The causes that lead America to World War 1

 The causes that lead America to World War 1

Introduction

The First World War took four years and involved many nation states. It began in 1914.The  United States of America was among the states that participated in this war .Several factors caused  The U.S.A  to enter in this war they include, The unrestricted submarine warfare  for instance there was sinking of Lusitania 1915,The Sussex 1916 and the Germany  renews on the restricted U boat attack in 1917.Anathor reason that made America participate on world war was America propaganda which stressed Germany barbarism ,posters depicting the Kaiser as some sort of Madman( Fussel ,2009) .The propaganda urged them to support allies thought neutrality. Another issue is Germany dictatorship “make world safe for democracy”Zimmerman to Germany asked Mexico to enter the war against US. The cultural ties for the U.S business interest also led to war the U.S trade allies increased from between 1914 and 1916.All these factor will be discussed bellow.

The   isolation ted of united state had a policy of isolationism, to reduce disagreement while trying looking for peace. This   increased tension with Landon and Berlin. When Germany U-boat sank British liner Lusitanian in 1915, having 128 American abroad, The U.S President Woodrow Wilson said that “America abroad U.S President Woodrow Wilson vowed “America was too proud to fight “and demanded an end to attacks on passenger ships. Germany compiled .Wilson unsuccessfully tried to mediate a settlement(Kennedy ,2004) .

He repeatedly warned the U.S would not tolerate unrestricted submarine warfare, in violation of international law and U.S ideas of human rights. Wilson was under pressure from former president Theodore Roosevelt, who denounced German acts as “piracy”. Wilson’s desire to have a seat at negotiations at war’s end to advance the League of Nations also played a significant role. Wilson’s Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan, resigned in protest of the President’s decidedly warmongering diplomacy. Other factors include suspected German sabotage of both Black Tom in Jersey City, New Jersey, and the Kingsland Explosion in what now Lyndhurst New Jersey.

In January 1917, after the Navy pressured the Kaiser, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. Britain’s secret Royal Navy cryptanalytic group, Room 40, had broken the German diplomatic code. They intercepted a proposal from Berlin to Mexico to join the war as Germany’s ally against the United States, should the U.S. join. The proposal suggested, if the U.S. were to enter the war, Mexico should declare war against the United States and enlist Japan as an ally (Weigand, 1989). This would prevent the United States from joining the allies and deploying troops to Europe and would give Germany more time for their unrestricted submarine warfare program to strangle Britain’s vital war supplies .In return, the Germans would promise Mexico support in reclaiming Texas new Mexico and Arizona.

After the British revealed the telegram to the United States, President Wilson, who had won reelection on his keeping the country out of the war, released the telegram as a way of building support for U.S. in the war. He had before claimed neutrality, while calling for the arming of U.S. merchant ships delivering munitions to fighting Britain and quietly supporting the British blockading of German ports and mining of international waters, preventing the shipment of food from America and elsewhere to combatant Germany (Maier, 2015). After submarines sank seven U.S. merchant ships and the publication of the Zimmerman telegram, Wilson called for war on Germany, which the U.S. Congress declared on 6 April 1917.

Reference

Fussell, P. (2009). The Great War and modern memory. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc…

Kennedy, D. M. (2004). Over here: The First World War and American society. Oxford University Press.

Maier, C. S. (2015). Recasting bourgeois Europe: stabilization in France, Germany, and Italy in the decade after World War I. Princeton University Press.

Wiegand, W. A. (1989). An active instrument for propaganda: The American public library during World War I (No. 1). Praeger Pub Text.