Answer: to persuade Congress that the nation should enter the war against Germany.
Although President Woodrow Wilson was initially reluctant to enter the war in 1914, he found it increasingly difficult to remain neutral. He eventually delivered this message in 1917, with the intent of persuading Congress to enter WWI. The speech was motivated by many issues, but one of the main ones was the sinking of the Lusitania by German submarines, where 128 Americans died.
