In this paper, the topic that is going to be discussed is what pushed the United States to enter World War I, and how did its entry affect the outcome of the war. The two main reasons that caused the United States to enter the war are the Zimmerman Telegram and the issues of unrestricted submarine warfare. the following paragraphs are going to discuss these topics a little further. Many things lead up to the US involvement in WWI. Germany had declared war on Russia and France, and Great Britain had declared war on Germany. Americans were becoming angered by German attacks on our ships because we weren’t even fighting in this war. After events like these, among many others, Wilson had no choice but to enter the war. The first topic as mentioned earlier about the Zimmerman Telegram, this particular telegram, Germany asked Mexico to join the war on Germany’s side. The telegram was intercepted by the UK, and was given to the U.S. on February 24, 1917. Germany then proposed to help Mexico regain the lands that had been taken from it in the Mexican-American War of the 1840s. This was seen as a major insult and hostile action by Germany. Second, there was an issue of unrestricted submarine warfare. Early in the war, Germany had sunk both merchant and passenger ships without warning. Then later on Germany was trying to strangle the UK by sinking ships bringing supplies to the island nations. Germany then pledged to avoid sinking passenger ships and then warn merchant ships so they
Even though it is believed that World War I was initialized by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, others believe that there were a number of issues that played into the start of the war. There are said to be four areas that played into the cause of World War I, including the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the other three are imperialism, militarism, and nationalism. In this paper, we will discuss all of these areas to see how they played a part. We will also discuss what events drew the United States into World War I.
When President Wilson sought to enter the war, however, his objectives went beyond the defense of U.S. maritime interests. In his War Message to Congress, he stated that the U.S. objective was “to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world.” The U.S. Senate voted On April 4, 1917, in support of the measure to declare war on Germany. Two days later the House concurred. [5]
America enters the war for many reasons but the four causes were the sinking of the Lusitania, the economics,
On April 2, 1917 the United States entered WWI declaring war against Germany and its allies. The deciding factor for the U.S. to enter the war is due to one document, the Zimmerman Telegram. The document was sole proof to many Americans that Germany’s intentions were not only causing harm on European soil but bringing it across the seas to American soil. It stated that Germany had no intentions on slowing down its submarine warfare to which they hoped to keep the Americans neutral, but if they failed in doing so they offered an alliance among themselves and Mexico. The understanding was that Mexico would declare war on the United States and help the Germans and in return they would receive their land they had lost to America in years past,
Another major foreign policy action was the entry to World War I. On August 4, 1914 there was an outbreak in Europe. A war started between the central powers and the allied powers. The central powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungry, and the Ottoman Empire. They were also known as the Triple Alliance. The Allied Powers, also know as the Triple Entente consisted of Britain, France, and Russia. An immediate cause of the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. Some long term causes that started the war were militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. America tried to keep themselves isolated from the war in Europe. Before the war, America had an idea of neutrality. Neutrality is when American lives and property is not threatened. There was great ethnic diversity in the United States which led to a public union about war. The United States also had the idea of freedom of the seas. This meant the routes for trading were open. The United States had the desire to trade with both the central and the allied powers. The United States had a great economic interest in the war at this time. There were many different
In 1914 when World War I, started multiple U.S. ships traveling to Britain were damaged or sunk due to German mines. This started the tension between America and Germany. In 1915 Germany declared unrestricted warfare on any ship that entered the war zone around Britain. One month after declaring this, Germany announced that they had sunk the William P. Fyre, a private American vessel. “Germany apologized and called the attack an unfortunate mistake.” (History.com, America enters
The United States of America, one of the most powerful and strongest countries in the world, originally had a policy of isolationism. But it's unexpected entry into World War I, still remains controversial. Many reasons are thought to be factored into the United States’ decision for entry into the war, such as the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, the Zimmerman Telegram, and the prohibition of unrestricted submarine warfare. There are many reasons why the U.S entered the war however these are the most significant ones, as they had the most impact on the United States decision of entry into World War I.
By the time President Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany and its allies, the World War I had already been raging for four years (Doenecke, 2010, p. 1). Prior to this declaration of war, America had tried to remain neutral, while Germany, Autria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria waged war against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Rumania, and Japan. Many of these belligerents joined the war at various times during this four year period, so the war continued to expand during this four year period. Wilson and a significant percentage (49%) of the American public had wanted to stay out of this conflict as possible when it first started (Doenecke, 2010, p. 20), but a series of events forced America's hand.
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
Before his election, Wilson promoted American neutrality. He endorsed what he believed his Americans wanted, for this would get him elected into office. However, after his election, Wilson had a change of heart. A few events, such as the German sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmerman telegram swayed President Wilson’s stance on the war. He started a movement toward war. A large variety of pro-war propaganda was produced and American troops were sent to Europe to fight.
The Germans needed to be stopped immediately. After they had blown up the Lusitania with U-boats, they had promised the U.S. that they would not attack any other U.S. ships and would leave us out of it. Soon after that they had continued to attack U.S. ships and had upset the U.S. In the near future they had even told Mexico to start
When the First World War erupted in Europe on July 28, 1914; President Woodrow Wilson formally proclaimed that the United States would remain neutral on August 4, 1914. However, the United States did not stick to this proclamation, and eventually became involved in the war efforts. This investigation aims to evaluate the reasons the United States violated their neutrality in order to join the war. In inquiring into the reasons of the United States’ entry into the war, the Zimmermann telegram will be assessed. Primary sources, Message to Congress., 2d Sess., Senate Doc and War Messages, 65th Cong., 1st Sess. Senate Doc. No. 5 by Woodrow Wilson will also be assessed. Online sources, for example
how the U.S. got involved in World War I. Many thought that by learning our
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.
Japan, and was at war with our allies. Germany was also sinking American ships in the Atlantic.