Preparedness Movement

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The Preparedness Movement, also referred to as the Preparedness Controversy, was a campaign led by Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt to strengthen the military of the United States after the outbreak of World War I. Roosevelt wrote two books, America and the World War, and Fear God and Take Your Own Part to popularize the movement. Wood advocated a summer training school for reserve officers to be held in Plattsburg, New York.

The idea was originally opposed by President Woodrow Wilson, who believed the United States should be in a position of unarmed neutrality. Several organizations were formed around the Preparedness Movement and held parades and organized opposition to Wilson's policies. After the Lusitania was sunk by German U-boats on May 7, 1915 and Pancho Villa launched his raid against Columbus, New Mexico, Wilson's attitude changed. Congress passed the National Defense Act of 1916 on the third of June to authorize an enormous increase in the military, and the Preparedness Movement faded.^[1]

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