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American entry into World War I
President Woodrow Wilson before Congress, announcing the break in

official relations with Germany on February 3, 1917
The United States entered into World War I in April 1917, more than
two and a half years after the war began in Europe.
Apart from an Anglophile element urging early support for the British
and an anti-Tsarist element sympathizing with Germany's war against
Russia, American public opinion had generally reflected a desire to stay
out of the war: the sentiment for neutrality was particularly strong
among Irish Americans, German Americans, and Scandinavian
Americans,[1] as well as among church leaders and women in general. On
the other hand, even before World War I had broken out, American
opinion had been overall more negative toward Germany than toward
any other country in Europe.[2] Over time, especially after reports of
German atrocities in Belgium in 1914 and following the sinking of the
passenger liner RMS Lusitania in 1915, American citizens increasingly
came to see Germany as the aggressor in Europe.
While the country was at peace, American banks made huge loans to the
Entente powers, which were used mainly to buy munitions, raw
materials, and food from across the Atlantic. Although Wilson made
minimal preparations for a land war before 1917, he did authorize a
ship-building program for the United States Navy. The president was
narrowly re-elected in 1916 on an anti-war platform.
By 1917, with Belgium and Northern France occupied, with Russia

experiencing political upheaval, and with the remaining Entente nations
low on credit, Germany appeared to have the upper hand in Europe.[3] At
the same time, the Ottoman Empire, Germany's ally, had lost Basra but
had retained its other territories in modern-day Iraq, Syria and Palestine.
However, an Entente economic embargo and naval blockade was
causing shortages of fuel and food in Germany, which then decided to
resume unrestricted submarine warfare. The aim was to break the
transatlantic supply chain to Britain from other nations, although the
German high command realized that sinking American-flagged ships
would almost certainly bring the United States into the war.
Germany also made a secret offer to help Mexico regain territories lost
in the Mexican–American War in an encoded telegram known as the
Zimmermann Telegram, which was intercepted by British intelligence.
Publication of that communique outraged Americans just as German
submarines started sinking American merchant ships in the North
Atlantic. Wilson then asked Congress for "a war to end all wars" that
would "make the world safe for democracy", and Congress voted to
declare war on Germany on April 6, 1917.[4] U.S. troops began major
combat operations on the Western Front under General John J. Pershing
in the summer of 1918.
The New York Times article expressed the immediate recognition of the
serious implications of the sinking, this lead story on May 8 having a
section (below what is pictured here) titled "Nation's Course in Doubt"
German submarines torpedoed ships without warning, causing sailors

and passengers to drown.
The Royal Navy successfully stopped the shipment of most war supplies
and food to Germany. Neutral American ships that tried to trade with
Germany were seized or turned back by the Royal Navy who viewed
such trade as in direct conflict with the Allies' war efforts.[5] The impact
from the blockade became apparent very slowly because Germany and
its allies controlled extensive farmlands and raw materials. It was
eventually successful because Germany and Austria-Hungary had
decimated their agricultural production by taking so many farmers into
their armies. The turnip winter of 1916/17 already showed severe
shortages. By 1918, German cities were on the verge of a major food
shortage; the front-line soldiers were on short rations and were running
out of essential supplies.
German submarines torpedoed ships without warning, causing sailors
and passengers to drown. Berlin explained that submarines were so
vulnerable that they dared not surface near merchant ships that might
be carrying guns and which were too small to rescue submarine crews.
Britain armed most of its merchant ships with medium caliber guns that
could sink a submarine, making above-water attacks too risky. In
February 1915, the United States warned Germany about the misuse of
submarines. On April 22, the German Imperial Embassy warned U.S.
citizens against boarding vessels to Britain, which would have to face
German attack. On May 7, Germany torpedoed the British passenger
liner RMS Lusitania, sinking her. This act of aggression caused the loss
of 1,198 civilian lives, including 128 Americans. The sinking of a large,
unarmed passenger ship, combined with the previous stories of
atrocities in Belgium, shocked Americans and turned public opinion
hostile to Germany, although not yet to the point of war. Wilson issued
a warning to Germany that it would face "strict accountability" if it sank
more neutral U.S. passenger ships. Berlin acquiesced, ordering its
submarines to avoid passenger ships.
Group Member’s
Kirubel Habtamu
Kalkidan Milsha
Hayat
Henok Nahom
Ikram Abedi
Ibrahim

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American entry into World War I

President Woodrow Wilson before Congress, announcing the break in

By 1917, with Belgium and Northern France occupied, with Russia

German submarines torpedoed ships without warning, causing sailors

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