Why was the United States so reluctant to enter World War I?

The United States was very reluctant to enter World War I for several reasons. One reason had to do with trade. We were trading with countries on both sides of the conflict. We knew that if we entered World War I, we would lose our trade with the countries against which we were fighting.

We also knew the war was likely to be a long and costly war. We really had no interest in getting dragged into a war that could last for years and lead to many American casualties. The cost of going to war would also be enormous in economic terms.

There were people who were fearful about what would happen to them if we went to war. It was pretty clearly that we were more supportive of the Allies than of the Central Powers. German-Americans were worried they would face harassment and discrimination if we went to war against Germany.

American interests were different than European interests. We weren’t interested in going to war to gain land. One of our goals was to not get land if we were on the winning side of World War I. When World War I began, we felt the Europeans were making a big mistake by going to war. Little did we know how right that assessment was. The results from World War I and the ensuing Versailles Treaty were some of the factors that led to the start of World War II less than 25 years after World War I ended.