Germany was the first country to employ submarines in war as substitutes for surface commerce raiders. At the outset of World War I, German U-boats, though numbering only 38, achieved notable successes against British warships; but because of the reactions of neutral powers (especially the United States) Germany hesitated before adopting unrestricted U-boat warfare against merchant ships. The decision to do so in February 1917 was largely responsible for the entry of the United States into the war. The U-boat campaign then became a race between German sinkings of merchant ships and the building of ships, mainly in the United States, to replace them. In April 1917, 430 Allied and neutral ships totaling 852,000 tons were sunk, and it seemed likely
There were two major events that took place that sent the United States into WWI. Before these events took place, America wanted to stay neutral with thoughts and action. On May 7, 1915, a German submarine, called U-boats, torpedoed and sank a British passenger liner Lusitania. About 1,198 lives were lost including 128 Americans. Many Americans were shocked and anger about this act and called it “mass murder and piracy”(671).
During this time. Germany was constantly going against America's will, and breaking rules. According to document three a letter from Secretary of State to Germany it states " German authorities in violation of American rights on the high seas which culminated (resulted) in the torpedoing of the British steamship Lusitania on May 7, 1915 by which over 100 Americans citizens lost their lives" Germany and Britain May be at war however that does not give them the immunity to persecution after American rights on the high seas. However this is not the only instance Germany has wrong America during world war one while America was in the state of neutrality in document for a note from German foreign secretary or Thursday Merman two in Bassett or of Mexico states" we intend to begin submarine warfare ... if this is not successful we propose An alliance with Mexico on the following basis: that we shall give general financial support end it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in New Mexico ,Texas, and Arizona".
As he had wanted to start the war through democracy the sinking of the Lusitania and the 1198 people killed of which 128 were Americans also impacted the decision of going to war. However, on April 2, 1917, Wilson finally asked Congress to declare war on Germany, citing the country's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, as well as its attempts to incite Mexico to attack the U.S. Congress, declared war on Germany on April 6. In sum, the United States entered World War I primarily due to German actions that threatened American lives and interests, such as the sinking of the Lusitania, the use of submarines to attack American ships, and the Zimmermann Telegram. Additionally, economic ties, President Woodrow Wilson's belief in a moral duty to fight for democracy and self-determination, as well as to end the war quickly and end the suffering caused by the conflict played an important
Just days before the United States breaking from neutrality the president stated that “German submarine warfare against commerce is a warfare against mankind.”(Doc 5) Submarine warfare was not the only problem that caused the United States to join World War I. In 1914, just a few years before the United States joined World War I, German attacked Belgium and slaughtered hundreds of innocent men, women, and children. Belgium had remained neutral throughout the war which made this attack on Belgium even more unjustifiable. Yet another example of Germany’s unrestricted warfare was the Zimmerman telegram.
In 1915, a U-boat torpedoed the Lusitania, the merchant ship that was likely carrying military cargo was shot down and killing 128 Americans citizens. Wilson told Germany to stop, they said they would end attacks on merchant ships, but then again in a different situation, on March 1916 a German attacked a French owned ferry. Woodrow Wilson, demanded that Germany stop attacking passenger ships. Wilson also tried to resolve the problems in settlements but one was never met. In January 1917 Germany announced it would destroy all ships heading to Britain.
In May 1915, a German U-boat sunk the British passenger ship Lusitania off the coast of Ireland. With more than 1,900 people aboard, killing at least 1,100 people including more than 120 Americans. Although the ship may have been carrying military equipment along with the civilians, the Americans weren’t warned before the sinking. Others understood that Germany previously had unambiguously alerted all neutral passengers of Atlantic vessels to the potential for submarine attacks on British ships and that Germany considered the Lusitania a British, therefore an “enemy ship.” The United States eventually protested the action, and Germany apologized and pledged to end unrestricted submarine warfare.
would not actually be going to war due to President Woodrow Wilson’s implications. Minor events, including the sinking of the Lusitania, occurred before the United States made its appearance in the war. The U.S. suddenly became a target when Germany began the strategy of “submarine warfare”. Any ship that brought supplies to Great Britain or France at the time would be destroyed with torpedoes. Only a few weeks later, four American ships were sunk, and fifteen people were killed from German submarine attacks.
When German naval forces started to attack several U.S ships that were docking in British isles, tension rose from the ashes. When word got around to President Woodrow Wilson that German troops had sunk-several ships, including the Housatonic, and killed several Americans, he passed an appropriations bill worth $250 million dollars to prepare America for war. ( America enters World War One”. History.com A&E televison network. 12.
The Imperial German Government’s purpose was to put aside all restraints of law or of humanity and use it’s submarines to sink every vessel. “The present German submarine warfare against commerce is a warfare against mankind,” Woodrow Wilson mentioned in his speech. This speech was monumental because it convinced American citizens entry into the war was necessary, brought America into a devastating war, probed America was a power of the world, brought women into workplaces, and it pushed for women’s suffrage. Not every
Germany’s resumption of submarine attacks on passenger and merchant ships in 1917 became the primary motivation behind Wilson’s decision
America asked for Germany’s boats to be taken away, especially toward the end of 1914, and the beginning of 1915. Germany did not move their boats, and declared the waters surrounding Great Britain to be combat areas and cautioned against ships in those areas. On May 7th, 1915, a British cruise ship the Lusitania was sunk by German U-boats. Though the ship was British, some of the passengers that drowned included 128 American citizens. However, six days before the incident, an ad in an American newspaper warned of traveling on cruise ships.
Unrestricted submarine warfare outraged many Americans because its application was an attack upon innocent civilian. Unrestricted submarine warfare also breaks an international law which states that the civilians of two warring countries are not targets. Germany not only harmed civilians, but it also broke international law. Through the sinking of the Lusitania, the public’s view of Germany’s unrestricted warfare policy intensified, and more people began to favor American involvement in the war. The sinking of the Lusitania became one of the most important events of the Great War because its reaction is, “the first step towards American involvement in the war.”
To What Extent was Germany Responsible for WWI? Sources The article written by W.E.B. DuBois targets the notion of imperialism in its role in the first world war, by giving in-depth insight on what a scholarly social critic had perceived on the true motives behind the war. Imperialism is directly related to economic benefits, and is a main cause behind the motives of the war. He also discusses the racial implications behind the war as well. Document F was created by W.B. DuBois who hypothesized a claim regarding the war in 1914 about the role of imperialism in WWI.
During World War I, the Germans use a fighting tactic called Unrestricted Submarine Warfare. German U-Boats, or submarines, were told to sink any ship that posed a threat, passenger or cargo, it did not matter. In a newspaper article it shows that the Lusitania was a passenger boat going from the coast of New York to Ireland that was sunk by a German submarine (“Lusitania”). The fact that Germany sunk a passenger ship without reason infuriated the Americans. As the political cartoon by Matthew Bollinger shows, President Woodrow Wilson is holding a piece of paper that says that American lives were lost on the sinking of this ship (Bollinger).
On June 15th, The Board of Trade investigated on the ships sinking concluding that the ship was unarmed by German forces during