Letters with President Woodrow Wilson

Theodore Roosevelt was an advocate of the United States intervening in the First World War.  In fact, all four of Roosevelt’s sons served in the war. His daughter Ethel also served in the war, but as a nurse.  Roosevelt believed that the United States needed to be ready to get involved or at least be prepared if the time came to join the war.

Since the beginning of the war, Roosevelt had been an outspoken advocate of the United States being prepared for the war in Europe, but President Wilson opposed his view.  When war finally became a real situation for the United States Roosevelt asked President Wilson if he could raise a squad of volunteers to fight in France, but President Wilson declined his offering.

Although President Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt did not see eye to eye on the issue of the war in Europe, they did express sympathy to one another when tragedy struck.