Neil Lanctot concludes with the revelation of the Zimmermann Telegram—a German proposal for an alliance with Mexico against the U.S.—which finally pushed the nation toward war. On April 2, 1917, Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war "to make th

Neil Lanctot concludes with the revelation of the Zimmermann Telegram—a German proposal for an alliance with Mexico against the U.S.—which finally pushed the nation toward war. On April 2, 1917, Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war "to make the world safe for democracy," though the vote was not unanimous. Progressive Senator Robert La Follette and the first Congresswoman, Jeannette Rankin, famously voted against the resolution. Following the war and the flawed Versailles Treaty, the three protagonists faced varied fates: TR died in 1919; Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke in late 1919 and died in 1924; and Jane Addams faced government surveillance as a "radical" during the 1920s. However, Addams' reputation was eventually restored; she won the Nobel Peace Prize in the early 1930s and was a beloved figure at the time of her death in 1935. Lanctot concludes by noting that Addams and the militant Schwimmer remained figures ahead of their time in their pursuit of global peace. (8)
1919