What events led to the U.S. entry into World War 1?

Answer 1

The US loaned money to France and Great Britain on the assumption that they would win the war, however whichever outcome occurred could have been swung for US gains, in theory. How it turned out was that Germany would pay reparations to Great Britain, France and Belgium, who in turn would pay back their debts to the US. However, Germany was able to do this only due to the fact that the US was making significant investments in their industrial growth. Under the imagined circumstance that Germany had won the war, the US could have made the same investments in the industrial growth of France and Great Britain (and in turn, prevented the shitstorm that was the great depression).

Now, as for the initial question, Wilson had made it very clear for the first two and a half years of the war that the US had no interest in involving itself in the war, however as the stalemate dragged on, it seemed more and more inevitable that the US would need to involve itself. However, the precedent set by Wilson's anti-war rhetoric would make it very difficult to join the war effort, while not looking like a weak, hypocritical leader. The pay-day, so to speak, would come in the forms of the Lusitania, the Zimmerman Telegram, and Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.

The sinking of the Lusitania provided Wilson with the perfect scenario for the demonization of Germany. The grim images of American bodies washing up on the shores of England created strong sentiments in the American public, and made it much easier for Wilson to convince them of the importance of American involvement.

The Zimmerman Telegram was a telegram, intercepted by British Intelligence (I believe, I can't recall offhand.), sent from Germany to Mexico, stating in plain words that Germany would support a Mexican invasion of the United States, and would send military support as soon as they defeated the allies on the Western Front. This created the perception of imminent threat of invasion by an outside force, something the American public hadn't known since the War of 1812.

The last straw was Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. By the time Germany gets to this point, American involvement appears almost inevitable. It is fully acknowledged by all involved parties that a surge of US troops will push the allies over the edge, break the back of Germany, and more or less end the war. So in a last ditch effort, Germany declares unrestricted submarine warfare, in short, their submarines will sink ANY and ALL ships, be they passenger or otherwise, that attempt to make it to the shores of Great Britain. This would ultimately force the US to involve itself, but Germany was banking on the US's long mobilization time. The hope was that strangling Great Britain's imports would force them to surrender, before the US could make it to Europe to fight. As we know, this plan failed.

Answer 2

In 1915 the British cruise ship Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat, killing 128 Americans. The next year two munitions factories were destroyed, which was blamed on German saboteurs. In 1917 the Zimmermann Telegram was released to the public. It was a German message to Mexico urging Mexico to invade the US. These events together shifted US public opinion in support of war with Germany.

Answer 3

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary sparked hostilities that lead to a general European war, but was not, in any way, a factor leading to U.S. entry into that war. Both U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and the large majority of Americans wanted neutrality in this conflict, but a series of German decisions made the U.S. populace increasingly hostile to that nation. Eventually, Wilson decided that he had no choice but to declare war. These decisions included-

1) Violation of Belgium neutrality.

2) Atrocities against civilians (not that Germany alone was guilty of this, but newspapers made it seem that way).

3) Getting caught doing espionage and subversion in the U.S., and outright sabotage in Canada.

4) Submarines sinking merchant ships without evacuating the civilians (including Americans), as required by international law. In particular, the deaths of 128 Americans aboard the Lusitania evoked outrage. Germany, fearful of adding the U.S. to the Allies, reduced such attacks.

In early 1917, Germany decided it would re-start unlimited sinking of civilian vessels, without warning. Anticipating war, its Foreign Minister proposed a military alliance with Mexico in exchange for the latter going to war against the U.S. When these two facts came out (the latter through subterfuge), American opinion became so inflamed that Wilson had no trouble getting a declaration of war passed by the U.S. Congress.

Answer 4

In 1917 they began to advance and sink various American ships carrinf munitions and reinforcements.