In early March he put arms on American ships in the hope that this would deter submarine attacks. The Germans began to sink American ships indiscriminately in mid-March, and on April 2 Wilson asked Congress to recognize that a state of war existed between the United States and the German Empire. Congress approved the war resolution quickly, and Wilson signed it on April 6.
The United States had been thrust into a position that it did not want to be in. President Wilson wished to remain neutral, but he knew that if Germany continued on the course they were headed an attack on America was imminent. Wilson knew that the dictatorship of Hitler's regime would be thrust on the United States, and this would threaten our freedom and democracy. The democratic nations that participated in World War I were now fighting to preserve their way of life. All that America had accomplished in her short existence was now in danger. The Americans would have to leave their borders and confront Germany in an effort to keep freedom alive. This freedom was a direct descendent from democracy and would not be easily taken away.
The ancient Greeks (mainly the Athenians) were a unique people. They believed that individuals should be free as long as they acted within the laws of Greece. This allowed them the opportunity to excel in any direction they chose. Individuality, as the Greeks viewed it, was the basis of their society. The ability to strive for excellence, no matter what the challenge, was what the Athenians so dearly believed in. This strive for excellence was the method from which they achieved such phenomenal accomplishments. These accomplishments astound us to this day. They also believed in the balance of mind and body. Although many of them strove to become soldiers and athletes, others ventured into philosophy, drama, pottery and the arts. The two most important concepts which the ancient Greeks followed were found inscribed on the great shrine of Delphi, which read "Nothing in excess" and "Know thyself". This philosophy greatly impacted the Greek civilization.
Athens was the intellectual center of Greece. It was one of the first city-states of its time, and is still world renowned as one of the most famous cities in the world. It was named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the city's patron. In 508 BC, Athens became one of the first societies in ancient times to establish democracy. Democracy came from the Greek words, demos, meaning people, and kratein, meaning to rule. This form of government was used at a meeting place which the Greeks called the Assembly. Here the citizens of Athens met monthly and discussed the affairs of state. There were no decisions made by government without first asking the Assembly.
Marko Ramius could never have realized that he was searching for something that had been found thousands of years ago. He, as well as the Russian people, could only know of freedom from capitalist stories and wives tales. The Soviet Union was hunting for the submarine Red October and its crew. The Soviet government had waged war with a few men whom it had trained and were fighting for communism that reward treachery with death. Captain Ramius was fighting for freedom and in the end it was worth a few more lives because of all the ones that had been lost to find it. Ramius was eventually embraced by the American and made it safely to the borders of the United Stated, but he would have also found his freedom at the bottom of the ocean in a Typhoon Class casket.
