Reasons for Entering the War
German Submarine Warfare
•German U-boat (submarine)
•Changed the rules of naval warfare
•Element of surprise – give no warning to their targets
•Americans felt like this was unfair and unjust
British Influence
•Britain had destroyed the transatlantic cable connecting Germany and the US so
all communication came through Britain
•Information bias – helped shape the attitudes of US in favor of Britain
•Exaggerated stories to try and create a reaction. A common story in
newspapers was that German troops would chop off the hands of Belgian babies.
After the war this was proved to be untrue.
Sinking of the Lusitania: British passenger liner
•Germany spotted the Lusitania in the Irish Sea and suspected correctly that it
was carrying weapons for Allies
•Fired on the line and within 18 minutes the ship sunk with its 1,198 passengers
•128 of the dead were Americans
•Sparks started flying at home
Zimmerman Telegram
A telegram from Germany was intercepted on its way to Mexico by Britain and
they released it to the US. It was an agreement that if the US decided to declare
war, Germany would form an immediate alliance to Mexico promising them that
if they would fight, Germany would recover their lost lands: Texas, New Mexico,
and Arizona.
Russian Revolution
By 1917, Russia had suffered enormous casualties:
1.8 million killed
2.4 million taken prisoner
2.8 million sick or wounded
In the middle of this, Russia had its own revolution and the czar was overthrown.
The US did not like the czar and once he was gone it was one less stumbling
block.
o After being elected on the promise of keeping the US out of war, Wilson
declares war.