follow (Boyer 791). The same man who was reelected in1916 on the platform he kept us out of war, who delivered the peacewithout victory speech, who urged his country to remain neutral in actionas well as in thought was now asking Congress to approve American entryinto the war. As President Wilson confronted the nation on the evening of April 2,1917, he presented a case of past offenses coupled with presentcircumstances in hopes of providing a more effective case for leadingAmerica into war (Blakey, 2). He employed antecedent-consequencethroughout the beginning of his address to warrant his call for belligerency.By recapitulating the events of German abomination as seen most profoundlyin the sinking of United States vessels, Wilson let the record speak foritself. He appealed to the sense of compassion in his audience with themention of hospital ships as ships carrying aid to the stricken people ofBelgium....have been sunk with the same reckless lack of concern or principle(Baker 510) It was these hard-hitting charges of outrage and insult byGermany that stirred Wilsons listeners (Baker 514). He continued to relateevents of the past to his present standpoint by admitting that he was atfirst unable to believe that such things could be done by any government(Safire 110), but as American lives were unjustly taken he realized that theGerman government had disregarded all respect for international law andhad declared war against mankind (Baker 510). This war against mankind Wilson defined as the intent of Germansubmarines to take the lives of innocent, uninvolved citizens, whoseactivities, being supplying aid to bereaved nations or exporting goods onmerchant ships, have always been deemed as inoffensive and legitimatepursuits, by no means worthy of assault (Safire 111). Wilson contrasted theBritishs interference with neutral trade as slight compared to theimmediate and intense conflict with Germany over submarine warfare...
