Germany's chief blunder regarding America was due to her contempt for
this sleepy, easy-going, unarmed, peace-loving nation of Quixotic
chivalry toward small nations, or big ones that are weak, and her
utterly grotesque worship of riches and luxury. On no other hypothesis
is it possible to account for the endless series of insults, injuries
and treacheries that were handed out to the United States from the
early sinking of the _Robert Dollar_ down to the final declaration of
ruthless submarine war on American commerce and American lives.
Never in all the history of nations did any strong nation ever endure
without war one one-hundredth part of the causes for war that were
heaped upon us by Germany between August 1, 1914, and the final
severance of relations. For the sake of "peace" with a mad-dog military
despotism, we endured insults, injuries and murders until the whole
world looked at us in stupefied amazement. Why, in the first year of
our Civil War, we came to the very verge of war with England because
we halted at sea the British steamer _Trent_, and took from it, as
ordinary prisoners of war, the two Confederate commissioners, Mason
and Slidell. But Germany sank scores of American ships, and drowned
hundreds of Americans,--and still we went on seeking to avoid the clash
of arms.