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World War I Undermines the European Example
World War I generated conflicting kinds of patriotism in the United States. Many Americans blamed the war on the corruption of European power politics and held up the United States, by contrast, as an international guardian of liberty and self-determination. This stance inspired sympathy for nationalist leaders in European countries and the immigrant groups that followed them. But it also produced a demand that emigrants to America reject every aspect of their cultural heritage and become 100% American.
The Allied victory in The Great War, won at a relatively low cost to Americans on the homefront, encouraged United States President Woodrow Wilson to enunciate a vision for a postwar world of perpetual peace. Because the United States was seen by some as a place where different national groups lived peacefully together, many hoped that the United States could teach that skill to the world.
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![Aufruf an Deutsche [Appeal to Germans]](ww1-appeal-sm.gif)
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