Excerpt from American Interest in Popular Government Abroad

In his memorable message to Congress of April 2, 1917, President Wilson, after describing at some length the recent proceedings of the German Government, declared that in the presence of its organized power, always lying in wait to accomplish we know not what purpose, there can be no assured security for the democratic governments of the world. We are glad, he continues, to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples included; for the rights of nations, great and small, and the privilege of men every where to choose their way of life and of obedience. The world must be made safe for democracy; its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. In this passage the President has asserted for himself and the Government of which he is the authorized spokesman two important propositions: The first is that sympathy with democracy, with government of the people, by the people, for the people, may properly be expressed not only in the private utterances of individual Americans, but even in the official and public utterances of our Government; that these democratic ideals of the American people may properly be taken into account in the conduct of their foreign relations. The second principle clearly implied is that this associa tion of democracy at home with democracy abroad rests not merely upon sentiment but upon an essential element of common interest - a common interest among democracies as such for mutual protection against states whose authority is secured largely by military force in the hands of heredi tary rulers. With the increasing interdependence of all the nations upon each other, the dominance of one type of government or the other is a matter of vital concern to the world at large. To those who think democracy worth saving in America, its fate in Europe or Asia can no longer be an indifferent matter. The world must be made safe for democracy.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.