Shall It Be Again?

While we now view America’s entry into World War I as a necessary step to save Europe from German domination, it was actually one of the most controversial decisions in U.S. history. At the time, the nation was deeply divided, with huge portions of the population bitterly opposed to joining the fight. In Shall It Be Again?, written just four years after the war ended, John Kenneth Turner contends that President Woodrow Wilson led an unwilling nation into conflict under false pretenses. Turner systematically dismantles the official justifications for the war, labeling them as either hollow or fraudulent. He exposes how Americans were herded into the conflict through government deceit and the harsh suppression of free speech. By reviewing the methods that President Wilson and his allies throughout society and the business sector used to silence dissent and coerce public cooperation in the war effort, Turner provides a striking look at the origins of modern federal power. - Summary by Ted Lienhart