what were the causes of the u.s. entry into the WW1?

Answer 1

Initially there were good domestic political reasons for the United States not intervening. Over the previous fifty years, it had absorbed and unified an enormous mixture of European entrepreneurs and refugees, the "huddled masses yearning to be free". Old Europe with its divisions and hostility represented everything they had fled from, and America's peace and unity among nationalities was showing the better way. Surely public opinion would have been against the country getting involved in exactly what it had succeeded in rising above.

Even the sinking of the Lusitania, frequently and wrongly cited as the reason for the US entering the war, didn't alter this stance.

But finally, at end-March 1917, came the admission by the German foreign minister Zimmerman that he had indeed proposed (see web site below) that Mexico and Germany should declare war together on the USA, and thereby regain for Mexico parts of the southern states lost in a much earlier war. Public opinion reversed almost overnight at this, and Congress declared war after all.

Answer 2

America's policy of isolation, and thus wanting stay out of any European affairs while also trying to broker a peace resulted in tensions with both Berlin and London. When a German U-boat sank the British liner Lusitania in 1915, a large passenger liner with 128 Americans also aboard, the United States President, Wilson, vowed "America was too proud to fight", and demanded an end to attacks on passenger ships. Germany complied. Wilson tried to mediate a compromise settlement; yet no compromise was discovered. Wilson also repeatedly warned that America would not tolerate unrestricted submarine warfare because it violated America's rights. Wilson was under great pressure from former president Teddy Roosevelt, who denounced German "piracy" and Wilson's cowardice. In January 1917, the Germans announced they would resume unrestricted submarine warfare. Berlin's proposal to Mexico to join the war as Germany's ally against the U.S. was exposed in February, angering American opinion. (see Zimmermann Telegram). After German submarines attacked several American merchant ships, sinking three, Wilson requested that Congress declare war on Germany, which it did on April 6, 1917.[10] The U.S. House of Representatives approved the war resolution 373-50, the U.S. Senate 82-6, with opposition coming especially from German American districts such as Wisconsin. The U.S. declared war on Austria-Hungary in December 1917.

The United States was never formally a member of the Allies but an "Associated Power". Significant numbers of fresh American troops arrived in Europe in the summer of 1918, and they started arriving at around 10,000 men per day. Germany miscalculated that it would be many more months before large numbers of American troops could be sent to Europe, and that, in any event, the U-boat offensive would prevent their arrival. In fact, not a single American infantryman lost his life due to German U-boat activity

Answer 3

the sinking of the passenger ship Lusitana (sp?) 128 American citizens died when German U-Boats sunk the ship. It was on its way to Britian. American citizens were outraged by this and it gave them a reason to go to war.

Later, the Zimmer note was found by the Allies which stated the Germany would help get Mexico back the land it lost if they attacked the U.S

Answer 4

What led America into the War:

The stated reasons for America's involvement were freedom of the seas and the preservation of democracy, But neither side in this war had monopoly on illegal naval warfare. Nor was the democratic ideology so powerful among America's allies that Wilson thought he should ight to maintain it as far back as 1914. In his favor, Wilson tried admirably to restrain both sides and mediate for peace. But as in almost every other war America has fought, powerful forces in industry, banking and commerce cynically thought war was healthy. And if the world was going to be divvied up after the fight was over, America might as well get it's fair share of the spoils.

It would be almost 2 years after the sinking of the ship , before America entered the war, already in it's closing stages.
For generations of American school children, the reason America finally decided to enter the war in Europe was to protect the open seas from German raiders in the Uboats who were killing innocent Americans aboard passenger ships. The most notorious example of the practice was suppposedly the sinking of the passenger ship LUSITANIA. The problem with tthis explanation is that it has little to do with the facts.
Early in May 1915 the German Embassy in Washington published advertisments in American newspapers WARNING Americans to avoid sailing on British ships in the Atlantic. On May 7 the LUSITANIA was torpedoed by a German Uboat off the coast of Ireland. In 18 minutes the huge ship went down, taking with it almost 1200 of 1959 passengers and crew. Among the dead were 128 Americans. Although the German govtm't agreed to make reparations, it held to its claim that the LSTNIA was carrying armaments and thus was a war vessel. The BRitish denied this, but it was later revealed that the Lstnia carried 4200 cases of ammunition and 1250 cases of shrpnel, which exploded when the torpedo struck. This definately increased tensions between AMerica and Germany, but had little to do with drawing America into the war. President Wilson continued to press his policies of neutrality while seeking to negotiate a settlement. He campaigned for reelection in 1916 under the Democratic slogan "he kept us out of war"

What was going on with the rest of the world:
One June 28m 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, was in the city of Sarajevo (in modern Yugoslavia), then part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. He was assassinated and within days the Austrian Empire declared war on Serbia, Austria tiny neighbor, claiming it was responsible for the assassination. Allied to Serbia, RUSSIA mobilized its troops. AUSTRIA's ally GERMANY responded by declaring war on RUSSIA and it's ally, FRANCE. Also bound by defense treaties, GREAT BRITAIN declared war on GERMANY as german troops began an invasion of BELGIUM on their way to FRANCE.

Ferdinand's death was merely the spark that ignited a short fuse that exploded into what was then called 'the great war' and only later, at the time of the second world war, became known as WWI. It was a crazy scheme of interlocking parts that finally sent Europe reeling into a war that covered most of the globe.
Thrown into this simmering stew of alliances was the coming revolution of Europe. Tsarist Russia was tied to England and France through mutual defense treaties and bloodlines (the king of England and Tsar of Russia were relatives).

As tensions heightened all these nations had armed heavily, producing a state of military readiness that did wonders for the armament industry, and the huge munitions makers of Europe. INTERNATIONAL TENSION was good for profits.

By the time the Archduke lay dead in Sarajevo, the competion had long since commenced. Germany was a well established power in AFRICA, as was Belgium. France's empire extended into INDOCHINA. England's empire covered much of ASIA, Africa and the FAR EAST

Answer 5

war was imminant before the attack on Pearl Harbor dec 7 1944 it was only a matter of time before it was official, we were helping france and Great Britain by sending supplies. Main reason was that the Attack on Pearl Harbor came and set the public for war

Answer 6

Sunking of American ships by German submarines and the Zimmerman telegram.