The Nation at War

Emily Klinkerman

Mr. Tolbert

8th Dual Credit History

March 9th, 2017

The Nation at War

Using lessons learned from the war with Spain, Theodor Roosevelt in 1903 doubled the strength of the Navy and proposed connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for easier transportation of goods, equipment, and people.  The canal was to be open for all nations thanks to the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901.  The U.S. was granted control of a canal zone 10 miles wide across Isthmus of panama and in return the United States guaranteed independence of Panama and payed the same fees offered Colombia.

On June 28, 1914 and assassin from Serbia murdered Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. A few weeks pass and Germany, Turkey, and Austria-Hungary (Central Powers) were at war with France, Russia, and Britain (Allied Powers). America decided to stay neutral since they saw no need to enter conflict.

On May 1, 1915, a German U-boat Blew a hole in the side of Lusitania and nearly 1200 people died including 128 Americans.  Other ships like the Arabic were also sunk by the German U-boats.  This didn’t initially start the war, but it did aid in bringing the United States into a worldwide crisis.

During the election of 1916, antiwar groups formed to against those who wanted to prepare for war. Teddy Roosevelt led the preparedness campaign and he called Wilson “yellow” for not pressing Germany harder for sinking Lusitania. The growing crisis with the German U-boats changed Wilson’s mind, so, in mid-1915, he increased military planning and largely increased the army and navy.

On February 25, the British government gave Wilson a telegram intercepted from Germany to Mexico. The telegram was promising Mexico it could regain lands back taken by the U.S. if they attacked the United States. This caused an uproar from the U.S. and Wilson, on April 2, 1917 passed a declaration of war.

Sources:

American Stories New Myhistorylab With Pearson Etext Standalone Access Card. 3rd ed. Pearson College Div, 2014. Print.