The U.S. Enters World War I

This political cartoon is about President Woodrow Wilson calling Congress to convene on an earlier date (from April 16 to April 2) due to the sinking of American ships by U Boats, which were German ships, infamous for sinking enemy ships without warning. This article also shows the influence that news had on people in the U.S.

There were several reasons why the U.S. entered the war. Initially, President Wilson was hesitant to enter the country into the war. Taking sides was dangerous, no matter which countries you chose to alliance with. When Germans started sinking enemy ships using U-Boats, American civilians found it very uncivilized. When the U.S. found out about the Zimmerman telegraph, which was Germany's secret attempt to ally with Mexico and reclaim some U.S. states, America was even more outraged. The sinking of the Lusitania was also a contributing factor because the attack led to innocent civilian deaths. Other factors include the Sussex pledge, which prohibited Germany from sinking any other passenger ships; the Russian Revolution, which resulted in the fall of the czar, whom the U.S. did not want to ally with; the Transatlantic cable being cut, America had to get information/news through London, which was biased in the war; and the "straw that broke the camel's back" was the sinking of three American ships, the Vigilancia, Illinois, and The City of Memphis. Due to all of these combined factors, the U.S. entered the war.