The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 105, July 2001 - April, 2002 Page: 51
741 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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"An Enemy Closer to Us Than Any European Power"
orders of the Central Powers. Cotton prices increased in early 1916, but
the sudden drop in prices in the previous year had a much longer
impact. Historian Arthur S. Link noted the event left a "residue of
intense anti-British sentiment" among southerners. Adding to Wilson's
headaches, the cotton crisis rekindled the animosity harbored by cotton
farmers and many businessmen toward northern financial centers. Most
resented the concentration of money and power in the Northeast and
brought this long-standing complaint into the fray. Even if most of these
producers and businessmen retained cultural and economic ties with
Britain, their positions floundered in the wake of the cotton embargo.
In addition, ongoing complaints from German Americans about anti-
German bias in press coverage of the war struck a nerve. These factors
combined with the desire to remain aloof from the war added to senti-
ments that strengthened neutrality. Texas newspapers reflected pro-neu-
trality opinions both in their news coverage and in their editorials in the
first year of the war. In spite of the hardships created by the cotton
crash, popular support in the press in Texas and the rest of the South
remained firmly opposed to intervention in the European war. Wilson's
popularity remained high, even while vocal opposition from Texas and
other Southern congressmen increased.15
Wilson's neutrality policy faced one of its most difficult tests following
the sinking of the Lusitania by a German submarine on May 7, 1915.
The event created a national crisis and a severe trial of President
Wilson's leadership. At first, the press and public reaction condemned
Germany. State Sen. J. C. McNealus of Dallas made front-page news
when he called the assault "unparalleled in modern times in the wanton-
ness, the cruelty and the disregard of all civilized human promptings."
The Texas Senate passed a resolution urging the United States to
declare war against Germany. The Dallas Morning News stated the attack
was a "crime against civilization" while the Houston Chronicle described it
as "a blow to national dignity." However, a few voices raised questions
about the incident even as the Lusitania's victims washed ashore. Gov.
James Ferguson urged caution and said people should not be "swayed or
excited by the passions of the hour." The Houston Post warned readers
"not be hasty in their judgment" and place their confidence in President
Wilson's "wisdom, courage and patriotism."'"16
1~ For a full discussion of the cotton crisis, see Arthur S. Link, "The Cotton Crisis, the South,
and Anglo-American Diplomacy, 1914-1915," in Link, The Hgher Realism of Woodrow Wlson and
Other Essays (Nashville: Vanderbilt Press, 1971), 309-329. For its political impact on Texas and
congressional reaction, see Gould, Progressives and Prohabstzonasts, 151-161.
'6 Dallas Morning News, May 9, 11, 1915; Houston Post, May 11, 12; Houston Chronicle, May 9, 10o,
1915. For a full discussion of the Lusatanza crisis, see Arthur S. Link, Wilson: Confusions and Crises,
1915-1916, vol. 4 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1964).2001
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 105, July 2001 - April, 2002, periodical, 2002; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101222/m1/59/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.