Word: germanism
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Dates: during 1910-1919
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...exist. At this critical time the President is backed against the wall by the insidious perfidy of a foreign nation. He is not overwhelmed by telegrams demanding war, though millions believe that it is the only honorable course to pursue; he is swamped with peace appeals from well-organized German and "peace at any price" societies. The nation knows that Woodrow Wilson will not declare war unless it is the last resort. He should be left unhampered by the doubtful exhortations of pacifists. If Mr. Wilson decides that we must have war, let us have war, and let us help...
Because on May 4, 1916, the German Government replied that 'in accordance with the general principles of visit and search and the destruction of merchant vessels recognized by international law such vessels, both within and without the area declared a naval war zone, shall not be sunk without warning and without saving human lives unless the ship attempts to escape or offer resistance...
...Because on May 8, 1916, the President 'to avoid any possible misunderstanding,' had solemnly declared, with the approval of the American people, that the Government of the United States could not 'for a moment entertain, much less discuss, a suggestion that respect by German naval authorities for the rights of citizens of the United States upon the high seas should in any way or in the slightest degree be made contingent upon the conduct of any other government affecting the rights of neutrals and non-combatants...
...Because, finally, on January 31, 1917, the German Government announced its intention of abrogating its agreement of May 4, and of defying the President's warning of May 8. In order forcibly to prevent all navigation to and from the Entente countries, the navigation of neutrals being expressly included, Germany now defined a zone surrounding the Entente countries and announced that 'all ships met within that zone will be sunk...
...white a very light one. But it remains important, none the less, to distinguish between black and white. So in the present case the great outstanding fact is this: That, whereas the Allied sort of illegality, if such it be, has caused reparable inconvenience and financial loss, the German sort of illegality has already irreparably destroyed 200 American lives, and now threatens to destroy more. For these lives there is no redress; and to meet this threat there is no course but that of self-protection by force...