“In the days and in the years that are to come we shall work for a just and honorable peace, a durable peace, as today we work and fight for total victory in war. We can and we will achieve such a peace.” — President Franklin D. Roosevelt, January, 20th, 1945
During this past week, the United States has a new Presidentelect in Donald J. Trump to lead this nation for the second time in the last three political terms. In our history, there have been major political elections that have fallen near Veterans Day. While the United States is not directly engaged in any wars, this country has openly supported the Ukrainians against Russia, Taiwan from the threats of China, and tried to mediate the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians over the Gaza Strip conflict. At this time, there are past moments that American Presidents carried out political campaigns through times of warfare and national foreign policy concerns. This process continues today through the transfer of power that will be constitutionally carried out in January. The Trump Administration will assume major concerns that were seen through the following examples of past presidential terms.
Campaigning that he “He Kept Us Out of War,” President Woodrow Wilson won his reelection during the Germans' U-boats targeting American civilian and commerce shipping in the Atlantic Ocean. Not far off the coast of Long Island, these weapons were in the process of sinking 50,000 tons of shipping, resources, and American lives were lost before Wilson declared war on Germany on April 6th, 1917. This nation was in a hard spot through the massive amount of trade that we conducted with
Europe and that Americans would not be easily swayed away from shipping our products to these ports. During the extent of this first term, Wilson was tested over his efforts to prevent the United States from abandoning the longstanding policy of neutrality.
Wilson was pleased to win his re-election with 277 Electoral College votes, but he had troubles keeping the United States out of a European war that raged for the last three years. Major ships like the Lusitania were sunk and the unrestricted use of submarines by the Germans pushed American citizens to call for war against them. Attempting to preserve neutrality that was established by President George Washington, Wilson, like Roosevelt’s World War II concerns in 1940, understood that America would eventually be involved in this war. Several months later, the Zimmerman Telegram was intercepted by the British and Wilson learned that Germany was trying to instigate Mexico into attacking the United States to regain some of its former territory. Germany refused to believe that America was neutral, as they fully traded with England and France, as their own shipping was disrupted by the strength of the British navy. Warnings were presented to the United States that if they continued to help these two nations that Germany would strike any resources that were shipped to their enemy. At this time, Wilson was a domestic leader through his reforms, but the second part of his term was dominated by calls of many American citizens to declare war against Germany.
Roosevelt was fatigued from leading America through the dark moments of the Great Depression and World War II. He ran for a fourth term with the
expectation of seeing the end of this horrific war that was fought against the totalitarian powers of Nazi Germany and the Japanese. By November 11th, American soldiers were in Eastern France and heading towards the German border. With the enemy being pushed back, it was estimated that the war would finally be won against Hitler’s forces with the hope that the Nazis would be defeated by Christmas. Around the world in the Philippines, MacArthur made good on his pledge to return to the site of one of the worst defeats in American military history. Roosevelt watched as the credibility of this nation was restored by forcing the Japanese out of this island nation and the freeing of thousands of American prisoners of war who survived the Bataan Death March and brutal enemy treatment.
From the June 6th, 1944, D-Day landings to the capture of Paris, the summer months were dangerous for the German Wehrmacht who were constantly attacked from the air and land. General George S. Patton was furious that supplies should have been sent to the
Third Army. Instead, they were allocated to Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery who believed that he could quickly shorten this war. Facing pressure from the widescale use of the VI and VII rockets that were falling on London, Eisenhower supported the British operations to carry out “Market Garden” against the Germans in Holland. Whereas these air drops gained some success against a surprised enemy, Montgomery failed to achieve his objectives, at the expense of valuable military resources that were not sent to reinforce the drive of Patton. But the war still progressed eastward with the United States military under the 5th Armored Division reaching Luxembourg by September. The First Infantry Division was near the German border through the Aachen Region and its artillery guns fired into Germany at this time. At this juncture, Roosevelt had one eye on the war and another on the Election of 1944 that saw him win 432 Electoral College votes against Republican Thomas Dewey from New York.
In 1968, President Richard
M. Nixon won 301 Electoral College Votes and narrowly won the Popular Vote. This was one of the most difficult years in American history through the death of Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. the refusal of President Lyndon B. Johnson to run for re-election, and the tenacity of the Vietnam War. From January to September, 80,000 North Vietnamese and the Vietcong soldiers attacked 100 American and South Vietnamese positions in the cities and jungle. Tet demonstrated the ability of the enemy to surprise the numerical strength of American forces where they placed additional military pressures on our political and military leaders. While American forces were widely assaulted, the communist gains were short lived, as they were turned back, but at a cost of 12,727 casualties.
In February, noted broadcaster Walter Cronkite stated, “more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.” President Johnson reportedly told an aide, “If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost middle America.” As Nixon campaigned before the Election of 1968 against Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace, the debate against the Vietnam War became louder and more aggressive. Once Nixon was elected, he was at the crossroads of fighting this war, trying to negotiate for a peace, and handling the massive anti-war protests. In 1968, the American troop strength in South Vietnam totaled 536,000 Armed Forces; by the time he was re-elected in 1972, our presence was only 24,000. Nixon inherited this dire situation and this demonstrated that our leaders do not always have the ability to pick and choose what may be determining factors within the success of their administrations