On Feb 7, 11:11=A0am, David Tenner wrote:
> President Bryan will make plenty of mistakes and will be subject to plent=
y of
> (sometimes justified) ridicule from the press. =A0Still, as I note there,=
at
> least Bryan did sense something very important about American public
> opinion--which is that it definitely did not want to get into the war.
Yabbut... ISTM that Bryan might well have
put his foot in it in 1914. Bryan was AIUI
an enthusiast for the liberation of Cuba.
I don't suggest that he would get the U.S.
into the war in 1914. But he might very well
react extremely strongly to the . of
Belgium. Having direct access to the reports
of diplomats and others, he'll be more upset
than the public at large, and won't know at
the time that he's an outlier.
Perhaps it might get to the point of breaking
relations with the Central Powers and expelling
their diplomats, or supporting a private or
quasi-governmental relief program "for the
victims of German aggression".
And having picked a side, he's not going to
react well to criticism of his position.
Anti-CPs implies pro-Allies, which is pro-
British and pro-Russian. That will not play
well with Irish-, Polish-, and Jewish-Americans.
(German-, Austrian-, and Magyar-Americans
are already alienated.)
Bryan will be muttering (or orating) about
traitors and apologists for mass murder.
This will have a lot of knock-on effects.
As H. L. Mencken cynically noted, TR was an
admirer of German militarism, and couldn't
bring himself to denounce Germany for several
weeks after the invasion of Belgium.
ATL, TR may feel he has to compete with Bryan.
By 1916... neither TR nor the Republican
Old Guard is prepared to run an outright
anti-war campaign, but a lot of Progressives
are, with the support of the tranche of
Democrats alienated by Bryan's rhetoric
and attitude.
Thus, another three-way election?
Or does TR in 1914 decide to oppose Bryan
as warmonger and British tool? Denounce
the reports from Belgium as British
propaganda, and make himself the leader of
anti-war (and by implication pro-CP)
sentiment? |
