When World War I began in August of 1914, Woodrow Wilson was continuing the spirit of Progressive Reform enunciated in his First Inaugural Address. Wilson's Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan, took a firm position against any American involvement in this war to end all wars but events ineluctably pulled the United States ever closer to entering the conflict in spite of considerable opposition. Wilson's Second Inaugural Address illustrated to what degree his and the country's concerns had changed, foreshadowing his Declaration War on April 2, 1917. Wilson, who in his narrow victory in 1916 had promised to keep us out of war was soon promoting another slogan that we were going to Europe "to make the world safe for democracy."
The war had already become an incredibly bloody stalemate highlighted by unceasing and costly trench warfare. While the American Expeditionary Force did not actually enter the fray until later in 1917, by the time the troops arrived in Europe domestic life in the United States had already been transformed by a comprehensive plan of mobilization that subjected American citizens to bureaucratic regimentation and constant bombardment by a propaganda machine that demanded 100% loyalty from all American citizens. Opponents to the war soon found themselves in violation of far-reaching espionage laws that severely restricted the right of free speech, leading to the jailing of famous dissenters such as Eugene Debs and two famous Supreme Court decisions that affirmed the right of the government to limit speech under certain conditions.
The AEF soon swung the tide in favor of the Allies and by November 11, 1917, the war to end all wars would soon be followed by a proposed agreement, the Treaty of Versailles, that Woodrow Wilson believed would guarantee peace for generations. Wilson's famous Fourteen Points contained a League of Nations that would enforce the provisions of the agreement but the United States Senate, led by the stalwart opposition of Henry Cabot Lodge, refused to ratify the agreement and Woodrow Wilson, his health broken by his strenuous campaign to promote the Treaty, saw control of the government transferred to his advisor, Colonel House, and his wife.