It's easy to forget there was a time before the special relationship, when the United States might never have gotten involved in the First World War.

Three figures, two presidents and a social reformer - Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Jane Addams - were key in shaping American foreign policy as the Great War commenced.

In this episode James is joined by Neil Lanctot to find out why the US entered the European theatre of WW1 when so many of its citizens were against the idea back in the heyday of American isolationism.

Neil's book Approaching Storm, The: Roosevelt, Wilson, Addams, and Their Clash Over America's Future is available on Amazon here.

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