I Will Be Reviewing And Briefly Summarizing Documents Of

Germany agreed not to sink passenger or merchant ships without warning, if US could stop Britain’s blockade. US could not, but accepted anyway.

​But however Britain was the country America did the most trading with, and they had ships traveling over the seas all the time and that became a problem between Germany and the United States. And that is when Germany announced unlimited warfare in the Atlantic ocean against all ships in February 1915. The warning said this “Vessels flying the flag of great Britain, or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travelers sailing in the war zone on ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk” (historyinanhour.com) So all ships neutral or not if they entered the war zone around Britain, they would be attacked by the German U-boats and if they did decide to travel over the Atlantic in the war zone, they did it at their own risk because the warning was made clear. (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-unleash-u-boats)

The U-boats one of Germany’s of most intimidating naval weapons. The U-boat, also known as a submarine, which is a boat that could go underwater. The common U-boat during World War One could carry 35 men and 12 torpedoes (history.com). The Germans would use the element of surprise by torpedoing ships such as their enemies or neutral countries.For example, the ship the Lusitania, a british ocean liner that had been coming from New York to Liverpool had been torpedoed without warning, which ended up killing 1,189 people. The Germans would use the U-boat for unrestricted warfare which caused the Germans’ to have one of the most

1.1: Before an actual invasion, the issue of the German U-boats had to be resolved. In the Atlantic ocean, allied ships that were carrying

On May 7th, 1915, the Lusitania, a British oceanliner, was sunk by German submarines, killing 128 Americans. Americans were outraged as they read the headlines in their newspapers, such as the New York Times, who wrote that over a thousand passengers were dead (doc 5). However, yellow journalism is extremely prominent in that article, as the writers over exaggerate claiming that a grave crisis is at hand, and fail to mention that less than 150 of the dead were Americans and the fact that the Lusitania was armed heavily, as many historians claim. When the Sussex, an English Channel ferry, was torpedoed in 1915, America was fed up with unrestricted submarine warfare, and made Germany promise to cease their attacks on ships, leading to the Sussex Pledge being issued on May 4th, 1916. In the pledge Germany promised they would no longer target passenger ships, and that merchant ships wouldn’t be sunk without the presence of weapons being established and the safety of all passengers and crew. (doc. 9) Nevertheless in both the case of the Lusitania and of the Sussex, America was not the target of the attacks and America never gave unrestricted submarine warfare a second thought until Americans died or came close to dying, showing that the United States only cared about the war when America was involved. Americans were also warned against traveling around the English

Following Britain’s blockade, Germany adopted a counterstrategy of unrestricted sinking ships in open seas. The first action was the sinking of the Lusitania. In the afternoon of May 15th a German submarine torpedoed the cruise liner where 123 American men, women and children lost their lives (Simpson, 1972). In addition the Sussex, a passenger ferry was torpedoed one year later. Germany forces has violated the pact of naval warfare as well as hindered the American’s high sea trade. Despite holding isolationism, the conflict has significantly affected the United States. The events are not only a threat to the sovereignty but will also cripple down

Major acts of mobilization were imbedded in Roosevelt’s various policies. More specifically, the Neutrality Act of 1939, the Burke-Wadsworth Act, the Lend-Lease Act and other executive orders all alluded toward an eventual admittance into the war. For example, Roosevelt had already responded to the European war by issuing a proclamation of neutrality. Simultaneously, he notably took a number of steps to indirectly aid Britain’s cause. Thus, the Neutrality Act of 1939, the fourth Neutrality Act passed through Congress, shifted the nation’s gears by permitting belligerents to purchase war materials, provided that they paid cash and carried the goods away on their own vessels. German cargo ships would be denied this fortunate opportunity since the American ports in the vicinity of the

In 1917, after 3 years of neutrality, the US War German Empire DECLARED type WWI and thereby vài reason. a ship, unrestricted submarine warfare the US

Late in the winter of 1917, tensions around the world grew in the midst of World War I. The U.S. remained neutral in the beginning; however, the U.S. severed diplomatic connections with Germany in early February after Germany announced their agenda (“Wilson's War Message to Congress.”). Germany had declared their intent to sink any sea vessel that sought to approach the ports of Great Britain, Ireland, or the ports of its enemies within the Mediterranean. Breaking its promise, Germany put aside all restraints of law or of humanity, sinking every vessel, along with passenger ships, with no warning. President Wilson, after witnessing a plethora of inhumane atrocities, spoke before an irritated and aggravated congress, asking them for a declaration of war. The congress, who had voted to abstain from entering the war, reversed their decision and overwhelmingly voted to enter World War I (“Wilson's War Message to Congress.”). President Wilson expertly used a variety of appeals and rhetorical devices to sway the congress in his favor.

U-boats were military submarines used by Germany in the war as a weapon. When the German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg proclaimed Germany’s purpose to use unrestricted submarine warfare, his one main concern was that it would aggravate an American response – in this he was to be precise. By 1917, the war was not going okay for Germany on the Western Front. Unrestricted submarine warfare was an outcome of anxiety and the belief that the fierceness of such a tactic might just keep America out of the war if the outcomes were remarkable and outrageous enough.

Naval warfare had not turned out to be an especially critical factor for either the Germans or the British, and there were no truly decisive naval battles. The submarine, however, produced some earth-shaking results. Submarine warfare led to the sinking of the Lusitania, a passenger ship. This occurred during a submarine blockade of Britain. The Germans placed no limit on their campaign of submarine warfare. This campaign helped draw the United States into the conflict. Without submarine warfare, perhaps the U.S. never enters the conflict. By June of 1918, the Allied lines were so devastated that the German commander Ludendorff felt he could wire the Kaiser and state that the war might end soon. Then, U.S. troops began to arrive, as many as 250,000 a month. The Allies rallied. Germany may well have won without the infusion of U.S. troops into the battle. So, in a very unexpected way, new technology-- the deadly submarine warfare of the Germans had a decided impact on the war.

Proclamation of Neutrality The document that I chose to interpret is called Proclamation of Neutrality. It is about George Washington refusing to protect any Americans and who the major belligerents were. In the beginning, George Washington has declared what position the United States would be in the war. The war was the European war.

May 4th 1916: Fearing the entry of the United States into war, Germany attempted to appease them by issuing the Sussex pledge, which promised a change in Germany’s naval warfare policy; passenger ships would not be targeted, merchant ships would not be sunk until the presence of weapons had been established and would not be sunk without provision for the safety of

By January 1917 representatives from the German navy convinced the military leadership and Kaiser Wilhelm II that a resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare could help defeat Great Britain within five months. German policymakers argued that they could violate the “Sussex pledge” because the United States was not being neutral (Office of the Historian). In January of 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to Mexico, offering United States’ territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause (Childress). Accordingly, on January 31, 1917, the German Ambassador, Count Johann von Bernstorff, presented U.S. Secretary of State Robert Lansing with a note declaring Germany’s intention to restart unrestricted submarine warfare the following day. Stunned by the news, President Wilson went before Congress on February 3 to announce that he had severed diplomatic relations with Germany (Office of the Historian). Throughout February and March 1917, German submarines targeted and sunk several American ships, and many American passengers and seamen died (Office of the Historian). On February 26, Wilson asked Congress for authority to arm American merchant ships with U.S. naval personnel and equipment.

On February 3, 1915 the Germans set for a Proclamation which state that the waters around the British Isles were to be considered an official war zone. Therefore the Germans felt they had the right to sink any ship that entered what they consider to be the war zone. Germany continued to sink merchant vessels without thinking of the safety of passengers and its crew. This was violation of the international rules of warfare.