What did the U.S. do for the allies prior to 1917 during WWI?

Answer 1

Politically, the United States did very little. President Woodrow Wilson spent 1914 through the beginning of 1917 trying to keep America out of the war in Europe. He offered to be a mediator, but neither the Allies nor the Central Powers took his requests seriously. Republicans, led by Theodore Roosevelt, strongly criticized Wilson’s refusal to build up the U.S. Army in anticipation of the threat of war. Wilson won the support of the U.S. peace element by arguing that an army buildup would provoke war. He vigorously protested Germany’s use of submarines as illegal, causing his Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan to resign in protest in 1915.

Former President Theodore Roosevelt angrily complained about the foreign policy of President Wilson, calling it "weak". This caused him to develop an intense dislike of Woodrow Wilson. When World War I began in 1914, Roosevelt strongly supported Britain, France and the Allies of World War I because he admired their fight for civilization; he demanded a harsher policy against Germany, especially regarding submarine warfare. In 1916, he campaigned energetically for Charles Evans Hughes and repeatedly denounced those Irish-Americans and German-Americans whose pleas for neutrality Roosevelt said were unpatriotic because they put the interest of Ireland and Germany ahead of America's. He insisted that one had to be 100% American, not a "hyphenated American" who juggled multiple loyalties.

While German submarines were sinking allied ships, Britain had declared a blockade of Germany, preventing neutral shipping carrying “contraband” goods to Germany. Wilson protested this violation of neutral rights by London. However, his protests to the British were not viewed as being as forceful as those he directed towards Germany. This reflects the fact that while Britain was violating international law towards neutral shipping, their violations were not costing the lives of Americans or other neutrals, while German submarine warfare not only violated international law, but also resulted in American deaths.

Economically, the American banking companies were vital to the Allies ability to finance the war. Sympathies among many industrially influential Americans had favored the British and French cause from the start of the war. To pay for purchases in the United States, Britain cashed in its massive investments in American railroads and then began borrowing heavily on Wall Street. The result was that by the time President Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war, all the major American banking institutions had huge loans to the allies, making it essential that the Allies win the war if the banks were to see the loans paid. President Wilson was on the verge of cutting off the loans in late 1916, but with war imminent with Germany, he allowed a massive increase in U.S. government lending to the Allies.

Answer 2

Hello =)

Well,....

Only France has been our ally consistently since the formation of the Union......Britain has only been our ally since WWI, really, as they played a game of "favourites" during our civil war.....

Or are you talking about during WWI only??

Well, we supplied ammunitions to Great Britain, originally on the "cash and carry" plan, and, later, on credit. We used our ships to supply Great Britain, and, allowed British ships to fly our flag, under the protection of our navy.......

Some 4,000 US citizens had joined the Royal Canadian Army by that time as well, by crossing the border and enlisting as canadians, falsely.

Namaste,

--Tom

Answer 3

Selling Arms and Support for the Allies.

Answer 4

supplied them with weapons. The Lusitania in which 124 americans died was believevd to have been loaded with weapons. Woodrow Wilson then just used this as an excuse to join WW1.

Answer 5

Gave them supplies I believe.

Answer 6

Until the sinking of the 'Lusitania'-not much.

Answer 7

Isolated themselves.