ABSTRACT
Gustav Stresemann has an obvious claim to rank among those politicians who had a real influence on international politics. In 1903, after the National Social Union had petered out, Stresemann joined the National Liberals. The right wing of the National Liberal Party, among whom Ruhr industrialists were heavily represented, were unhappy with Bassermann's mildly progressive leadership and angered by the prominence given to his upstart lieutenant. In addition nationalism was a unifying force in the National Liberal Party, in contrast to its divisions over domestic politics, and unity was all the more necessary given the alarming success of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the 1912 elections. Nevertheless, the result was to increase the pressure on Bethmann Hollweg. Bassermann and Stresemann pressed the arguments in favour on Bethmann Hollweg in the Reichstag's Finance Committee in March 1916. The crucial decision was how to balance the chance of driving Britain to surrender against the risk of America entering the war.
