Read the sentence from "Wilson's War Message to Congress." It was a war determined upon as wars used to be determined upon in the old, unhappy days when peoples were nowhere consulted by their rulers and wars were provoked and waged in the interest of dynasties or of little groups of ambitious men who were accustomed to use their fellow men as pawns and tools. In this sentence, Wilson compares the German government to governments of the past. What is he hoping to convey?
Answer
A
The comparison hopes to change the way governments look at decisions of war.
B
The comparison reminds the audience of how war was fought more often by emperors and kings.
C
The comparison makes the United States seem more suitable for war than Germany.
D
The comparison attempts to make the German government look uncivilized and brutal.
Explanation
Wilson says the war was decided by rulers without consulting the people, for the benefit of dynasties or ambitious leaders who treated people as tools. By comparing Germany’s government to these “old, unhappy” governments, he portrays it as backward and oppressive rather than democratic. This makes the German government seem uncivilized and brutal, as described in choice A.
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