# Why did we enter World War I? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 28, 2001, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675 "2001-04-28T21:55:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ressl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Ressl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ressl)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/1 "2001-04-28T21:55:14Z")
I’ve looked everywhere on the net and cannot find any worthy answers to this question. Everyone uses a capital i in the title and not a 1 so it’s difficult to search for. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/2 "2001-04-28T22:08:05Z")
i lack the time to do a more thorough look, but a simple query aimed at good ol’ jeeves brought this and a bunch of other links. [http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/EMS/WWI/WWI.html](http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/EMS/WWI/WWI.html) within this page is a plethora of WWI links. ---
**Author:** ![Zarathustra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/898d66/32.png) [@Zarathustra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zarathustra)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/3 "2001-04-28T22:11:24Z")
Why it’s simple, son. Mr. Randolph Hearst conveyed the news that those low down dirty Spaniards had blown up the battleship Maine . . . :: Sound of Zarathustra being slapped :: Sorry 'bout that, I was thinking back about fifteen years too early. Frankly, I couldn’t tell you, but unless someone posts their doctoral thesis on this board, I don’t think you’re going to get many satisfactory one-post answers. For a complicated question like this, I’d say that your best friend is a book on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/4 "2001-04-28T22:37:26Z")
Boy you could go many different ways from this: 1. “To make the world safe for Democracy” -Yeah, right. 2. “Because Germany asked Mexico to attack us!” Of course, this might not have happened if we hadn’t had an administration with such anglophilic administration. 3. “Because we had a very anglophilic administration” Partially true, but we need more than just that. 4. “U-Boats wew ruining free trade on the seas” Of course we were trading mostly with England. 5. “Because England was eighty times better at diplomacy than Germany was” Very true, and probably the technical reason we entered WW1. But not a great ‘reason’ since it makes us 'mericans feel manipulated. That’s a start, but you really cannot pin things down to one reason. But one thing is for sure, if England had not gotten involved in the war, America would not have either. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2001, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/5 "2001-04-28T22:37:37Z")
Short answer: a German U-boat sank the British ship LUISITANIA in 1915, killing 128 Americans aboard. This began a gradual slide in the US attitude from neutrality to declaring war in 1917. More info: [http://history.acusd.edu/gen/classes/diplo177/warstart.html](http://history.acusd.edu/gen/classes/diplo177/warstart.html) > **[The Great War | American Experience | PBS](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/great-war/?utm_source=promourl&utm_medium=direct&utm_campaign=thegreatwar_2017)** > > Discover how WWI transformed America through the stories of those whose participation in the war to “make the world safe for democracy” has been largely forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/6 "2001-04-29T02:58:23Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Mr. Miskatonic \* > \*\* > That’s a start, but you really cannot pin things down to one reason. But one thing is for sure, if England had not gotten involved in the war, America would not have either._\* I agree. The U.S. _is_ a former colony, after all. All other former colonies of Great Britain (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India) sent troops and aid in both World Wars. Most of our people back then had a strong shared affinity for the British, (many still do) even though our two countries were not always on good terms. We’ve been independent longer than anyone else, so we didn’t jump right in with both feet right away. But we did eventually get around to it. ---
**Author:** ![south333](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@south333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/south333)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/7 "2001-04-29T03:04:08Z")
Actually, the bigest reason we entered WW1 was because Germany sent a coded msg to Mexico promising them Texas, Arizona and New Mexico if they would join the war and fight against the USA. British inteligence decoded this telegram and placed it in front of the right US people. I believe it was called the Zimmerman Telegraph. I know this because we just finished WW1 in World History class. 🙂 > [@](#): > > Short answer: a German U-boat sank the British ship LUISITANIA in 1915, killing 128 Americans aboard. This began a gradual slide in the US attitude from neutrality to declaring war in 1917 ``` Actually this was the very first ship to be sunk because of German U-boats. Germany appologized. Later Germany sunk two other boats: the Sussex and the Arabic. Each time, Germany appologized and made some kind of promise or treaty. The sinkings weren't the biggest cause of our declaration of war, although after the last sinking, I think that the US stopped talking to Germany, which made them talk to the Mexicans about declaring war on us which we found out about :). ``` ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/8 "2001-04-29T03:34:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ressl \* > \*\*I’ve looked everywhere on the net and cannot find any worthy answers to this question. Everyone uses a capital i in the title and not a 1 so it’s difficult to search for. \*\* I’m amazed you have not yet gotten a straight answer to this question, because the answer is actually pretty simple; Germany attacked and sank a number of American merchant ships in early 1917. Of course, the U.S. declaration of war was a lot quicker to come for the variety of facts already alluded to, but in fact the casus belli that precipitated war was the unprovoked destruction of civilian vessels belonging to the United States. A chronology: 1. Feb 3, 1917: In the wake of the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, the United States cut off all diplomatic relations on February 3, 1917, expelling the German ambassador. 2. Feb 28, 1917: The infamous Mexican arrangement was made public. 3. March 18, 1917; two American merchant ships are torpedoed. 4. March 21, 1917; the Healdton, an American ship, is torpedoed and sunk. 5. April 1, 1917: Aztec, an armed American merchant ship, torpedoed and sunk. 6. April 5, 1917; Missourian, an American merchant ship, torpedoed and sunk in the Meditteranean. 7. April 6, 1917; U.S. informs Germany a state of war exists. Repeated attacks on merchant vessels are, IMO, a fairly good justification for declaring war. Imagine what would happen today if a foreign power attacked six or seven U.S. ships and sank them. “We’re in a war with someone else!” would not, I suspect, be a well-received excuse. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/9 "2001-04-29T04:50:14Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Lizard \* \*\* I agree. The U.S. _is_ a former colony, after all. All other former colonies of Great Britain (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India) sent troops and aid in both World Wars. QUOTE] Bear in mind, though, that at the time they were _still_ British Colonies, so they didn’t really have much choice in the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/10 "2001-04-29T04:51:51Z")
Yob tfo yo mat. Preview, you fool! _PREVIEW!!!_ ---
**Author:** ![Ressl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Ressl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ressl)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/11 "2001-04-29T05:13:06Z")
yea /\ ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/12 "2001-04-29T07:24:31Z")
All of what is posted before is correct but lets not forget that England owed US companies quite a bit of money for all of the supplies we were sending them. If England were to lose those companies the would not have been paid back. Hate to be the one that’s cynical but it would be foolish to think it was just because of the merchantmen beng sunk. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/13 "2001-04-29T17:36:43Z")
That theory was pretty common in the 1930s (even Superman fell for it), but it’s pretty much discredited today. The unrestricted U-boat warfare was the primary cause. The Zimmerman telegram (which may have been a hoax), helped stir the mix. There was a lot of anti-British sentiment in the U.S., BTW, all the way up until World War II. ---
**Author:** ![gorewonfla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/da6949/32.png) [@gorewonfla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gorewonfla)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2001, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/14 "2001-04-29T18:53:27Z")
Though the events of 1917 were crucial in our entry into WWI the main reason was money. By 1914 we had only 20 million invested in the Central Powers nations, but our amount in the Allies numbered in the billions. Plus there’s that whole Democracy thing. That’s why we supported the Allies by shipping them munitions and food. By 1917 Germany had decided that it couldn’t win if the US continued to ship supplies to the Allies, as the war was a stalemate by then, so they resumed unrestricted submarine warfare in the hopes of turning the tide. Big mistake. The aforementioned telegram to mexico was a last ditch effort to force us to keep our supplies, but even Germany knew it was unlikely. Ironically, the Allies had decided that if the US hadn’t entered the war by November (we did in April) they’d surrender to Germany. The fickle finger of fate sure touched Germany during WWI. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/15 "2001-04-30T02:12:25Z")
Because the god damn Boche marched right into our fucking country AND STARTED EATING OUR BABIES! Oh, wait…you’re not Belgian, right…? ---
**Author:** ![Major\_Feelgud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Major\_Feelgud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Feelgud)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/16 "2001-04-30T02:25:06Z")
Because we were closer to the British than the Germans. Because we spoke English. Because of the bad press the Germans got. Because the Germans killed US citizens on the Lusitania. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/17 "2001-04-30T05:08:22Z")
It’s the ZIMMERMANN telegram, not the Zimmerman telegram. We Germans always insist on that extra letter. Not that my family has lived in Germany since 1837 however. ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/18 "2001-04-30T05:51:18Z")
I always thought it was 'cause all the cool countries were having a war, and we didn’t want to be left out. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/19 "2001-04-30T06:53:48Z")
> [@](#): > > even Superman fell for it 😕 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-we-enter-world-war-i/63675/20 "2001-04-30T13:13:19Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Alessan \* \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lizard \* > \*\* > I agree. The U.S. _is_ a former colony, after all. All other former colonies of Great Britain (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India) sent troops and aid in both World Wars. QUOTE] > > Bear in mind, though, that at the time they were _still_ British Colonies, so they didn’t really have much choice in the matter. \*\* They weren’t “British colonies,” it was just a requirements of their constitutions that they follow the British lead in matters of foreign affairs. All those countries were essentially independent states, except India, and probably could have avoided contributing anything of substance to the war effort. They participated with great enthusiasm, however, so a great many Canadian, Australian, etc. boys died for no good reason at all. That was changed by the Statute of Westminster in 1931. No former British possession I can think of considers 1931 to be their point of independence. Canada had been an independent country since 1867; Australia since 1900, IIRC. Don’t know the date for New Zealand. Sorry, NZ dopers. Having said that, all those same countries happily joined the fray again in 1939 when WWII started, though they all (except India again) did so of their own accord. Of course, in 1939, they had a much better reason.