Transcript 12USentersww1

U.S. Enters the War
Mr. Dodson
German Submarine Warfare
► To
break a stalemate at sea, Germany began to
use U-boats, Unterseeboot, the German word for
submarine.
► U-boats, traveling under water, could sink British
supply ships with no warning.
► The British cut the transatlantic cable connecting
Germany and the U.S.,
► Only pro-Allied news reached America. American
public opinion was swayed against Germany.
The Sinking of the Lusitania
► May
7,1915, a U-boat sank the British
passenger liner Lusitania, which had been
carrying both passengers and weapons.
► 128 Americans died
► The sinking of the Lusitania brought the
U.S. closer to involvement in the war.
The Sussex Pledge
► More
Americans were killed when Germany
sank the Sussex, a French passenger
steamship, on March 24,1916.
► Sussex pledge, - the German government
promised that U-boats would warn ships
before attacking, a promise it had made and
broken before.
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
► On
January 31, 1917, Germany ended the
Sussex pledge and return to unrestricted
submarine warfare.
► This caused the U.S. to break off diplomatic
relations with Germany.
► Still, the German navy did not attack any
American ships in Feb., causing the U.S. to
continue to hope for peace.
The Zimmermann Note
► Britain
revealed an intercepted telegram to
the government of Mexico from Germany
► In the telegram, Germany offered to return
American lands to Mexico if Mexico declared
war on the United States.
► Neither Mexico nor President Wilson took
the Zimmermann note seriously, but it
brought America closer to entering the war.
The War Resolution
► The
Russian Revolution replaced Russia’s
autocratic czar in March 1917.
► U.S. no longer concerned about allying itself with
an autocratic nation.
► Removed one more stumbling block to an
American declaration of war.
► As Germany continued to sink American ships in
March, President Wilson’s patience for neutrality
wore out.
► On April 6, 1917, the President signed Congress’s
war resolution, - the United States was in the war!