Phases of Public When Con gress, acting upon the recommendations of the President declared war on the Ger man Empire, there was still opposition in Congress and in the country at large, an opposition more serious indeed than is indi cated by the overwhelming majorities in both houses (72 to 6 in the Senate and 373 to 50 in the House). This is shown by a study of the Congressional debates and by reports from vari ous sections in the press and elsewhere. In this as in many other cases it was inevitable that even a democracy should depend in some meas ure upon the guidance of its chosen repre sentatives and especially of the executive. It is equally evident, however, that the decision once made soon received a more general and effective support from public opinion than any similar decision in the history of the country. There was not at any time after the outbreak of the war an opposition comparable in relative strength to that of the Tories in the War of Independence, of the Federalists in 1812 or the in the Civil War. Those who supported the war did so on various grounds some undoubtedly as a simple matter of acqui escence in a decision already made. A more definite analysis of opinion brings out certain other facts of interest.
The war and the nature of the ideals for which the United States was fighting were not a distinctly party issue. The pro-German ele ment had some influence in both the leading parties before the war but became almost negligible after its outbreak. Much the same thing may be said of the pacifist element, which, sympathizing with Wilson's international peace program, had accepted his conclusion that the first step toward such a goal must be the military defeat of the Prussian oligarchy.
To the Socialists the war brought a more difficult problem. They had always emphasized the solidarity of the working class interests as more important than strictly nationalistic aims. Nevertheless, after the outbreak of the Euro pean War, the majority of the Socialists in Europe supported their respective governments. In the United States, however, the majority wing of the Socialist organization persisted in its opposition to the war as a measure conceived in the interest of the capitalistic classes. This majority, made up of various elements, included genuinely idealistic pacifists, advocates of revo lutionary socialism who were ready to fish in troubled waters and a distinctly pro-German group, which was possibly the leading factor in determining the position of the party. On the other hand a considerable group of Social ist *intellectuals)) dissented from the party de cision and left the party. It is impossible to analyze accurately the Socialist vote in recent elections so as to determine the strength of pro-Germanism and pacifism as distinguished from economic discontent.
Before the outbreak of the war the senti ment in favor of American participation was most evident in the Northeastern States among the educated classes of that section who were most closely connected with the allied nations of Europe by various ties, economic, social, in tellectual. This was in part, at least, the obvi ous effect of geographic proximity. On the other hand, the large cities of the East fur nished considerable centres of pacifist and Socialist opposition, especially among their im perfectly Americanized immigrant population. In the Middle West the unification of public opinion on war issues was delayed by the pres ence of a strong German element, by a some what antiquated type of anti-British feeling and a certain lack of Interest in international rela tions. The last consideration naturally operated with still greater force in the rural areas of the South and in the States of the Far West. When, however, the war had actually begun the hearty acceptance of it as a great national enter prise was nowhere more striking than in many of the areas where the opposition had at first seemed most serious.
The attitude of labor was seen from the first to be one of crucial importance. How far would it accept the Socialist view that this was a *Wall Street War* in which the working class had no real interest? Fortunately for the coun try, the leaders of organized labor as a whole accepted the President's definition of the con flict as a war for democracy and depended upon his influence to safeguard their interests. There was some opposition to the policy within the ranks of organized labor, but the policy of the leaders was in general carried out. With the extreme radical wing of the labor movement, represented conspicuously by the I. W. W., the situation was quite different. Recruited outside the ranks of union labor from comparatively ignorant unskilled workers, and to a large ex tent from recent immigrants, it was easy for the leaders to draw their followers into un patriotic and anti-social forms of opposition. Probably this opposition would have been much less formidable if the employing class had laid more emphasis on constructive measures and less on mere repression.
In short, the war has revealed to an even greater extent than could have been expected the national unity of the American people. Most striking of all has been the loyalty of the great majority of the foreign-born population, including even those of German ancestry, not only to the national government, but to the ideals for which America stands among the nations.