Why the United States got involved in WW1?
Since the start of WW1 in 1914, the United States was under command of President Woodrow Wilson, had maintained strict neutrality, other than helping provide material assistance to the Allies. Even in May 1915, when Germans submarine dropped the British ocean liner Lusitania, killing 128 U.S. citizens out of a total 1,200 dead, the United States, though in chaos remained calm.
In January 1917, Germany proclaimed that it would boost all restrictions on submarine combat beginning on February 1. This declaration meant the German U-boat commanders were suddenly given permission to drop all ships that they thought to be providing aid of any sort to allies. Because the primary goal was to starve Britian into giving up, the German effort would focus largely on ships crossing the Atlantic from the United States and Canada.
The first victim of this new policy was the American cargo ship, Housatonic, which a German U-boat dropped on February 3, 1917. Although Wilson tried hard to keep the United States calm, by the spring of 1917, the situation had changed drastically, and neutrality no longer seemed possible. Germany's unrestricted submarine combat was taking its toll, as American ships, both cargo and passenger, dropped. Finally, on April 2, Wilson went before congress and requested a declaration of war. Congress responded within days, officially declaring war on Germany on April 6, 1917.
In January 1917, Germany proclaimed that it would boost all restrictions on submarine combat beginning on February 1. This declaration meant the German U-boat commanders were suddenly given permission to drop all ships that they thought to be providing aid of any sort to allies. Because the primary goal was to starve Britian into giving up, the German effort would focus largely on ships crossing the Atlantic from the United States and Canada.
The first victim of this new policy was the American cargo ship, Housatonic, which a German U-boat dropped on February 3, 1917. Although Wilson tried hard to keep the United States calm, by the spring of 1917, the situation had changed drastically, and neutrality no longer seemed possible. Germany's unrestricted submarine combat was taking its toll, as American ships, both cargo and passenger, dropped. Finally, on April 2, Wilson went before congress and requested a declaration of war. Congress responded within days, officially declaring war on Germany on April 6, 1917.