Lusitania Involvement In World War I

While the war raged on into 1916, the United States transitioned from a “debtors nation” into a “creditors nation”. Between 1913 and 1916 American exports rose from 2 billion dollars annually to 6 billion. (Zieger, 16) While it was clear that the Allies were greatly indebted to the United States Wilson saw the opportunity to the U.S. influence to provoke peace between the warring nations. As American sentiment began rising about expanding an American army, most Americans believed that the United States had a responsibility to bring both sides together and resolve the war.

The American decision to declare war on Germany was influenced by several factors of varying degrees. To a great extent, the aggressive German naval policy contributed to the involvement of the United States in World War I. A secondary influence on this decision derived from U.S. economic interests abroad and on the homefront. Another influence leading to America’s entrance into war was the use of Allied propaganda. Therefore, the combination of German naval policy, American economic interests, and allied propaganda influenced to the American decision

President Roosevelt realized that Britain needed aid or else the U.S. would become a lone “free” nation in a fascist-dominated world. The American military needed to be mobilized in order to assist the Allies or democracy would be in grave danger. Roosevelt plead his case to the American people in his famous “Quarantine Speech” in which he called for an end to dangerous isolationism; however, his speech was not well-received and he was criticized for his desire to “entangle” the U.S in European foreign affairs (Document D). With Britain the only remaining power fighting against Germany, Roosevelt felt compelled to offer aid in some way. In 1940, Roosevelt boldly transferred fifty World War I destroyers to Britain in exchange for eight valuable defense bases stretching from Newfoundland to South America. As bombs dropped over Britain, Americans began to realize that their interests were intricately tied to Britain’s and that they must offer aid or else the battle would come to American soil soon. The goals of American foreign policy were reversed when Congress repealed the now defunct Neutrality Acts and officially ended their Neutrality. The U.S. began openly selling weapons to Britain on a “cash-and-carry” basis so as to avoid attacks on American ships. When this was not enough, Roosevelt devised the

When World War 1 began in 1914, the United States was neutral and wanted to remain that way because their chief objective was to continue doing business with Great Britain, France and Russia (Keene, Cornell & O’Donnell, 2013). By remaining neutral, America would benefit from all sides. We know that this would cause hatred among other nations. However, what really caused the United States to part-take in the war was the “sinking of the Lusitania ship by a German submarine.” This was a British Passenger ship that was transitioning from New York to the British Islands and had crossed into the war-zone. This was not a mistake as what was described in that driver who took the wrong turn, ending the lives of Archduke Francis and his wife that started the initial war 1 (Keene, Cornell & O’Donnell, 2013, p. 595). Was that ship smuggling ammunition and other contraband on board the passenger ship? If this is true, we can see how the heart of man is very brutal; the love of money is the root to all evil. America had to find a way in protecting their loan to Britain. Overall, one can say, if Archduke had given Serbia its independence from Australia to a Slavic state, would there be a World War 1 (DeVry University, 2016)

a. Wilson realized the economic advantages of remaining a neutral country, and understood that the United States’ abundance in industry and its large domestic consumer market meant that the national economy was not under any immediate threat. Furthermore, as the world’s leading manufacturer and economic power, the United States became the primary supplier of the Allied war effort. As a result trade with the Allied nations fueled America’s industrial, services, and agricultural sectors, as American exports of steel, grain, clothes, food, money, weapons, etc, and brought about the biggest economic boom in U.S. history. American banks lent billions of dollars to the Allied coalition. The United States, however, did not trade strictly with the Allied nations, and for a time exploited its status as a neutral country to conduct trade with Germany, that was until Britain harassed American goods back to English ports. In spite of this trade with the Allied nations continued, and the national economy flourished from the sale of non-contraband goods. Wilson therefore had little reason to claim any greater a stake in the European war than strictly business. Moreover, the United States, as a result of the Second Industrial Revolution, enjoyed a self-sufficient economy founded on the nation’s vast array of industry and a steady supply of valuable resources like oil and steel. America’s industries were perfectly suited to the nation’s

Yet, events in Europe were altering President Wilson's outlook on the war. Germany's campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare was the cause of the loss of American lives in the Atlantic. The sinking of the Lusitania, a British liner, off the coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915 by a German U-boat that killed 128 Americans was a harsh reality that

### appears to be part of Esssay 384218##World War 1, also known as The Great War, is the fifth-deadliest conflict in history. It was mainly a battle for independence between countries, and until April 6, 1917 the U.S. had tried to pull away from it. Only about 20% of America had actually wanted to get involved, while about 80% had voted against any American involvement. When the American passenger boat known as the Lusitania had been destroyed by German U-boats and the Germans had broken their promise of not destroying any more American ships, there truly was no choice but to fight with the Allies against the Central Powers. The pros and cons of entering this war are very debatable, yet quite factual when basing them on life in this time period. Three pro arguments that were relevant would be that the Germans needed to be stopped, that the war would actually lead to peace, and that it had certainly improved our nation. Three con arguments could be that the Great Depression was pushed with the U.S. being involved, that the Allies really didn’t need America’s assistance, and that people believed that this war would not lead to peace at all.

The loans are what were financing the war for Britain and France. Furthermore, the British and the French were also purchasing arms on United States credit. The Americans wanted to make sure they got paid back so they entered war to ensure that they go their money repaid to them.

Preceding America’s entry into World War I, the country claimed autonomy wanting no affiliations with the European war; conversely, America was supplying war machinery to the European nations. In the World War I & Its Aftermaths, Tizoc Chavaz states, “In October 1914, President Wilson approved commercial credit loans to the combatants, which made it increasingly difficult for the nation to claim impartiality

World War I began in 1914 but America remained neutral until its entrance into the war in 1917. The U-boats sinking of the British liner Lusitania in 1915, the sinking of five American ships in 1917, and the “Zimmerman telegram” sent from Germany to Mexico led up to America’s declaration of war. America’s involvement in World War I not only impacted the war front but also the home front.

On July 28th of 1914, the first shots of what came to be the world’s first “total war” were fired. The war would become the first arms contest fought primarily by large, organized nations since the dawn of the industrial revolution (Marshall, 1964). Though the war was waged between July 1914 and November 11, 1918, the United States of America did not begin sending troops until 1917. They united with the allied powers after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in 1915, an event that outraged Americans due to the loss of 128 American citizens on board (1964). Meanwhile, higher education in the United States began to see a drastic change that would transform

then increased trade with the Allies, Britain and France, which gave them closer ties with the Allies forces. Secondly, the German navy launched a U-boat submarine, which torpedoed the British luxury liner Lusitania and killed 128 Americans in the process. Next, the U.S. intercepted a telegram in which Germany’s foreign secretary sent to the German minister in Mexico City. The telegram was urging Mexico to join the Central Powers in the war, and Germany promised to help Mexico recover Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in return. This threatened the territorial integrity of the U.S. The final reason for U.S. involvement in the war was when U-boats started attacking American ships without warning. This forced President Wilson to ask for a declaration of war before a special session of Congress.

128 Americans that were on board were killed. However, the ‘Lusitania’ was not an American ship and Wilson accepted the Germans change in policy that their U-boats would now adopt ‘cruiser’ tactics and surface to attack ships with guns fitted onto their decks. While the German chancellor managed to avoid a major diplomatic issue this time, the German military was adamant that the ‘cruiser’ tactic was not going to be used as it was to dangerous for the lightly armored U-boats of the time.

One of the factors that led to the United States’ entry into World War I, was the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. This is thought to be one of the

The United States entered World War I because of German submarine warfare against merchant ships trading with Britain and France, which led to the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in which 128 American lives were lost. [3] The US had also intercepted the Zimmerman Telegram which had been sent between Germany and Mexico, urging Mexico to declare war against the United States. [4]