has deposed Czar Nicholas II and introduced an interim
government to rule in his place. The Army of Austria-Hungary is starting to
disintegrate. Germany is feeling the effects of a blockade, while its U-boats
attempt to blockade and strangle both United Kingdom and France. The United
States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is meeting to discuss whether or
not to recommend to the United States Senate that the United States declare war
on Germany. Recent events have compelled this session. This will be a special
session of the Committee on Foreign Relation. The president of the United States,
Woodrow Wilson, along with members of his cabinet are invited to attend. Also
attending, ambassadors from the nations that would be affected by a declaration
of war. These ambassadors, of course, are protected by diplomatic immunity.
Background.
Our background comes from the Office of the Historian for the United States
Department of State:
“Germany’s resumption of submarine attacks on passenger and merchant ships in 1917
was the primary motivation behind Wilson’s decision to lead the United States into
World War I. Following the sinking of an unarmed French boat, the Sussex, in the
English Channel in March 1916, Wilson had threatened to sever diplomatic relations
with Germany, unless the German Government refrained from attacking all passenger
ships, and allowed the crews of enemy merchant vessels to escape from their ships
prior to any attack. On May 4, 1916, the German Government had accepted these
terms and conditions in what came to be known as the “Sussex pledge.”
By January 1917, however, the situation in Germany had changed. During a wartime
conference that month, representatives from the German navy convinced the military
leadership and Kaiser Wilhelm II that a resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare
could help defeat Great Britain within five months. German policymakers argued that
they could violate the “Sussex pledge,” because the United States could no longer be
considered a neutral party after supplying munitions and financial assistance to the
Allies. Germany also believed that the United States had jeopardized its neutrality by
acquiescing to the Allied blockade of Germany.
Germany’s Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, protested this decision, as he
believed that resuming submarine warfare would draw the United States into the war on
behalf of the Allies. This, he argued, would lead to the defeat of Germany. Despite
these warnings, the German Government decided to resume unrestricted submarine
attacks on all Allied and neutral shipping within prescribed war zones, reckoning that
German submarines would end the war long before the first American troopship arrived
in Europe. Accordingly, on January 31, 1917, the German Ambassador to the United
States, Count Johann von Bernstorff, presented U.S. Secretary of State Robert Lansing
with a note declaring Germany’s intention to restart unrestricted submarine warfare the
following day.
Stunned by the news, President Wilson went before Congress on February 3 to
announce that he had severed diplomatic relations with Germany. However, he
refrained from asking for a declaration of war because he doubted that the American
public would support him unless there was ample proof that Germany intended to attack
U.S. ships with no warning. Wilson left open the possibility of negotiating with Germany
if its submarines refrained from attacking American shipping. Nevertheless, throughout
February and March 1917, German submarines targeted and sunk several American
ships, and many American passengers and seamen died.
On February 26, Wilson asked Congress for authority to arm American merchant ships
with U.S. naval personnel and equipment. While the measure would probably have
passed in a vote, several anti-war Senators led a successful filibuster that consumed
the remainder of the Congressional session. Despite the rebuff from Congress, Wilson
decided to arm American merchant ships by executive order, claiming that an old antipiracy law gave him the authority to do so.
What did the Public think about events? Consider this from the Wikipedia article
“American Entry into World War I” at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_entry_into_World_War_I. Delegates are advised
to read this article to prepare for the Senate debate.
“National intellectual elites split into three distinct groups. “First, there were the anti-war
people ("pacifists" loosely defined), who wanted to keep America out at all costs, and
rejected as equally immoral the British and German Empires. The leaders included
Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan (a three-time Democratic nominee for
president), Republican Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr., social worker and
humanitarian Jane Addams (a Progressive), and industrialist Henry Ford (a Democrat).
“Secondly, the "liberal internationalists" reluctantly supported armed force to create a
collective security system. They included President Woodrow Wilson and former
president William Howard Taft. “Finally, the "Atlanticists" sought a security relationship
with Britain; they were led by former President Theodore Roosevelt, Major General
Leonard Wood, and Republican Senators Elihu Root and Henry Cabot Lodge.
Among the people, the wikipedia entry identifies the following groups:
“ A cosmopolitan group of upper and upper-middle class businessmen based in the
largest cities took the lead in promoting military preparedness and in defining how far
America could be pushed around before it would fight back. A surprising factor in the
development of American public opinion was how little the political parties became
involved. Wilson and the Democrats in 1916 campaigned on the slogan "He kept us out
of war!", saying a Republican victory would mean war with both Mexico and Germany.
His position probably was critical in winning the Western states. Charles Evans Hughes,
the GOP candidate, insisted on downplaying the war issue. The Socialist party talked
peace. Socialist rhetoric declared the European conflict to be "an imperialist war...”
“The war at first disrupted the cotton market; Britain blockaded shipments to Germany,
and prices fell from 11 cents a pound to only 4 cents. By 1916, however, the British
decided to bolster the price to 10 cents to avoid losing Southern support. The cotton
growers seem to have moved from neutrality to intervention at about the same pace as
the rest of the nation. Midwestern farmers generally opposed the war, especially those
of German and Scandinavian descent. The Midwest became the stronghold of
isolationism; other remote rural areas also saw no need for war.
“The African-American community, which lived mostly in the pro-war South, did not take
a strong position one way or the other. A month after congress declared war, W.E.B. Du
Bois called on African-Americans to "fight shoulder to shoulder with the world to gain a
world where war shall be no more".
“The largest old-stock Protestant denominations (Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian,
Disciples of Christ, Congregational, and some Lutheran groups) loudly denounced the
war at first: it was God's punishment for sin...Wilson, the intensely religious son of a
prominent theologian, knew exactly how to harness that moralism in his attacks on the
"Huns" who threatened civilization, and his calls for an almost religious crusade on
behalf of peace.
“There was a strong antiwar element in the white South and border states. In rural
Missouri for example, distrust of powerful Eastern influences focused on the risk that
Wall Street would lead America into war.[ Across the South poor white farmers warned
each other that "a rich man's war meant a poor man's fight," and they wanted nothing of
it. Congressman James Hay, Democrat of Virginia was the powerful chairman of the
House Committee on Military Affairs. He repeatedly blocked prewar efforts to modernize
and enlarge the army.
German Americans by this time usually had only weak ties to Germany; however, they
were fearful of negative treatment they might receive if the United States entered the
war (such mistreatment was already happening to German-descent citizens in Canada
and Australia). Almost none called for intervening on Germany's side, instead calling for
neutrality and speaking of the superiority of German culture.
“The most effective domestic opponents of the war were Irish-American Catholics. They
had little interest in the continent, but were adamant against helping the British Empire
because it refused to allow independence for Ireland... Yet rather than proposing
intervention on behalf of the Germans, Irish American leaders and organizations
focused on demanding American neutrality. Irish-Americans dominated the Democratic
party in many large cities so Wilson had to take account of their views. They did not
prevent him from being hostile to Germany, but they did force him to keep his distance
from Britain...”
It is at this point, that the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations will meet to
consider the issue of declaring war.
Procedures.
1. Senator William J. Stone will call this meeting to order;
2. The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and their guests will introduce
themselves;
3. the Members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations will each make
an opening statement should they choose to do so;
4. the President of the United States will be permitted to make an opening
statement;
5. the chief parliamentarian for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
will moderate discussion.
6. The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations may act upon any of the
following motions before considering a motion to declare War;
a. A motion to support a declaration of neutrality,
b. A motion to support any and all action to protect the United States, its
coastline, and its borders,
c. a motion to condemn any nation associated with attacks on the United
States,
d. a motion to supply weapons and supplies and nation the committee
deems fit to receive them,
e. a motion to reaffirm the principles of the Monroe Doctrine.
7. The committee will, if the above motions are voted down or not brought
forward for consideration, entertain a motion to declare war on Germany.
8. Once the motion to declare war is acted upon, all present are allowed one
statement to make for the record. Then, the members will consider what
actions must be taken by the United States to support the action they just
voted for.
Committee membership.
For the Democrats… William J Stone Chairman, Missouri; Gilbert M Hitchcock,
Nebraska; Claude A. Swanson, Virginia; Marcus A. Smith, Arizona; Willard A.
Saulisbury, Delaware; Key Pittman, Nevada; John Sharp Williams, Mississippi; John K.
Shields, Tennessee, Atlee Pomerene, Ohio.
For the Republicans... Henry Cabot Lodge, Massachusetts; William Alden Smith,
Michigan; Porter J. McCumber, North Dakota; William E. Borah, Idaho; Frank B.
Bandegee, Connecticut.
Invited to Testify;
For the United States: Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States; Robert Lansing,
Secretary of State; Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War; Josephus Daniels, Secretary of
the Navy.
Ambassadors Seized of the Matter:
His Excellency Sir Cecil Spring-Rice Ambassador for the United Kingdom,
His Excellency Jean Jules Josserand, Ambassador for the Republic of France,
His Excellency Boris Alexandrovich, Bakhmeteff, for the Russian Provisional
Government,
His Excellency Johann Heinrich von Berstorff; Ambassador for the German Empire,
His Excellency Eliseo Arredondode, Ambassador for the Republic of Mexico,
Interested Parties:
Senator Robert La Follette, Senator Thomas P. Gore.
Biographical Information for the members of the Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations
The Democrats
William J Stone- Served as a member on the senate foreign relations committee. He
was involved in disagreements with the Wilson administration concerning European
policy before the U.S. entry into WW1 Generally, he opposed the United States entry
into the First World War
Gilbert M Hitchcock-Gilbert M. Hitchcock was born in Omaha, Nebr., on Sept. 18,
1859. He was educated in the city's public schools and for 2 years attended the
gymnasium (high school) in Baden-Baden, Germany. He received a law degree from
the University of Michigan in 1881 and was admitted to the Nebraska bar. In 1885
Hitchcock and three associates founded the Omaha Evening World. In 1889 he
purchased the Morning Herald, one of the most important Democratic newspapers in
Nebraska, and consolidated it with the Evening World as the Omaha World
Herald. From this solid financial and political base he launched his public career.
The Hitchcock family was traditionally Republican. But viewing the plight of western
agriculture in the 1880s, Hitchcock aligned himself with the Democratic-Populist camp in
Nebraska, whose leader was William Jennings Bryan. It was as a "Bryan man" that
Hitchcock was elected in 1902 to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served
until elected senator in 1911. In the Senate, Hitchcock showed considerable
independence from the Woodrow Wilson administration. He opposed the Federal
Reserve Act of 1913 and, in 1914, introduced a bill to embargo all arms to countries at
war in Europe, a plan resisted vigorously by President Wilson. Germany's resumption of
submarine warfare in 1917, brought Hitchcock to support of the administration.
Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/gilbert-hitchcock#ixzz2wY9Tb6ag
Claude A Swanson- Initially appointed to the U.S. Senate after the death of John W.
Daniel, Swanson won four elections by large margins and successfully advanced
Staunton-born U.S. president Woodrow Wilson's reform proposals. These included
federal highway funding, child labor regulatory legislation, a lower tariff, and longgestated banking laws. His role in development of the U.S. Navy not only protected the
nation's trade lanes but also prepared the fleet for participation in World War I (1914–
1918). In Virginia, he and Senate majority leader Thomas Staples Martin obtained land
for expansion of the Norfolk Navy Base, laying cornerstones for the Hampton Roads
naval complex. His membership on the Senate committees on Naval Affairs and on
Foreign Relations led him to favor the League of Nations and its collective security
goals. Source: http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Swanson_Claude_A_18621939#start_entry
Marcus A Smith- was an American attorney and politician who served eight terms
as Arizona Territorial Delegate to Congress and as one of the first
two Senators from Arizona. As a Delegate he was a leader in the effort to gain
statehood for Arizona. His non-voting status however minimized his influence with only
35 of the 277 bills he introduced into the House of Representatives being signed into
law. By the start of the 65th United States Congress, Smith's advancing age was
forcing him to take a less active roll in day-to-day politics.[137] He was however a
supporter of the war effort. Source- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_A._Smith
John Sharp Williams- John Sharp Williams entered the U. S. Senate April 5, 1911, to
attend a special session called by President William Howard Taft…The new senator
received assignments to the Finance Committee and Foreign Relations Committee. He
had always advocated fiscal responsibility and kept a close eye on foreign affairs.
Williams had served for a number of years on the executive committee of the American
group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union for International Peace, and he also became a
trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace when it was established in
1910. Williams supported Woodrow Wilson for the Democratic presidential nomination
in 1912, and served on his executive campaign committee in the East… Senator
Williams believed in teamwork, and during Wilson’s two terms as president he was one
of his most loyal supporters and friends. He worked hard for tariff reform, imposition of
an income tax, anti-trust legislation, and an overhaul of the banking system. ..He was in
full accord with President Wilson’s consideration of moral values in the conduct of
foreign policy, and his refusal to recognize a Mexican government controlled by General
Victoriano Huerta who had seized power by violent and illegal means. After the Great
War broke out in Europe in 1914, Williams agreed with the president’s policies in
dealing with violations of American neutral rights by both sides, and he strongly
supported the president’s decision to hold Germany to strict accountability for the loss of
American lives and property in submarine warfare. Source:
http://mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us/articles/303/john-sharp-williams
Willard A. Saulsbury, Jr.- Willard Saulsbury, Jr., who had become active in
Democratic Party leadership at the state and national level, was widely credited for
orchestrating the nomination of Woodrow Wilson as the Democratic presidential
nominee in 1912 and managing a large part of the national campaign leading to
Wilson's election. After six attempts to win nomination from his state party, Saulsbury,
Jr., finally succeeded and was elected by the Delaware legislature to serve in the U.S.
Senate in 1913. The Seventeenth Amendment, which was passed in 1913, replaced the
phrase "chosen by the Legislature thereof" with "elected by the people thereof" and the
first direct elections of senators were held in 1914. He was a strong supporter of
President Wilson. Source:
http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/congress2012/index.html
Key Pittman-we are taking liberties with Key Pittman. Not much is known of his
voting record leading up to the First World War. After, he favored neutrality as World
War Two approached. We will cast him a senator who wants the United States to
remain neutral for as long as possible before entering the First World War. See
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1886281?uid=3739696&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70
&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21103929395643 for more information.
John K Shields- was a Democratic United States Senator from Tennessee from 1913
to 1925. Shields was born at his family's estate "Clinchdale", near the early pioneer
settlement of Bean's Station, Tennessee in Grainger County. His education as
a youth was by private tutors, a sign of the family's affluence. He studied law and was
admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1879. He practiced in the counties surrounding his
home until 1893, when he was named Chancellor of the former 12th Chancery Division.
The next year, he resumed private practice in nearby Morristown, in Hamblen County.
In 1902 Shields became an Associate Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, an
office which he held until 1910 when he was named Chief Justice. He resigned that post
in 1913, becoming the last Tennessean elected to the U.S. Senate by the Tennessee
General Assembly prior to the 17th Amendment coming into effect.
Atlee Pomerene-as a Democratic Party politician from Ohio. He represented Ohio in
theUnited States Senate from 1911 until 1923. He was a firm supported of Wilson’s
approach to foreign policy, as later events would show.
http://ech.case.edu/cgi/article.pl?id=PA7.
The Republicans
Henry Cabot Lodge- Henry Cabot Lodge was an American Republican Senator from
Massachusetts. Lodge was a staunch advocate of entering World War I on the side of
the Allied Powers, attacking President Woodrow Wilson's perceived lack of military
preparedness and accusing pacifists of undermining American patriotism.
William E. Borah-The Lion of Idaho, Borah was a member of the Republican National
Committee from 1908 to 1912, Borah was a delegate to the 1912 Republican National
Convention. As a senator, Borah was dedicated to principles rather than party loyalty, a
trait which earned him the nickname "the Great Opposer." He disliked entangling
alliances in foreign policy and became a prominent anti-imperialist and nationalist,
favoring a continued separation of American liberal and European Great Power politics.
He encouraged the formation of a series of world economic conferences and favored a
low tariff. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Borah, and
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/73799/William-E-Borah
Porter J. McCumber, We were not able to find much on McCumber, so we are casting
him as a follower of Willam E. Borah, given his “Middle America” origins.
William Alden Smith- William Alden Smith was a republican U.S representative and
U.S senator from Michigan. Famed for his work with investigating the Titanic Disaster,
we are casting Smith as a supporter of Henry Cabot Lodge given his interest in
international maritime issues and concern for the safety of seamen around the world.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Alden_Smith
Frank B. Bandegee- A staunch "Old Guard" conservative, Brandegee opposed
women's suffrage, America's participation in the League of Nations, and most other
measures of the time that were considered liberal or progressive. He opposed Wilson’s
policies, and he will question the need for entry into the First World War until the
necessity of defending the nation requires it. Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_B._Brandegee
Other Senators:
Robert La Follette- Robert La Follette publicly opposed the entry of the United States
into the First World War. For information about his speeches, go to
https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1378
Thomas P. Gore- During the early stages of World War I, he authored a bill to
encourage American citizens not to travel aboard merchant vessels of countries
participating in the war. The merchant vessels were under threat of attack by German
U-boats, and the Senator felt the loss of American lives in attacks upon these boats put
American neutrality at risk. He was a strong, early supporter of Woodrow Wilson's,
indeed, one acknowledged as the very first major elected official to endorse Wilson's
candidacy for President in 1911. [4] Yet Gore later opposed America's entry into the war
even after American involvement began. He unsuccessfully opposed providing
manpower for the military by conscription, saying it would create "an army of
conscripted slackers." He asked: "Why should we brand the American boy as a
conscript without affording him the opportunity to earn the glory of an American
volunteer?" Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Gore.
The Administration, and the Ambassadors. These people are here to represent the
interests of their governments, making representing their nations a question of looking
at the condition of and goals of their nations in February of 1917.
What delegates can expect when they arrived on May 3.
Any additional information on the military situation will be provided to delegates when
they arrive in their committee. Maps will be available to assist delegates in visualizing
the situation that arises. Delegates are advised to review the history of the era. We
welcome any material that can help even if it provides information that may be contrary
to anything presented in these papers. This is especially true given the fact that so
many of the characters here are obscure to us now. Experience has taught us that what
students bring to the conference always helps the committee conducted its business.
This topic depends on many factors governed by events, so it is not necessary to bring
any prewritten resolutions. Position papers are certainly welcome. If you have some
way of bringing electronic copies that we print out for all delegates, that will help!
Sources.
United States Senate. COMMITTEE ONFOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES
SENATE MILLENNIUM
EDITION, 1816–2000. Washington: USGPO, 2000. Available as pdf through the United
States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at
http://www.foreign.senate.gov/about/history/
“American Entry into World War I” at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_entry_into_World_War_I
See Biographical entries for source listings on each Senator.