Why did the U.S. find it so difficult to maintain its neutrality from 1914 to 1917?

Answer 1

One of the main reason was the U.S. was still trying to conduct business with Europe. The Germans in an effort to cut off supplies to France and Great Britain sank some ships that were carrying American civilians and goods. The most famous was the Lusitania, 128 Americans lost their lives when she went down.

Answer 2

1914 to 1917 was during World War I. The U.S. had always followed a policy of isolationism - never getting involved in foreign affairs when possible, especially in Europe.

Public opinion was deivided along ethnic lines. Most Americans favored the Allies because of the language, history, and culture ties to England. However, many of the German/Austrian immigrants favored the Central Powers.

By 1917, the U.S. trade with the Allies was seven times in value, much higher than with the Central Powers...meaning the U.S. leaned towards the Allies.

In the end, it was German refusal to respect American neutrality, using their U-Boats to attack netural shipping boats and torpedoing a British passenger ship, the Lustuania in 1915, killing 128 Americans.

England intercepted the Zimmerman telegram in 1917, which was supposed to go to Mexico, offering troops and help gaining back lost territory if they declared war on the U.S. Public opinion was also in support of going to the war at this point.

Answer 3

Rockin' Mel is correct. Award him 10 points. Americans regarded the war as a European affair. When Woodrow Wilson ran for re-election in 1916, the slogan was, "He kept us out of war!" But in 1917, the German foreign minister Zimmerman sent a telegram to the German embassy in Merxico City. The ambassador was to offer Mexico an offensive and defensive alliance against the U.S. Mexico was to invade the U.S. from the southwest to recover territory lost in the 19th century. Germany was to wage submarine warfare against the U.S. on the east coast. The telegram was intercepted and decoded. The U.S. declared war on Germany soon after.

Answer 4

Several different reasons.

Americans naturally related better to democracies like France and Great Britian. Plus, the Central Powers were agressors in the conflict.

The German U-boating of ships carrying Americans didn't help. Neither did the German attempt to get Mexico to attack the US as a distraction.

In the end, the fact that American industry sold millions of dollars of goods to the Allied Powers.....dollars that they couldn't have collected if the Allies lost.....probally led to our entry into war.