Causes for the us to enter the war
Sussex Pledge: A promise made by Germany in 1916. It stated that they would not sink merchant vessels, "without warning and without saving human lives." It was the effect of the French boat Sussex. Sussex was torpedoed without warning by a German U-Boat.
Zimmermann Note: Germans eventually broke the Sussex Pledge, and former president Woodrow Wilson cut off all diplomatic relations with Germany. He ordered all US merchant ships to be fitted with guns.
The US printed, in a newspaper, a German telegram. In it, German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico, against the US. He told the German Minister in Mexico that Germany would help Mexico gain back the land they lost. For example, New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona.
Lusitania: The Lusitania was a British ocean liner. In 1915, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat, with heavy loss of life. The ship was hit by the U-Boat off the coast of Ireland,. A second internal explosion sent the Lusitania to the bottom in 18 minutes, claiming the lives of 1198 people.
Zimmermann Note: Germans eventually broke the Sussex Pledge, and former president Woodrow Wilson cut off all diplomatic relations with Germany. He ordered all US merchant ships to be fitted with guns.
The US printed, in a newspaper, a German telegram. In it, German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico, against the US. He told the German Minister in Mexico that Germany would help Mexico gain back the land they lost. For example, New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona.
Lusitania: The Lusitania was a British ocean liner. In 1915, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat, with heavy loss of life. The ship was hit by the U-Boat off the coast of Ireland,. A second internal explosion sent the Lusitania to the bottom in 18 minutes, claiming the lives of 1198 people.