William Jennings Bryan - Secretary of State: 1913–1915

Secretary of State: 1913–1915

For supporting Woodrow Wilson for the presidency in 1912, Bryan was appointed as Secretary of State. However, Wilson only nominally consulted him and made all the major foreign policy decisions himself. Bryan negotiated 28 treaties that promised arbitration of disputes before war broke out between the signatory countries and the United States. He had made several attempts to negotiate a treaty with Germany, but ultimately was never able to succeed. In the civil war in Mexico in 1914, Bryan supported American military intervention.

In September 1914 he wrote President Wilson urging mediation in the First World War:

It is not likely that either side will win so complete a victory as to be able to dictate terms, and if either side does win such a victory it will probably mean preparation for another war. It would seem better to look for a more rational basis for peace.

Bryan tried to choke the American credit to the Entente, saying "money is the worst of all contrabands because it commands everything else" but eventually yielded. He also pointed out that by traveling on British vessels "an American citizen can, by putting his own business above his regard for this country, assume for his own advantage unnecessary risks and thus involve his country in international complications"

Wilson's demands for "strict accountability for any infringement of rights, intentional or incidental" after the sinking of the Lusitania troubled Bryan, leading to his resignation in June 1915.