The United States in World War I
When WWI began America remained neutral and impartial, although difficult to achieve. The weakened condition of the Allied forces in 1917 made it clear that the United States would have to provide more troops than originally anticipated. A total of 1.4 million Americans saw combat.
America entered World War One on April 6th, 1917. Up to that date, America had tried to keep out of World War One – though she had traded with nations involved in the war – but unrestricted submarine warfare, introduced by the Germans on January 9th, 1917, was the primary issue that caused Woodrow Wilson to ask Congress to declare war on Germany on April 2nd. Four days later, America joined World War One on the side of the Allies.
U.S. Entry into World War I, 1917
On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany. Wilson cited Germany’s violation of its pledge to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, as well as its attempts to entice Mexico into an alliance against the United States, as his reasons for declaring war.
Woodrow Wilson, The 28th President of the United States
Woodrow Wilson, a leader of the Progressive Movement, was the 28th President of the United States (1913-1921). After a policy of neutrality at the outbreak of World War I, Wilson led America into war in order to “make the world safe for democracy.”
The Economics of World War I (National Bureau of Economic Research)
The total cost of World War I to the United States (was) approximately $32 billion, or 52 percent of gross national product at the time.
Although the United States was actively involved in World War I for only nineteen months, from April 1917 to November 1918, the mobilization of the economy was extraordinary. Over four million Americans served in the armed forces, and the U.S. economy turned out a vast supply of raw materials and munitions.
2014, The US in World War I, online video, History.com, viewed 18 November 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHn1Egt6Xdg
2013, America in World War I: Crash Course US History # 30, viewed 18 November 2016,Crash Course, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y59wErqg4Xg
