Broadside, text in two columns (37 x 25 1/2 inches). America enters World War I: a French broadside printing of President Wilson's address to Congress asking for a declaration of war against Germany. An incredible relic of the war to end all wars. After years of insisting on neutrality, the sinking of the Lusitania and the infamous Zimmermann Note scandal persuaded Wilson that the time for action was at hand. On 2 April 1917, before a special joint session of Congress, Wilson asked for a declaration of war against Germany, and America entered World War I. Wilson's speech -- known as "The world must be made safe for democracy" speech -- would be a defining moment of his presidency, and America entering the war would, in turn, be the beginning of the end of the first World War. In the speech, printed here in French on a large sheet and no doubt hung in the streets of Paris, Wilson began with a harsh condemnation of German unrestricted submarine warfare and a review of the reasons why neutrality was no longer possible. He then continued: "With a profound sense of the solemn and even tragical character of the step I am taking and of the grave responsibilities which it involves, but in unhesitating obedience to what I deem my constitutional duty, I advise that the Congress declare the recent course of the Imperial German government to be in fact nothing less than war against the government and people of the United States; that it formally accept the status of belligerent which has thus been thrust upon it; and that it take immediate steps, not only to put the country in a more thorough state of defense but also to exert all its power and employ all its resources to bring the government of the German Empire to terms and end the war . "The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of nations can make them . "It is a distressing and oppressive duty, gentlemen of the Congress, which I have performed in thus addressing you. There are, it may be, many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free. To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured. God helping her, she can do no other.". Seller Inventory # 29324

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Message du President Wilson lu au Congres ...

Publisher: Impremerie des Journaux officiel, Paris

Publication Date: 1917

Store Description

Donald A. Heald Rare Books offers the finest examples of antiquarian books and prints in the areas of Botany, Ornithology, Natural History, Americana & Canadiana, Native Americans, Voyages & Travels, Maps & Atlases, Photography and more. Founded in England in 1972, we have formed and contributed to important private and institutional collections. Items of note which we have placed include a unique copy of Abbot?s "Natural History of the Rarer Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia" with plates on vellum, an extremely rare extra-illustrated large paper Spanish edition of Blaeu?s "Atlas Mayor," Curtis's "North American Indian," a copy of the Federalist Papers in boards, the first separate printing of the Bill of Rights, and a large paper issue of Redout�'s "Les Roses" with the plates in two states. We are renowned for our extensive print inventory which is unsurpassed in quality. Our Sporting collection recently incorporated the complete print stock of Ackermann & Son of London, established in 1783. We are members of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, where Mr. Heald has served on the Board of Governors as Treasurer, Security Chairperson, and as Chairman of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. We are members of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, and the American Historical Print Collectors Society. Mr. Heald is a member of the Grolier Club, and the American Antiquarian Society.

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Donald A. Heald Rare Books (ABAA)
NY, U.S.A.

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To order, please telephone or e-mail. Payment may be made by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, America Express, check, or by wire transfer (please ask for details). Paypal funds should be sent to info@donaldheald.com. Any purchase may be returned within ten days of receipt. We ask that you notify us of the return as soon as possible. Donald Heald, Donald Heald Rare Books, 124 East 74th Street, New York, NY 10021. Telephone: 212-744-3505. Email: info@donaldheald.com.

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