World War 1

On June 28 1914 a spark was set off in Sarajevo, which would become an explosion throughout the world. The event that led to World War One was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. A Serbian nationalist secret society, also known as the Black Hand, was who was responsible for Ferdinand’s death.

Before United States entered the war, they exported hundred of millions of dollars to Great Britain. Almost a trillion dollars were exported to England in 1915, as stated in Document B. This spark would set off a “mechanical series of events that will culminate in the worlds first global war” the events to come in July through August of 1914 are a classical case of “one thing led to another” otherwise known as the treaty alliance system. As World War I began and expanded too much of Europe, the US (mainly Wilson) decided to remain neutral. However, things don’t always go as planned. Nationalism, financial interests, and past American connections with other nations caused the US to abandon its neutrality and enter World War I. America’s nationalism included the tendency to act in their own interest, such as protecting themselves from war. Once Germany started threatening force with their submarines, America had to take action to defend itself. If the US tolerated this international bullying, it would diminish its reputation as a great power. As in Document A, the speech given to the United States to convince and make sure all Americans are neutral.

From 1914 till 1916 the United States tries to remains neutral in World War I, the Great War, and the War to end all Wars. As in Document C, the “unrestricted submarine warfare” becomes almost intolerable to the States. When the British ship the Lusitania was sunk in 1915 several Americans lost their lives in this “unrestricted submarine warfare” designed by the German troops. Britain was the first to declare a naval blockade against Germany by mining and seizing ships attempting to run the blockade. This also meant that US ships were being seized. President Wilson declared the British seizure of American ships as a violation of the rights of a neutral nation’s freedom of the seas but Britain continued to force American ships to be searched for food, medical supplies, and steel before reaching Germany. Although the United States was against the blockade, it had very little impact on the U.S. economy as England paid for lost cargo. Also, with England going to war, the United States were beginning to produce war-related exports to pull them out of its prewar recession. Although Wilson claimed neutrality, he and many other Americans had sympathy toward Britain as the Americans shared language and culture to the English. Wilson did not do much in response to Britain’s violation of American neutrality.

In 1917, after 3 years of neutrality, United States declared war on Imperial Germany and thereby entered World