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FormatBook Whole
Author, MonographicRoba, William
Title, MonographicWhat Would You Do? Congressman Henry Vollmer and the Anti-War Movement, 1914-1918
Place of Publication[Quad Cities, IA]
PublisherHesperian Press
Date of Publication1991
Extent of Work29
AbstractA careful consideration of the events leading up to America's direct intervention into the Great War on the side of Britain indicates that 1915 was the decisive year. By using Congressman Henry Vollmer [a German-American from Davenport, Iowa] as a case study for understanding those events, three distinct ironies of history appear. First, Vollmer and other Democratic Congressmen were elected because of the power and patronage of Wilson's government. Those representing sizeable numbers of German-American constituents had to oscillate in their loyalty as the events of the Great War unfolded. Second, Vollmer had to deal with Wilson's wrath as he attempted to enact an embargo that would have really implemented the President's vow to remain neutral. Third, the embargo was defeated partially because of [William Jennings] Bryan whom everyone in the Friends of Peace" thought was indispensable as proof of the group's neutrality."
NotesAn essay presented at the fifteenth annual symposium of the Society for German-American Studies, Washington, DC, 26 April 1991
Call NumberMKI P2004-28
MKI TermsVollmer, Henry/ German Americans -- Iowa/ Politics/ World War, 1914-1918