This book opens with the second inaugural address and contains the
President's messages and addresses since the United States was forced
to take up arms against Germany. These pages may be said to picture
not only official phases of the great crisis, but also the highest
significance of liberty and democracy and the reactions of President
and people to the great developments of the times. The second
Inaugural Address with its sense of solemn responsibility serves as a
prophecy as well as prelude to the declaration of war and the message
to the people which followed so soon.
The extracts from the Conscription Proclamation, the messages on
Conservation and the Fixing of Prices, the Appeal to Business
Interests, the Address to the Federation of Labor and the Railroad
messages present the solid every-day realities and the vast
responsibilities of war-time as they affect every American. These are
concrete messages which should be at hand for frequent reference,
just as the uplift and inspiration of lofty appeals like the Memorial
Day and Flag Day addresses should be a constant source of
inspiration. There are also the clarifying and vigorous definitions
of American purpose afforded in utterances like the statement to
Russia, the reply to the communication of the Pope, and, most
emphatically, the President's restatement of War Aims on January 8th.
These and other state papers from the early spring of 1917 to
January, 1918, have a significance and value in this collected form
which has been attested by the many requests that have come to Harper
& Brothers, as President Wilson's publishers, for a war volume of the
President's messages to follow _Why We Are At War_.
As a matter of course, the President has been consulted in regard to
the plan of publication, and the conditions which he requested have
been observed. For title, arrangement, headings, and like details the
publishers are responsible. They have held the publication of the
President's words of enlightenment and inspiration to be a public
service. And they think that there is no impropriety in adding that
in the case of this book, and _Why We Are At War_, the American
Red Cross receives all author's royalties.
In the case of the former book the evolution of events which led to
war was illustrated in messages from January to April 15th. In the
preparation of this book, which begins with the second inaugural, it
has seemed desirable to present practically all the messages of
war-time, and therefore three papers are included which appeared in
the former and smaller book, in addition to the twenty-one messages
and addresses which have been collected for this volume.