Against Entry.

William Randolph Hearst, the larger-than-life publisher of the New York American, the San Francisco Examiner, and many other major papers and magazines, opposed U.S. entry into World War I, both before and after it occurred. Hearst was no pacifist, as his enthusiasm for the war against Spain in 1898 had demonstrated. But from the beginning of war in 1914, and through the three years of official American neutrality, he and his papers argued that it was Europe's war, that the Allies would lose, and that there was no sense getting involved and sacrificing American lives. He was called anti-British (true), pro-German (false), and the most hated man in the country. His publications lost circulation, advertising revenue, and respect. Hearst was burned in effigy, not for the first or last time.

Anti-British.

Hearst disliked the English for several reasons. His wife was Irish American, and he...