World War I

3 Pages 693 Words

The United States Enters the War (1914-1917)
Summary
When war broke out in 1914, America's traditional isolationist tendencies took Hold. President T. Woodrow Wilson charted a neutral course, focusing on the maintenance of the rights of neutral countries on high seas. Sea rights were crucial to the United States because neutrality allowed American businessmen to trade with needy Allies and, to a lesser extent, Germany. By 1916, US trade with the Allies had jumped from US$825 million just two years before to US$3.2 billion. If the American merchant marine was in jeopardy, American business could make no profit.
That is probably why the unrestricted submarine warfare practiced by Germany U-boats angered Wilson so much. In late 1915, a German U-boat sunk the merchant ship Lusitania, killing one hundred and twenty Americans. One year later, the Sussex was sunk, similarly without warning, as had been the custom prior to World War I. Americans were outraged at the violation of their rights on the high seas and enmity toward Germany increased considerably. Still, isolation ruled the day.
In November 1916, President Wilson was re-elected to a second term under the slogan "He kept us out of war", suggesting the continued appeal of neutrality in the face of German harassment in the Atlantic Ocean. However, during the campaign, Wilson, a Democrat and admitted novice at military affairs, sought to placate the right by standing firm against Berlin, demanding that unrestricted submarine warfare end, or Washington would terminate all diplomatic relations with the German Empire. The United States was just a few steps away from war.
Still locked in Monroe Doctrine-style isolation, America was slow to react. However, early 1917 witnessed the proverbial last straw. German Foreign Minister Alfred Zimmermann, in attempt to eliminate America as a direct military threat to the war in Europe, offered Mexico Germany's assistance in recovering the fo...