What will it take for the US to remain neutral during WW1?

Assuming that Woodrow Wilson is the POTUS as in OTL, and nothing much is different in the U.S. itself, what would it take for the U.S. to remain NEUTRAL in World War I? No Lusitania incident, maybe?
 

BooNZ

Banned
Assuming that Woodrow Wilson is the POTUS as in OTL, and nothing much is different in the U.S. itself, what would it take for the U.S. to remain NEUTRAL in World War I? No Lusitania incident, maybe?
A combination of:
  • No Zimmerman Telegram
  • No German USW
  • Germans stroking Wilson's ego and feigning interest in his peace initiatives
 
A more effective German surface navy would reduce the need and the shock of USW, which would delay the entry of the US long enough that the course of the war meant that their entry would be pointless.
 
No German USW

Or at least an instruction to the U-boats to avoid American ships. Even OTL it took two months from the declaration of USW before Wilson was ready to go to war. And even after that only a handful of US vessels sunk were destroyed without warning or with any American loss of life. It would have done Germany no harm to turn a blind eye to them, but she was too pig-headed to do so, apparently fixated on the idea that "USW means USW".
 

Geon

Donor
A combination of:
  • No Zimmerman Telegram
  • No German USW
  • Germans stroking Wilson's ego and feigning interest in his peace initiatives

I'd say all of these three would be a good way to keep the U.S. neutral. But especially the third point.

The Germans could try to use the United States as a intermediary in peace talks with the allied powers. It might even have worked. At this point war weariness was evident on both sides. Other threads have discussed this but honestly I don't see the war lasting much longer without revolutions breaking out in the UK, France, Italy, and Germany (witness how bad things were in France and Germany in OTL.)

A neutral intermediary like the U.S. could be asked to host peace talks to end the conflict. Not only do peace talks start early, the U.S. is kept out of the war, and the Germans can negotiate a peace treaty that is much more acceptable then the one that is imposed on them at Versailles.

Also, bear in mind that there were several large enclaves of German immigrants throughout the U.S. at this time which was one of the reasons President Wilson wanted to avoid getting involved in WWI. There was plenty of political capital to be gained by showing the U.S. as a peacemaker here.
 
Assuming that Woodrow Wilson is the POTUS as in OTL, and nothing much is different in the U.S. itself, what would it take for the U.S. to remain NEUTRAL in World War I? No Lusitania incident, maybe?

Germany losing early without the need for American entry is probably the best way.
 

NoMommsen

Donor
Germany losing early without the need for American entry is probably the best way.
How to achieve this ?
Three major powers weren't able to do this for three years before the US as a forth power joined them.

EDIT :
Sry : Four, respectivly Five powers ... forgot about Japan.
(No offense meant against any japanese here.)
 
Last edited:
Top