Summary:
A short overview of events that led to U.S. entry into World War I. Ensuring payment from the debt the Allies had built up with the U.S. and ensuring safety of U.S. shipping were two reasons for the U.S. entering the war.
Although many Americans would have rather had the allies win the world war, they did not want them to win enough to join in and help them. The United states entered the war for two reasons: 1) To ensure payment from allies' debt they had built up and 2) to ensure safety of United States shipping. Great Britain began to make more use of the naval strength. They set up a blockade near Germanys coast to prevent contraband, or weapons and military goods, from entering the country. However, Britain expanded this contraband to include food import. This disallowed the entry of American ships carrying food into the country and the entering of chemicals needed for farmers to grow food. By 1917, an estimated 750,000 people died due to famine throughout the country. Germany responded with the u-boat blockade disallowing ANY cargo boats entering Britain to be banned and any boat found in the waters were to be sunk and it would not always be necessary to warn crew and passengers before sinking.
America became upset at both sides for the blockades but even more so at Germany because the loss of lives. The worst disaster was when a u-boat sunk a British liner Lusitania off the coast of Ireland. Nearly 1200 people lost theri lives and 130 were Americans. America stayed neutral although it happened one more time and two more Americans died; Germany agreed not to blow up any more liners. Germany kept breaking its promise and threatened to renew unrestricted submarine warfare unless Britain removed its blockade. In 1916, Wilson was reelected president. He tried to call both side of the war to conference and settle disputes; it failed. When the Kaiser from Germany sent the Zimmerman note, a telegram stating that if the united states joined the war, Germany would help them in support for the war, to regain the lost Texas and Arizona territories. After this, more innocent American lives were lost and Wilson delivered his speech stating that it was better to fight for what is right then to keep peace.
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