U.S. Enters War

President Wilson was determined to keep out of the war when it first began. He stated that the U.S. was to remain neutral and even though the president ordered that America stay neutral many Americans took sides. At that time many of the millions of German Americans supported their homeland and many of Irish American also supported the Central Powers in the war. In other cases many other Americans treasured the links with France since they were a great help to America during the Revolutionary War. Although many Americans had taken one side or another the U.S. had remained neutral for more than two years during the war.

Then on May 7, 1915, a German submarine sunk the British ship Lusitania killing about 1,200 passengers of which 128 of them Americans including women and children. Many Americans saw this as a terrorist attack on civilians and not an act of war, but even then Wilson tried to defuse the crisis of going into the war. German submarines then attacked any ship without warning that entered the waters around Britain. Between February 3^rd and March 21^st German submarines sank six American ships, then finally President Wilson had enough and on April 2, 1917 he asked Congress to declare war on Germany. Senate passed the resolution on April 4^th and the House on April 6^th that’s when Wilson signed it and America was at war.