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US
INVOLVEMENT
IN WWI
Causes of American Involvement
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Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
British propaganda
Zimmerman Telegraph
Russian Revolution
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
• Germany created new submarine called the
”U-Boat”
• British blockaded North Sea, so Germany gave
a “sink on sight” order to any ship
approaching Britain
• May 7th, 1915-British passenger liner the
“Lusitania” sunk off the coast of Ireland
• Killed 128 Americans
The Lusitania
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
• Aug. 1915
• The Arabic is sunk
by the Germans
• 2 Americans are
killed
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
• March 1916
• The Sussex, an unarmed
passenger ship is sunk
• America threatens to cut
off diplomatic relations
• Sussex pledge- no
passenger or merchant
ships would be sunk
without warning
British Propaganda
• The British sent news of the war to US
newspapers everyday
• Full of Propaganda
• Led the American public to be sympathetic
toward the British
British Propaganda
British Propaganda
British Propaganda
British Propaganda
British Propaganda
Zimmerman Telegram
• March 1917-British authorities gave to the US
a telegram that was supposedly sent to
Mexico from Germany
• It had been decoded by the British
• It asked Mexico to declare war on the US and
they would be supported by Germany
Russian Revolution
• March 1917-Russia left WWI due to a
Revolution in their own country
• Germany now would concentrate totally on
the Western Front
• Pleas from Great Britain and France to join the
war effort
Declaration of War
• April 2, 1917-Wilson asks Congress to declare
war on Germany
• “The World must be made safe for
Democracy”
• April 6th-Congress votes and declares war
Selective Service Act
• Authorized the federal government to
raise a national army for the American
entry into World War I through
conscription (draft).
*all males aged 21 to 30 were required to
register for military service
*By the end of World War I, some 2.8
million had been drafted.