AMERICAN ENTRY INTO WORLD WAR I AND ITS DOMESTIC EFFECTS

This research paper deals with the reasons which led the United States to enter World War I on the side of the Western Allies in April, 1917 and the domestic consequences of that decision. American public opinion shifted from nearly unanimous support for American neutrality at the outbreak of war in August 1914 to overwhelming approval of the declaration of war against Germany in April 1917. No one factor fully explains this shift in sentiment nor the American decision-making process involved. Economic factors (the influence of American war loans and supplies of munitions to the Allies) and ideological considerations played their part but were not decisive. The casus belli was Germany's decision of January 1917 to resume unrestricted submarine warfare against neutral shipping. The failure of President Wilson's attempt to mediate a peace settlement in the winter of 1916-1917 was another important factor leading to the American declaration of war. Amateurish efforts by German agents to commit sabotage and subversion in the United States and Mexico were an irritant. The German Zimmermann telegram of January 1917 inflamed American public opinion at a critical juncture. Important also was the growing realization by the President and his closest advisers that a German victory was not in the overall strategic interests of the United States.

The domestic effects of American entry were far-reaching, including: (1) economic

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American government protested against violations of its neutrality on the high seas by both Britain and Germany, but De Weerd said "because the Germans were sinking ships and killing people while the British were merely seizing cargo, Wilson early in the war held the Germans accountable in a way in which he did not hold the British." The Germans as a land power felt they had no alternative; however, their intermittent relaxations of unrestricted submarine warfare were accompanied by egregious acts such as the torpedoing of the passenger liner Lusitania (which had some munitions as cargo) with large loss of life, including 124 of Americans, by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915 and other sinkings of unarmed ships. After many twists and turns, the German High Command decided in January 1917 to bring Great Britain to its knees by unleashing its U-boats. Wilson had warned the Germans of the consequences of such acts and felt he had little choice but to declare war after three more vessels were sunk in early 1917. The Germans had also engaged in various acts of sabotage and subversion in the United States and in Mexico. The telegram sent by German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann on January 17, 1917 offered Mexico an alliance with G
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2515
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)