The Lusitania
On May 7, 1915, the Lusitania, the "fastest vessel afloat," was sunk by a torpedo from a German submarine. The ship sank off the Irish coast in under twenty minutes, and 1,198 passengers and crew members, including 128 Americans, lost their lives. Just 861 people survived.
The German Embassy had issued a warning that appeared in New York newspapers:
Travelers intended to embark for an Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies.... Vessels flying the flag of Great Britain or any of her allies are liable to destruction.
The Lusitania had previously made a half dozen Atlantic round trips without incident, and few believed that a civilian passenger ship would be deliberately targeted.
Following the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, Germany would institute a moratorium on unrestricted submarine warfare. But pressure on the German high command to resume unrestricted submarine warfare was great. It was viewed as the only way to starve Britain and France into submission. It would be the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare that would ultimately bring the United States into the war.
Following the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, Germany would institute a moratorium on unrestricted submarine warfare. But pressure on the German high command to resume unrestricted submarine warfare was great. It was viewed as the only way to starve Britain and France into submission. It would be the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare that would ultimately bring the United States into the war.
The United States Enters the War
President Wilson was reluctant to enter World War I. When the War began, Wilson declared U.S. neutrality and demanded that the belligerents respect American rights as a neutral party. He hesitated to embroil the United States in the conflict with good reason. Americans were deeply divided about the European war and involvement in the conflict would certainly disrupt Progressive reforms. In 1914, he had warned that entry into the conflict would bring an end to Progressive reform. "Every reform we have won will be lost if we go into this war," he said. A popular song in 1915 was "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier."
In 1916, President Wilson narrowly won reelection after campaigning on the slogan, "He kept us out of war." His won the election with a 4,000 vote margin in California.
Toward Intervention
In 1916, President Wilson narrowly won reelection after campaigning on the slogan, "He kept us out of war." His won the election with a 4,000 vote margin in California.
Toward Intervention
Shortly after war erupted in Europe, President Wilson called on Americans to be "neutral in thought as well as deed." But quickly the United States began to lean toward Britain and France.
Convinced that wartime trade was necessary to fuel the growth of American trade, President Wilson refused to impose an embargo on trade with the belligerents. During the early years of the war, trade with the allies tripled.
This volume of trade quickly exhausted the Allies' cash reserves, forcing them to ask the United States for credit. In October 1915, President Wilson permitted loans to belligerents, a decision that greatly favored Britain and France. By 1917 American loans to the Allies had soared to $2.25 billion; loans to Germany stood at a paltry $27 million.
It was Germany's announcement in January 1917 that it would resume unrestricted submarine warfare that helped precipitate American entry into the conflict. Germany hoped to win the war within five months, and was willing to risk antagonizing Wilson on the assumption that even if the United States declared war, it could not mobilize quickly enough to change the course of the conflict.
Then a fresh insult led Wilson to demand a declaration of war. In March 1917, newspapers published the Zimmerman Note, an intercepted telegram from the German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmerman to the German ambassador to Mexico. The telegram said that if Germany went to war with the United States, Germany promised to help Mexico recover the territory it had lost during the 1840s, including Texas, New Mexico, California, and Arizona. The Zimmerman note and German attacks on three U.S. ships in mid-March led Wilson to ask Congress for a declaration of war.
One reason why Wilson decided to enter the war was so he could help design the peace settlement. Wilson viewed the war as an opportunity to destroy German militarism. "The world must be made safe for democracy," he told a joint session of Congress. Only six Senators and 50 Representatives voted against the war declaration.
Convinced that wartime trade was necessary to fuel the growth of American trade, President Wilson refused to impose an embargo on trade with the belligerents. During the early years of the war, trade with the allies tripled.
This volume of trade quickly exhausted the Allies' cash reserves, forcing them to ask the United States for credit. In October 1915, President Wilson permitted loans to belligerents, a decision that greatly favored Britain and France. By 1917 American loans to the Allies had soared to $2.25 billion; loans to Germany stood at a paltry $27 million.
It was Germany's announcement in January 1917 that it would resume unrestricted submarine warfare that helped precipitate American entry into the conflict. Germany hoped to win the war within five months, and was willing to risk antagonizing Wilson on the assumption that even if the United States declared war, it could not mobilize quickly enough to change the course of the conflict.
Then a fresh insult led Wilson to demand a declaration of war. In March 1917, newspapers published the Zimmerman Note, an intercepted telegram from the German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmerman to the German ambassador to Mexico. The telegram said that if Germany went to war with the United States, Germany promised to help Mexico recover the territory it had lost during the 1840s, including Texas, New Mexico, California, and Arizona. The Zimmerman note and German attacks on three U.S. ships in mid-March led Wilson to ask Congress for a declaration of war.
One reason why Wilson decided to enter the war was so he could help design the peace settlement. Wilson viewed the war as an opportunity to destroy German militarism. "The world must be made safe for democracy," he told a joint session of Congress. Only six Senators and 50 Representatives voted against the war declaration.
WW I Background Reading provided by Gilner Lehrman Institute
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