artisanship, of course, was not lacking and frequently it was of an
earnest kind; in view of the large number of European-born who enjoyed
citizenship, sympathy with one side or the other was inevitably warm.
West of the Mississippi it was some time before the masses were stirred
from their indifference to and their ignorance of the struggle. But on
the Atlantic seaboard and in the Middle West opinion became sharply
divided. The middle-class German-Americans naturally espoused with some
vehemence the justice of the Fatherland's cause. German intellectuals of
influence, such as Hugo Muensterberg, inveighed against the hypocrisy and
the decadence of the Entente powers. Many Americans who had lived or had
been educated in Germany, some professors who had been brought into
contact with the Kaiser explained the "essentially defensive character"
of Germany's struggle against the threatening Slav. Certain of the
politically active Irish elements, anxious to discredit the British, also
lent their support to the German cause.

On the Atlantic coast, however, the general trend of opinion ran strongly
in favor of the Entente. The brave defense of the Belgians at Liege
against terrible odds evoked warm sympathy; the stories of the atrocities
committed by the invading Germans, constantly more frequent and more
brutal in character, enhanced that feeling. The valorous retreat of the
French and their last-ditch stand on the Marne compelled admiration.
Moreover, the school histories of the United States with their emphasis
upon La Fayette and the aid given by the French in the first fight for
liberty proved to be of no small importance in the molding of sympathy.
Business men naturally favored Great Britain, both because of financial
relationships and because of their dislike and fear of German commercial
methods.

But in all this partisanship there was little appreciation of the peril
that might result from German victory and no articulate demand that the
United States intervene. Warm sympathy might be given to one side or the
other, but the almost universal opinion was that the war was none of our
business. Even Theodore Roosevelt, who later was to be one of the most
determined advocates of American intervention on the side of the Entente,
writing for _The Outlook_ in September, 1914, congratulated the country
on its separation from European quarrels, which made possible the
preservation of our peace.

Whatever the trend of public o