The Standard Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer , founded in Plainfield , New Jersey , in 1916
145-620: Standard Aircraft anticipated American entry into World War I , despite an expressed policy of isolationism . The same year it was founded, Standard Aircraft became a very early supplier of aircraft to the U.S. Army Signal Corps (perhaps fifth or sixth ever). The corporation supplied the Sloane H as the Standard H-2 and H-3 to the Army, and the float -equipped H-4H to the Navy , after
290-764: A British Expeditionary Force of 100,000 men would be landed in France; in addition, the Royal Navy would be responsible for the North Sea , the Channel and protecting Northern France, with the French navy concentrated in the Mediterranean . Britain was committed to support France in a war against Germany but this was not widely understood outside government or the upper ranks of the military. As late as 1 August,
435-492: A clear majority of the Liberal government and its supporters wanted to stay out of the war. While Liberal leaders H. H. Asquith and Edward Grey considered Britain legally and morally committed to support France regardless, waiting until Germany triggered the 1839 Treaty provided the best chance of preserving Liberal party unity. The German high command was aware entering Belgium would lead to British intervention but decided
580-726: A complete embargo on all arms shipments to Europe. In 1916, large crowds in Chicago's Germania celebrated the Kaiser's birthday, something they had not done before the war. German Americans in early 1917 still called for neutrality, but proclaimed that if a war came they would be loyal to the United States. By this point, they had been excluded almost entirely from national discourse on the subject. German-American Socialists in Milwaukee , Wisconsin actively campaigned against entry into
725-652: A desire to stay out of the war. The sentiment for neutrality was particularly strong among Irish Americans , German Americans , and Scandinavian Americans , as well as among church leaders and women in general. On the other hand, even before World War I had broken out, American opinion had been overall more negative toward the German Empire than toward any other country in Europe. Over time, especially after reports of German atrocities in Belgium in 1914 and after
870-656: A fall-out from World War I. Some British immigrants worked actively for intervention. London-born Samuel Insull , Chicago's leading industrialist, for example, enthusiastically provided money, propaganda, and means for volunteers to enter the British or Canadian armies. After the United States' entry, Insull directed the Illinois State Council of Defense, with responsibility for organizing the state's mobilization. Immigrants from eastern Europe usually cared more about politics in their homeland than politics in
1015-450: A national service program under which the 600,000 men who turned 18 every year would be required to spend six months in military training, and afterwards be assigned to reserve units. The small regular army would primarily be a training agency. Antimilitarists complained the plan would make the US resemble Germany (which required two years' active duty). Advocates retorted that military "service"
1160-569: A peace. All of his efforts were rebuffed by both the Allies and the Germans, and throughout the war the Vatican maintained a policy of strict neutrality. In 1914–1916, there were few Jewish Americans in favor of US entry into the war. New York City, with its Jewish community numbering 1.5 million, was a center of antiwar activism, much of which was organized by labor unions which were primarily on
1305-499: A pound to only 4 cents. By 1916, however, the British decided to bolster the price to 10 cents to avoid losing Southern support. The cotton growers seem to have moved from neutrality to intervention at about the same pace as the rest of the nation. Midwestern farmers generally opposed the war, especially those of German and Scandinavian descent. The Midwest became the stronghold of isolationism; other remote rural areas also saw no need for war. The African-American community did not take
1450-548: A route into the crumbling Ottoman Empire, where Germany also had significant interests. Combined with the increase in Russian military strength, both Austria and Germany felt threatened by Serbian expansion; when Austria invaded Serbia on 28 July 1914, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Sazonov viewed it as an Austro-German conspiracy to end Russian influence in the Balkans. In addition to its own territory, Russia viewed itself as
1595-447: A schism developed between the anti-war party leadership and a pro-war faction of socialist writers and intellectuals led by John Spargo , William English Walling and E. Haldeman-Julius . This clique founded the rival Social Democratic League of America to promote the war effort among their fellow Socialists. Next were the more moderate Liberal-Internationalists . This nominally- progressive group reluctantly supported US entry into
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#17327803668301740-549: A strong position one way or the other. A month after Congress declared war, W. E. B. Du Bois called on African-Americans to "fight shoulder to shoulder with the world to gain a world where war shall be no more". Once the war began and black men were drafted, they worked to achieve equality. Many had hoped the community's help in the war efforts abroad would earn civil rights at home. When such civil liberties were still not granted, many African-Americans grew tired of waiting for recognition of their rights as American citizens. There
1885-533: A term as Chief of Staff of the Army), former president Theodore Roosevelt , and former secretaries of war Elihu Root and Henry Stimson were the driving forces behind Preparedness, along with many of the nation's most prominent bankers, industrialists, lawyers and scions of prominent families. Indeed, there emerged an "Atlanticist" foreign policy establishment, a group of influential Americans drawn primarily from upper-class lawyers, bankers, academics, and politicians of
2030-867: The Admiralty that did the same for the Royal Navy . Theatre commanders like Douglas Haig on the Western Front or Edmund Allenby in Palestine then reported to the CIGS. After the Indian Army, the largest individual units were the Australian Corps and Canadian Corps in France, which by 1918 were commanded by their own generals, John Monash and Arthur Currie . Contingents from South Africa, New Zealand and Newfoundland served in theatres including France, Gallipoli , German East Africa and
2175-634: The Anglo-French Financial Commission , another joint loan to Britain and France in October 1915, the latter amounting to US$ 500,000,000. Although the stance of the US government was that stopping such financial assistance could hasten the end of the war and therefore save lives, little was done to insure adherence to the ban on loans, in part due to pressure from Allied governments and US business interests. The US steel industry had faced difficulties and declining profits during
2320-686: The Balkan League to prevent further Austrian expansion. Austria viewed Serbia with hostility partly due to its links with Russia, whose claim to be the protector of South Slavs extended to those within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, such as the Czechs and Slovaks . Serbia also potentially gave Russia the ability to achieve their long-held objective of capturing Constantinople and the Dardanelles . Austria-Hungary supported
2465-716: The British Empire , many of whom made significant contributions to the Allied war effort, both in the provision of troops and civilian labourers. It was split into Crown Colonies administered by the Colonial Office in London, such as Nigeria , and the self-governing Dominions of Canada , Newfoundland , New Zealand , Australia and South Africa . These controlled their own domestic policies and military expenditure but not foreign policy. In terms of population,
2610-991: The British Indian Army served in different theatres of the war, primarily France and the Middle East . From 1914 to 1916, overall Imperial diplomatic, political and military strategy was controlled by the British War Cabinet in London; in 1917 it was superseded by the Imperial War Cabinet , which included representatives from the Dominions. Under the War Cabinet were the Chief of the Imperial General Staff or CIGS , responsible for all Imperial ground forces, and
2755-852: The Commission for Relief in Belgium Herbert Hoover , Wall Street financier Bernard Baruch and Harvard University President Abbott Lawrence Lowell . Finally, there were the Atlanticists . Politically conservative and unambiguously pro- Allied , this faction had championed US intervention in the war since the sinking of the Lusitania and also strongly supported the Preparedness Movement . Proponents also advocated for an enduring postwar alliance with Great Britain , which they saw as vital to maintaining
2900-473: The Democratic party , forcing Wilson to take into account their political viewpoints. Irish-American political efforts influenced the United States into defining its own objectives from the war separate from those of its allies, which were primarily (among other objectives) self-determination for the various nations and ethnic groups of Europe. Wilson gave assurances he would promote Irish independence after
3045-591: The Espionage Act of 1917 and many suspected of treason were arrested, including Debs. This increased the Socialists' and anti-war groups' resentment toward the US Government. The working class was relatively quiet and tended to divide along ethnic lines. At the beginning of the war, neither working men nor farmers took a large interest in the debates on war preparation. Samuel Gompers , head of
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#17327803668303190-683: The League of the Three Emperors , then with Germany in the 1887–1890 Reinsurance Treaty ; both collapsed due to the competing interests of Austria and Russia in the Balkans . While France took advantage of this to agree the 1894 Franco-Russian Alliance , Britain viewed Russia with deep suspicion; in 1800, over 3,000 kilometres separated the Russian Empire and British India, by 1902, it was 30 km in some areas. This threatened to bring
3335-686: The Mariana , Caroline , and Marshall Islands , while in 1917, a Japanese naval squadron was sent to support the Allies in the Mediterranean Sea . Japan's primary interest was in China and in January 1915, the Chinese government was presented with a secret ultimatum of Twenty-One Demands , demanding extensive economic and political concessions. While these were eventually modified, the result
3480-801: The Paris Peace Conference recognized the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States as "the Principal Allied and Associated Powers". When the war began in 1914, the Central Powers were opposed by the Triple Entente , formed in 1907 when the agreement between the United Kingdom and Russia complemented existing agreements between the three powers. Fighting commenced when Austria invaded Serbia on 28 July 1914, purportedly in response to
3625-712: The Post Office . Standard's last type was the E-1 . Intended as a fighter, 100 served as advanced trainers, about half with a provision for fitting machineguns , as the M-Defense . In 1918 the corporation had a large factory and airfield at Bayway, near the Elizabeth and Linden boundary. It was here that they assembled and tested 107 Handley Page O/400 bombers during 1918, mostly for shipment to Britain. They were powered by Liberty L-12 engines. A plan to fly them across
3770-962: The Quadruple Entente and, together with Japan, as the Quintuple Entente . The colonies administered by the countries that fought for the Allies were also part of the Entente powers such as American Philippines , Belgian Congo , British India , French Algeria , and Japanese Korea . The United States joined near the end of the war in 1917 (the same year in which Russia withdrew from the conflict) as an "associated power" rather than an official ally. Other "associated members" included Serbia , Belgium , Montenegro , Asir , Nejd and Hasa , Portugal , Romania , Hejaz , Panama , Cuba , Greece , China , Siam , Brazil , Armenia , Luxembourg , Guatemala , Nicaragua , Costa Rica , Haiti , Liberia , and Honduras . The treaties signed at
3915-725: The Russian Empire experiencing turmoil and upheaval in the February revolution overthrowing the Czar on the Eastern Front , and with the remaining Entente Allied nations low on credit, the German Empire appeared to have the upper hand in Europe. However, a British economic embargo and naval blockade were causing severe shortages of fuel and food in Germany. Berlin then decided to resume unrestricted submarine warfare . The aim
4060-642: The Southwestern United States ) in an encoded diplomatic secret telegram known as the Zimmermann Telegram , which was intercepted by British intelligence . Publication in the media of that communique outraged Americans just as German submarines started sinking American merchant ships in the North Atlantic in their U-boat campaign . President Wilson then asked Congress for "a war to end all wars " that would "make
4205-620: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918. Romania was forced to do the same in the May 1918 Treaty of Bucharest but on 10 November, it repudiated the Treaty and once more declared war on the Central Powers. These changes meant the Allies who negotiated the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 included the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan and the United States; Part One of the Treaty agreed to
4350-659: The United States , Italy , and Japan against the Central Powers of Germany , Austria-Hungary , the Ottoman Empire , and Bulgaria in World War I (1914–1918). By the end of the first decade of the 20th century, the major European powers were divided between the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance . The Triple Entente was made up of the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. The Triple Alliance
4495-677: The Yser Front throughout the war. This allowed Belgium to be treated as an Ally, in contrast to Luxembourg which retained control over domestic affairs but was occupied by the German military . In the East, between 7 and 9 August the Russians entered German East Prussia on 7 August, Austrian Eastern Galicia . Japan joined the Entente by declaring war on Germany on 23 August, then Austria on 25 August. On 2 September, Japanese forces surrounded
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4640-402: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand , heir to Emperor Franz Joseph I ; this brought Serbia's ally Montenegro into the war on 8 August and it attacked the Austrian naval base at Cattaro , modern Kotor. At the same time, German troops carried out the Schlieffen Plan , entering neutral Belgium and Luxembourg ; over 95% of Belgium was occupied but the Belgian Army held their lines on
4785-404: The far-left end of the political spectrum, the Socialists , led by their perennial candidate for President, Eugene V. Debs , and movement veterans like Victor L. Berger and Morris Hillquit , were staunch anti-militarists . They were opposed to any US intervention, branding the conflict as a " capitalist war " that US workers should resist. However, after the US joined the war in April 1917,
4930-448: The sinking attack by the Imperial German Navy submarine ( U-boat ) torpedoing of the trans-Atlantic ocean liner RMS Lusitania off the southern coast of Ireland in May 1915, Americans increasingly came to see Imperial Germany as the aggressor in Europe. While the country was at peace, American banks made huge loans to the Entente powers (Allies) , which were used mainly to buy munitions, raw materials, and food from across
5075-493: The 112,000 National Guardsmen, was outnumbered 20 to one by Germany's army, which was drawn from a smaller population. Similarly in 1915, the armed forces of Britain and her Empire , France , Russia , Austria-Hungary , Ottoman Empire , Italy , Bulgaria , Romania , Serbia , Belgium , Japan and Greece were all larger and more experienced than the United States military, in many cases significantly so. Reform to them meant UMT or "universal military training". They proposed
5220-401: The 19th century, Britain sought to maintain the European balance of power without formal alliances, a policy known as splendid isolation . This left it dangerously exposed as Europe divided into opposing power blocs and the 1895–1905 Conservative government negotiated first the 1902 Anglo-Japanese Alliance , then the 1904 Entente Cordiale with France. The first tangible result of this shift
5365-429: The AFL labor movement, denounced the war in 1914 as "unnatural, unjustified, and unholy", but by 1916 he was supporting Wilson's limited preparedness program, against the objections of Socialist union activists. In 1916 the labor unions supported Wilson on domestic issues and ignored the war question. The war at first disrupted the cotton market; the Royal Navy blockaded shipments to Germany, and prices fell from 11 cents
5510-414: The Act was suspended until the war ended. John Redmond and the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) declared that Irish Volunteers should support the US's pro-Allied war efforts first; his political opponents argued that it was not the time to support Britain in its attempt to "strengthen and expand her empire". The attacks on the IPP and pro-Allied press showed a firm belief that a German victory would hasten
5655-453: The Admiralty reasoned that since the island of Britain depended on imports of food, raw materials, and manufactured goods, preventing a substantial number of ships from supplying Britain would effectively undercut its long-term ability to maintain an army on the Western Front and potentially force Britain into speedy surrender. Such strategy would also give an essential, war winning role to the German Imperial Navy, who had been mostly passive in
5800-402: The Atlantic in North America from the United States and Canada . Although 28th American President Woodrow Wilson (served 1913–1921), made minimal preparations for a land war before 1917, he did authorize a shipbuilding program for the United States Navy . Wilson was narrowly re-elected in 1916 on an anti-war platform. By 1917, with Belgium and Northern France occupied by German troops,
5945-431: The Atlantic was abandoned, and a further contract for 1,000 more O/400s was cancelled with the end of World War I . Designer Charles Healy Day later teamed with barnstormer/showman Ivan Gates to design and build aircraft specifically for the civilian and military markets. They formed the Gates-Day Aircraft Company (later renamed the New Standard Aircraft Company ) in 1927, and built a number of different aircraft—including
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6090-427: The British army and Royal Navy were committed to support France in the event of war with Germany but even in the British government, very few were aware of the extent of these commitments. In response to Germany's declaration of war on Russia, France issued a general mobilisation in expectation of war on 2 August and on 3 August, Germany also declared war on France. Germany's ultimatum to Belgium brought Britain into
6235-405: The British or French. However, because Germany and adjacent Central Powers ally Austria-Hungary had decimated their agricultural production by drafting and taking so many farmers and supplies of nitrate fertilisers into their armies, and the Allies were able to pressure neutral countries into reducing exports, the situation worsened, with the so-called " turnip winter " of 1916–1917 an example of
6380-427: The Churches of Christ, the Holiness movement and Pentecostal churches. Congressman James Hay , Democrat of Virginia was the powerful chairman of the House Committee on Military Affairs. He repeatedly blocked prewar efforts to modernize and enlarge the army. Preparedness was not needed because Americans were already safe, he insisted in January 1915: Educated, urban, middle-class southerners generally supported entering
6525-523: The East. The growth of the Russian railway network and increase in speed of mobilisation made rapid victory over France even more important; to accommodate the additional 170,000 troops approved by the 1913 Army Bill, the 'incursion' now became a full-scale invasion. The Germans accepted the risk of British intervention; in common with most of Europe, they expected it to be a short war while their London Ambassador claimed civil war in Ireland would prevent Britain from assisting its Entente partners. On 3 August,
6670-556: The Entente in return for German territories in the Pacific, greatly annoying the Australian government which also wanted them. On 7 August 1914, Britain officially asked for assistance in destroying German naval units in China and Japan formally declared war on Germany on 23 August 1914, followed by Austria-Hungary on 25 August 1914. On 2 September 1914, Japanese forces surrounded the German Treaty Port of Qingdao , then known as Tsingtao, which surrendered on 7 November. The Imperial Japanese Navy simultaneously occupied German colonies in
6815-538: The European conflict to be "an imperialist war" blaming the war on capitalism and pledged total opposition. "A bayonet", its propaganda said, "was a weapon with a worker at each end". When war was declared, however, many Socialists, including much of the party's intellectual leadership, supported the decision and sided with the pro-Allied efforts. The majority, led by Eugene V. Debs (the party's presidential candidate from 1900 to 1912), remained ideological and die-hard opponents. Many socialists came under investigation from
6960-399: The French and German militaries accepted Germany would almost certainly violate Belgian neutrality in the event of war, the extent of that was unclear. The original Schlieffen Plan only required a limited incursion into the Belgian Ardennes , rather than a full-scale invasion; in September 1911, the Belgian Foreign Minister told a British Embassy official they would not call for assistance if
7105-424: The French lost nearly 300,000 dead on the Western Front, more than Britain suffered in the whole of WWII and the gaps were partly filled by colonial troops, over 500,000 of whom served on the Western Front over the period 1914–1918. Colonial troops also fought at Gallipoli , occupied Togo and Kamerun in West Africa and had a minor role in the Middle East, where France was the traditional protector of Christians in
7250-531: The Gates-Day D-24 and the New Standard D-25 . This aeronautical company–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . American entry into World War I The United States entered into World War I on 6 April 1917, more than two and a half years after the war began in Europe. Apart from an Anglophile element urging early support for the British and an anti-Tsarist element sympathizing with Germany 's war against Russia , American public opinion had generally reflected
7395-404: The German Treaty Port of Tsingtao (now Qingdao) in China and occupied German colonies in the Pacific, including the Mariana , Caroline , and Marshall Islands . Despite its membership of the Triple Alliance , Italy remained neutral until 23 May 1915 when it joined the Entente, declaring war on Austria but not Germany. On 17 January 1916, Montenegro capitulated and left the Entente; this
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#17327803668307540-415: The German embassy's commercial attaché, Heinrich Albert , left his briefcase on a train in New York City, where an alert Secret Service agent, Frank Burke, snatched it up. Wilson let the newspapers publish the contents, which indicated a systematic effort by Berlin to subsidize friendly newspapers and block British purchases of war materials. Berlin's top espionage agent, debonnaire Franz Rintelen von Kleist
7685-452: The Germans limited themselves to that. While neither Britain or France could allow Germany to occupy Belgium unopposed, a Belgian refusal to ask for help would complicate matters for the British Liberal government , which contained a significant isolationist element. However, the key German objective was to avoid war on two fronts; France had to be defeated before Russia could fully mobilise and give time for German forces to be transferred to
7830-419: The Italian Army , died on 1 July 1914, taking many of the prospects for Italian support with him. The Italian Prime Minister Antonio Salandra argued that as the Alliance was defensive in nature, Austria's aggression against Serbia and Italy's exclusion from the decision-making process meant it was not obliged to join them. His caution was understandable because France and Britain either supplied or controlled
7975-422: The Middle East. Australian troops separately occupied German New Guinea , with the South Africans doing the same in German South West Africa ; this resulted in the Maritz rebellion by former Boers, which was quickly suppressed. After the war, New Guinea and South-West Africa became Protectorates , held until 1975 and 1990 respectively. Between 1873 and 1887, Russia was allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary in
8120-452: The Northeast, committed to a strand of Anglophile internationalism. Representative was Paul D. Cravath , one of New York's foremost corporation lawyers. For Cravath, in his mid-fifties when the war began, the conflict served as an epiphany, sparking an interest in international affairs that dominated his remaining career. Fiercely Anglophile, he strongly supported US intervention in the war and hoped that close Anglo-American cooperation would be
8265-423: The Ottoman Empire, the centrepiece being the planned Berlin–Baghdad railway , with Serbia the only section not controlled by a pro-German state. The exact role played by Serbian officials in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is still debated but despite complying with most of their demands, Austria-Hungary invaded on 28 July 1914. While Serbia successfully repulsed the Austro-Hungarian army in 1914, it
8410-437: The Ottoman provinces of Syria , Palestine and Lebanon . Prior to the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan was a semi-feudal, largely agrarian state with few natural resources and limited technology. By 1914, it had transformed itself into a modern industrial state, with a powerful military; by defeating China in the First Sino-Japanese War during 1894–1895, it established itself as the primary power in East Asia and colonised
8555-501: The Recession of 1913–1914. As war began in Europe, however, the increased demand for tools of war began a period of heightened productivity that alleviated many US industrial companies from the low-growth environment of the recession. Bethlehem Steel took particular advantage of the increased demand for armaments abroad. Prior to US entrance into the war, these companies benefited from unrestricted commerce with sovereign customers abroad. After President Wilson issued his declaration of war,
8700-401: The Royal Navy in outlying waters who viewed such trade as in direct conflict with the Allies' war efforts. The impact from the blockade became apparent very slowly because Germany and its allies controlled extensive farmlands and raw materials on the continent of Europe and could trade with land-bordering neutral countries like Sweden and the Netherlands who were not themselves blockaded by
8845-477: The Sloane company was reorganised as the Standard Aircraft Co. A more significant type was the Standard J series trainer , similar to the Curtiss JN-4 , which began with the SJ prototype, followed by the production J-1 (or SJ-1), of which some 800 were built. They were badly hampered by the choice of engine, and attempts to cure the problems with subsequent designs were not successful. Only handfuls of JRs and JR-1Bs were built; some were also purchased by
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#17327803668308990-400: The Triple Entente with France, which at this stage was largely informal. In 1908, Austria annexed the former Ottoman province of Bosnia and Herzegovina ; Russia responded by creating the Balkan League in order to prevent further Austrian expansion. In the 1912–1913 First Balkan War , Serbia , Bulgaria and Greece captured most of the remaining Ottoman possessions in Europe; disputes over
9135-441: The US armed forces in WWI. The Easter Rising in Dublin in April 1916 was defeated within a week and its leaders executed by firing squad. Both the mainstream Irish and US press treated the uprising as foolish and misguided, with later joining the British press in suspecting it was largely created and planned by the Germans. Overall public opinion remained faithfully pro-Entente. In many major US cities, Irish-Americans dominated
9280-468: The US entering the war. Led by Governor Richard I. Manning, the cities of Greenville, Spartanburg, and Columbia had started lobbying for army training centers in their communities, for both economic and patriotic reasons, in preparation for US entry into the war. Similarly, Charleston had interned a German freighter in 1914, and when the freighter's skeleton crew tried to block Charleston harbor they were all arrested and imprisoned. From that point on Charleston
9425-421: The United States warning Germany about the misuse of submarines, several incidents occurred where neutral ships were attacked or Americans killed. After the Thrasher incident , the German Imperial Embassy warned US citizens against boarding vessels to Britain, which would have to face German attack. Then on May 7, Germany torpedoed the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania , sinking her. This act of aggression caused
9570-415: The United States was so weak militarily that it could not be a factor on the Western Front for more than a year and that submarines would stop the transport of troops anyway. The civilian government in Berlin objected, but the Kaiser sided with his military. The second round of unrestricted submarine warfare was communicated to the Americans on January 31, 1917. The State Department had some indications that
9715-415: The United States. Spokesmen for Slavic immigrants hoped that an Allied victory would bring independence for their homelands. Large numbers of Hungarian immigrants who were liberal and nationalist in sentiment, and sought an independent Hungary, separate from the Austro-Hungarian Empire lobbied in favor of the war and allied themselves with the Atlanticist or Anglophile portion of the population. This community
9860-435: The achievement of an independent Irish state. Yet rather than proposing intervention on behalf of the Germans, Irish American leaders and organizations focused on demanding US neutrality . But the increased contact between militant Irish nationalists and German agents in the United States only fueled concerns of where the primary loyalties of Irish Americans lay. Nevertheless, nearly 1,000 Irish-born Americans died fighting with
10005-577: The actual results of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles would be powerful factors in the rise of Benito Mussolini . In 1817, the Principality of Serbia became an autonomous province within the Ottoman Empire ; with Russian support, it gained full independence after the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War . Many Serbs viewed Russia as protector of the South Slavs in general but also specifically against Bulgaria, where Russian objectives increasingly collided with Bulgarian nationalism . When Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, Russia responded by creating
10150-444: The beginning of the first round of unrestricted submarine warfare six months after the war began in February 1915. However, instead of ceasing shipping to Britain and blaming the British (as the Germans positioned the move as a reprisal) as the Germans anticipated, the United States demanded that Germany respect the earlier peace-time international agreements upon " freedom of the seas ", which protected neutral American and other ships on
10295-416: The belligerents in August 1914. He told President Wilson that "refusal to loan to any belligerent would naturally tend to hasten a conclusion of the war." Wilson at first agreed, but then reversed himself when France argued that if it was legal to buy US goods then it was legal to take out credits on the purchase. J.P. Morgan issued loans to France including one in March 1915 and, following negotiations with
10440-423: The campaign would come, but Wilson declared to his cabinet that the announcement had come as a complete surprise. The announcement was especially galling due to Wilson's "Peace without victory" speech nine days earlier, as well as ongoing discussions on US opposition to British use of armed merchant ships. The Germans started targeting American vessels the very next day. The beginning of war in Europe coincided with
10585-532: The companies were subjected to price controls created by the US Trade Commission in order to insure that the US armed forces would have access to the necessary armaments. By the end of the war in 1918, Bethlehem Steel had produced 65,000 pounds of forged military products and 70 million pounds of armor plate, 1.1 billion pounds of steel for shells, and 20.1 million rounds of artillery ammunition for Britain and France. Bethlehem Steel took advantage of
10730-536: The defender of its fellow Slavs and on 30 July, mobilized in support of Serbia. In response, Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August, followed by Austria-Hungary on 6th; after Ottoman warships bombarded Odesa in late October, the Entente declared war on the Ottoman Empire in November 1914. French defeat in the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War led to the loss of the two provinces of Alsace-Lorraine and
10875-579: The division of these resulted in the Second Balkan War , in which Bulgaria was comprehensively defeated by its former allies. Russia's industrial base and railway network had significantly improved since 1905, although from a relatively low base; in 1913, Tsar Nicholas approved an increase in the Russian Army of over 500,000 men. Although there was no formal alliance between Russia and Serbia, their close bilateral links provided Russia with
11020-443: The domestic armaments market and produced 60% of the US weaponry and 40% of the artillery shells used in the war. Even with price controls and a lower profit margin on manufactured goods, the profits resulting from wartime sales expanded the company into the third largest manufacturing company in the country. Bethlehem Steel became the primary arms supplier for the United States and other allied powers again in 1939. Historians divide
11165-498: The emerging severe shortages in Central Europe . The situation at the start of 1917 was such that there was clear pressure on the German leadership to avoid a "war of exhaustion", while the softening of neutral trade reduced the importance to keep the neutral countries on side. Germany, for her part, had considered a blockade from 1914. "England wants to starve us", said Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz ( 1849 – 1930 ),
11310-520: The end of the Recession of 1913–1914 in the US. Exports to belligerent nations rose rapidly over the first four years of the War from $ 824.8 million in 1913 to $ 2.25 billion in 1917. Loans from American financial institutions to the Allied nations in Europe also increased dramatically over the same period. Economic activity towards the end of this period boomed as government resources aided the production of
11455-518: The entire population. In 1830, the southern provinces of the Netherlands broke away to form the Kingdom of Belgium and their independence was confirmed by the 1839 Treaty of London . Article VII of the Treaty required Belgium to remain perpetually neutral and committed Austria, France, Germany and Russia to guarantee that against aggression by any other state, including the signatories. While
11600-591: The establishment of the League of Nations on 25 January 1919. This came into being on 16 January 1920 with Britain, France, Italy and Japan as permanent members of the Executive Council; the US Senate voted against ratification of the treaty on 19 March, thus preventing the United States from joining the League. For similar statistics of the Central Powers, see Central_Powers#Statistics . For much of
11745-639: The establishment of the Third Republic . The suppression of the Paris Commune by the new regime caused deep political divisions and led to a series of bitter political struggles, such as the Dreyfus affair . As a result, aggressive nationalism or Revanchism was one of the few areas to unite the French. The loss of Alsace-Lorraine deprived France of its natural defence line on the Rhine , while it
11890-594: The expansion of its railway network, particularly in border areas with Germany and Austria-Hungary. However, Russian defeat in the 1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War damaged its credibility, while Britain's isolation during the Second Boer War meant both countries sought additional allies. This resulted in the 1904 Entente Cordiale with Britain; like the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention , for domestic British consumption it focused on settling colonial disputes but led to informal co-operation in other areas. By 1914, both
12035-479: The future security of the US. Prominent among the Anglophile Eastern establishment , supporters included former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt , Major General Leonard Wood , lawyer and diplomat Joseph Hodges Choate , former Secretary of War Henry Stimson and Senators Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts and Elihu Root of New York. A surprising factor in the development of US public opinion
12180-428: The guiding principle of postwar international organization. The Preparedness movement had a " realistic " philosophy of world affairs—they believed that economic strength and military muscle were more decisive than idealistic crusades focused on causes like democracy and national self-determination. Emphasizing over and over the weak state of national defenses, they showed that the US's 100,000-man Army even augmented by
12325-733: The high seas from seizure or sinking by either belligerent. Furthermore, Americans insisted on strict accountability for the deaths of innocent American civilians, demanding an apology, compensation and suggesting that it is grounds for a declaration of war. While the British Royal Navy frequently violated America's neutral rights by defining contraband very broadly in their naval blockade of Germany, German submarine warfare threatened American lives. Wilson's top advisor, legendary Colonel Edward M. House ( 1858 – 1938 ), commented that, "The British have gone as far as they possibly could in violating neutral rights, though they have done it in
12470-631: The idea of an independent Albania , since this would prevent Serbian access to the Austrian-controlled Adriatic Sea . The success of the Albanian revolt in 1912 threatened Serbian ambitions for the incorporation of " Old Serbia " into its domain and exposed the weakness of the Ottoman Empire. This led to the outbreak of the First Balkan War , with Serbia , Montenegro , Bulgaria and Greece capturing most of
12615-511: The import of most of Italy's raw materials, including 90% of its coal. Salandra described the process of choosing a side as 'sacred egoism,' but as the war was expected to end before mid-1915 at the latest, making this decision became increasingly urgent. In line with Italy's obligations under the Triple Alliance, the bulk of the army was concentrated on Italy's border with France; in October, Pollio's replacement, General Luigi Cadorna ,
12760-675: The largest component (after Britain herself) was the British Raj or British India, which included modern India , Pakistan , Myanmar and Bangladesh . Unlike other colonies which came under the Colonial Office , it was governed directly by the India Office or by princes loyal to the British; it also controlled British interests in the Persian Gulf , such as the Trucial States and Oman . Over one million soldiers of
12905-608: The loss of 1,199 civilian lives, including 128 US citizens. The sinking of a large, unarmed passenger ship, combined with the previous stories of atrocities in Belgium, shocked Americans and turned public opinion hostile to Germany, although not yet to the point of war. Wilson issued a warning to Germany affirming it would face "strict accountability" if it killed more American citizens. Berlin acquiesced, ordering its submarines to avoid passenger ships. By January 1917, however, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and General Erich Ludendorff decided that an unrestricted submarine blockade
13050-558: The man who built the Imperial German Navy fleet after 1871 with the unification of Germany during the last few decades and who remained a key advisor to the German Emperor / Kaiser Wilhelm II . "We can play the same game. We can bottle her up and destroy every ship that endeavors to break the blockade". Admiral Tirpitz wanted to sink or scare off merchant and passenger ships en route to Britain. He and others in
13195-400: The most courteous way". Further, while the British justified their argument with an appeal to precedent, the Germans claimed that they should be allowed to use their new weapon to its best potential and so existing rules and norms need not apply. This is especially exemplified when German submarines torpedoed ships without warning, causing sailors and passengers to drown. Though in practice this
13340-415: The pacifist cause by sponsoring a large-scale private peace mission, with numerous activists and intellectuals aboard the " Peace Ship ' (the ocean liner Oscar II). Ford chartered the ship in 1915 and invited prominent peace activists to join him to meet with leaders on both sides in Europe. He hoped to create enough publicity to prompt the belligerent nations to convene a peace conference and mediate an end to
13485-764: The political left and therefore opposed to a war that they viewed to be a battle between several great powers. Some Jewish communities worked together during the war years to provide relief to Jewish communities in Eastern Europe which were decimated by fighting, famine and scorched earth policies of the Russian and Austro-German armies. Of greatest concern to Jewish Americans was the Tsarist government in Russia due its toleration of pogroms and allegedly following antisemitic policies. As historian Joseph Rappaport reported through his study of Yiddish press during
13630-519: The possibility of using the war to demand a state of Israel . The most effective domestic opponents of the war were Irish-American Catholics. Many had little interest in the continent; despite traditional hostility towards the United Kingdom and British Empire , some Irish Americans took a more neutral stance on the issue of aiding the entente on account of the recently passed Government of Ireland Act 1914 , allowing Irish Home Rule. However,
13775-404: The primary issuer of loans to the French government, providing the capital of US investors, operating from their French affiliate Morgan, Harjes. Relations between Morgan and the French government became tense as the war raged on with no end in sight however. France's ability to borrow from other sources diminished, leading to greater lending rates and a depressing of the value of the franc. After
13920-475: The private sector. Between 1914 and 1917, industrial production increased 32% and GNP increased by almost 20%. The improvements to industrial production in the United States outlasted the war. The capital build-up that had allowed US companies to supply belligerents and the US Army resulted in a greater long-run rate of production even after the war had ended in 1918. The J.P. Morgan Bank offered assistance in
14065-462: The reassurance needed to take on Russia in the 1905 Russo-Japanese War ; victory established Japan in the Chinese province of Manchuria . With Japan as an ally in the Far East, John Fisher , First Sea Lord from 1904 to 1910, was able to refocus British naval resources in the North Sea to counter the threat from the Imperial German Navy . The Alliance was renewed in 1911; in 1914, Japan joined
14210-455: The region of Southeast Georgia , all of whom were outspokenly Anglophilic during the decades preceding the war, and during the early phases of the war. All five of which also highlighted German atrocities during the rape of Belgium and the murder of Edith Cavell . Other magazines with nationwide distribution which were pro-British such as The Outlook and The Literary Digest had a disproportionately high distribution throughout every region of
14355-448: The remaining Ottoman possessions in Europe. Disputes over the division of these resulted in the Second Balkan War , in which Bulgaria was comprehensively defeated by its former allies. As a result of the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest , Serbia increased its territory by 100% and its population by 64%. However, it now faced a hostile Austria-Hungary, a resentful Bulgaria and resistance in its conquered territories . Germany too had ambitions in
14500-458: The risk was acceptable; they expected a short war while their ambassador in London claimed troubles in Ireland would prevent Britain from assisting France. On 3 August, Germany demanded unimpeded progress through any part of Belgium and when this was refused, invaded early on the morning of 4 August. This changed the situation; the invasion of Belgium consolidated political and public support for
14645-496: The significantly smaller size of the German surface fleet all made it effectively impossible for Germany to proportionally reciprocate using conventional naval methods. Instead, Germany used submarines to sink merchant ships heading for Entente ports. By the end of 1915, the Royal Navy had successfully interdicted and stopped the naval shipment of most war supplies and food to Germany. Neutral American merchant cargo ships that tried to trade with Germany were seized or turned back by
14790-481: The state of Georgia as well as the region of northern Alabama in the area around Huntsville and Decatur (when the war began there were 470 volunteers from the state of Alabama, of these, over 400 came from Huntsville-Decatur region). Support for US entry into the war was also pronounced in central Tennessee. Letters to newspapers which expressed pro-British, anti-German or pro-interventionist sentiment were common. In between October 1914 and April 1917, letters about
14935-547: The state, however, the exception to this were pockets within the state such as the city of Green Bay. Green Bay had a large number of pro-Allied immigrants, including the largest Belgian immigrant community in the entire country, and for this reason anti-German sentiment and pro-war sentiment were both significantly higher in Green Bay than in the country as a whole. There was a large Serbian-American community in Alaska which also
15080-646: The then-unified Korea and Formosa, now modern Taiwan . Concerned by Russian expansion in Korea and Manchuria , Britain and Japan signed the Anglo-Japanese Alliance on 30 January 1902, agreeing if either were attacked by a third party, the other would remain neutral and if attacked by two or more opponents, the other would come to its aid. This meant Japan could rely on British support in a war with Russia, if either France or Germany, which also had interests in China, decided to join them. This gave Japan
15225-621: The two into direct conflict, as did the long-held Russian objective of gaining control of the Bosporus Straits and with it access to the British-dominated Mediterranean Sea . Defeat in the 1905 Russo-Japanese War and Britain's isolation during the 1899–1902 Second Boer War led both parties to seek allies. The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 settled disputes in Asia and allowed the establishment of
15370-939: The views of US political, social and business leaders into four distinct groupings—the camps were mostly informal: The first of these were the Non-Interventionists , a loosely affiliated and politically diverse anti-war movement which sought to keep the United States out of the conflict altogether. Members of this group tended to view the war as a clash between the imperialist and militaristic great powers of Europe, whom they deemed to be corrupt and unworthy of support. Others were pacifists , who objected on moral grounds. Prominent leaders included Democrats like former Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan , industrialist Henry Ford and publisher William Randolph Hearst ; Republicans such as Senator Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin and Senator George W. Norris of Nebraska; and Progressive activist Jane Addams . At
15515-666: The war (such mistreatment was already happening to German-descent citizens in Canada and Australia). Almost none called for intervening on Germany's side, instead calling for neutrality and speaking of the superiority of German culture. As more nations were drawn into the conflict, however, the English-language press increasingly supported Britain, while the German-American media called for neutrality while also defending Germany's position. Chicago's Germans worked to secure
15660-459: The war against Germany , with the postwar goal of establishing strong international institutions designed to peacefully resolve future conflicts between nations and to promote liberal democratic values more broadly. This camp's views were advocated by interest groups such as the League to Enforce Peace . Adherents included U.S. President Woodrow Wilson , his influential advisor Edward M. House , former President William Howard Taft , chairman of
15805-556: The war by presenting what appeared to be a simple moral and strategic choice. The Belgians asked for assistance under the 1839 Treaty and in response, Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914. Although Germany's violation of Belgium neutrality was not the only cause of British entry into the war, it was used extensively in government propaganda at home and abroad to make the case for British intervention. This confusion arguably persists today. The declaration of war automatically involved all dominions and colonies and protectorates of
15950-458: The war ended, J.P. Morgan & Co. continued to aid the French government financially through monetary stabilization and debt relief. Because the United States was still a declared neutral state, the financial dealings of United States banks in Europe caused a great deal of contention between Wall Street and the US Government. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan strictly opposed financial support of warring nations and wanted to ban loans to
16095-414: The war except for Mississippi firebrand James K. Vardaman . By coincidence, there were some regions of the south which were more heavily in favor of intervention than others. Georgia provided the most volunteers per capita out of any state in the union before conscription and had the highest portion of pro-British newspapers before the US entry into the war. There were five competing newspapers which covered
16240-432: The war on 4 August, although France did not declare war on Austria-Hungary until 12 August. As with Britain, France's colonies also became part of the war; pre-1914, French soldiers and politicians advocated using French African recruits to help compensate for France's demographic weakness. But it eventually proved useless, the soldiers from Metropolitan France still undertook all the tasks. From August to December 1914,
16385-536: The war thus far due to being unable to challenge the powerful Royal Navy surface warship fleet. While Germany had ample shipyard capacity to build hundreds of U-boats, they had only nine long-range U-boats at the start of the war in August 1914. Nevertheless, without consulting colleagues earlier superiors like Tirpitz, the outgoing head of the German Admiralty Hugo von Pohl ( 1855 – 1916 ), declared
16530-458: The war to newspapers from Tennessee included at least one of these three sentiments. In the Tennessee counties of Cheatham County, Robertson County, Sumner County, Wilson County, Rutherford County, Williamson County, Maury County, Marshall County, Bedford County, Coffee County and Cannon County over half of the letters contained all three of these elements. In South Carolina there was support for
16675-489: The war which helped to secure support for his war policies. However once the war was over Wilson reneged, disappointing many Irish-Americans. Though an ideological proponent of self-determination in general, Wilson saw the Irish situation purely as an internal affair of the United Kingdom and did not perceive the dispute and the unrest in Ireland as one in the same as that being faced by the various other nationalities in Europe as
16820-577: The war, "The pro-Germanism of America's immigrant Jews was an inevitable consequence of their Russophobia ." However, after the February Revolution of 1917 led to the transformation of Russia into a republic , a major obstacle was removed for those Jews who refused to support US entry into the war on the side of Russia. The draft went smoothly in New York City, and left-wing opposition to the war largely collapsed when Zionists saw
16965-404: The war, and many worked on mobilization committees. In contrast to this many rural southern whites opposed entering the war. Those with more formal education were more in favor of entering the war and those in the south with less formal education were more likely to oppose entering the war. Letters to newspapers with spelling or grammatical errors were overwhelmingly letters which opposed entry into
17110-421: The war, whereas letters with no spelling or grammatical errors were overwhelming those which supported entry into the war. When the war began Texas and Georgia led the southern states with volunteers. 1,404 from Texas, 1,397 from Georgia, 538 from Louisiana, 532 from Tennessee, 470 from Alabama, 353 from North Carolina, 316 from Florida, and 225 from South Carolina. Every southern Senator voted in favor of entering
17255-602: The war. Leaders of most religious groups (except the Episcopalians) tended to pacifism, as did leaders of the woman's movement. The Methodists and Quakers among others were vocal opponents of the war. President Wilson, who was a devout Presbyterian, would often frame the war in terms of good and evil in an appeal for religious support of the war. A concerted effort was made by pacifists including Jane Addams , Oswald Garrison Villard , David Starr Jordan , Henry Ford , Lillian Wald , and Carrie Chapman Catt . Their goal
17400-454: The war. The mission was widely mocked by the press, which wrote about the "Ship of Fools." Infighting between the activists, mockery by the press contingent aboard, and an outbreak of influenza marred the voyage. Four days after the ship arrived in neutral Norway, a beleaguered and physically ill Ford abandoned the mission and returned to the United States; he had demonstrated that independent small efforts accomplished nothing. On July 24, 1915,
17545-418: The war. The sinking of Lusitania had a strong effect on public opinion because of the deaths of US civilians. That year, a strong "Preparedness" movement emerged. Proponents argued that the United States needed to immediately build up strong naval and land forces for defensive purposes; an unspoken assumption was that the US would fight sooner or later. General Leonard Wood (still on active duty after serving
17690-404: The wartime financing of Britain and France from the earliest stages of the conflict through the US's entrance in 1917. J.P. Morgan's New York office, was designated as the primary financial agent to the British government starting in 1914 after successful lobbying by the British ambassador, Sir Cecil Spring Rice . The same bank would later take a similar role in France. J.P. Morgan & Co. became
17835-472: The world safe for democracy", and Congress voted to declare war on Germany on April 6, 1917 . US troops began major combat operations on the Western Front under General John J. Pershing in the summer of 1918. Britain used its large navy to prevent cargo vessels entering German ports, mainly by intercepting them in the North Sea between the coasts of Scotland and Norway. The wider sea approaches to Britain and France, their distance from German harbors and
17980-579: The world. US Catholic bishops maintained a general silence toward the issue of intervention. Millions of Catholics lived in both warring camps, and Catholic Americans tended to split on ethnic lines in their opinions toward US involvement in the war. At the time, heavily Catholic towns and cities in the East and Midwest often contained multiple parishes, each serving a single ethnic group, such as Irish, German, Italian, Polish, or English. US Catholics of Irish and German descent opposed intervention most strongly. Pope Benedict XV made several attempts to negotiate
18125-582: Was British support for France against Germany in the 1905 Moroccan Crisis . The 1905–1915 Liberal government continued this re-alignment with the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention . Like the Anglo-Japanese and Entente agreements, it focused on settling colonial disputes but by doing so paved the way for wider co-operation and allowed Britain to refocus resources in response to German naval expansion . Since control of Belgium allowed an opponent to threaten invasion or blockade British trade, preventing it
18270-577: Was a long-standing British strategic interest. Under Article VII of the 1839 Treaty of London , Britain guaranteed Belgian neutrality against aggression by any other state, by force if required. Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg later dismissed this as a 'scrap of paper,' but British law officers routinely confirmed it as a binding legal obligation and its importance was well understood by Germany. The 1911 Agadir Crisis led to secret discussions between France and Britain in case of war with Germany. These agreed that within two weeks of its outbreak,
18415-476: Was a strong antiwar element among poor rural whites in the South and border states. In rural Missouri for example, distrust of powerful Eastern influences focused on the risk that Wall Street would lead the US into war. Across the South poor white farmers warned each other that "a rich man's war meant a poor man's fight," and they wanted nothing of it. Antiwar sentiment was strongest among Christians affiliated with
18560-515: Was a surge of anti-Japanese nationalism in China and an economic boycott of Japanese goods. In addition, the other Allies now saw Japan as a threat, rather than a partner, lead to tensions first with Russia, then the US after it entered the war in April 1917. Despite protests from the other Allies, after the war Japan refused to return Qingdao and the province of Shandong to China. The 1882 Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy
18705-443: Was an essential duty of citizenship, and that without the commonality provided by such service the nation would splinter into antagonistic ethnic groups. One spokesman promised that UMT would become "a real melting pot , under which the fire is hot enough to fuse the elements into one common mass of Americanism". Furthermore, they promised, the discipline and training would make for a better paid work force. Hostility to military service
18850-399: Was buzzing with "war fever." 1915, 1916 and early 1917 were all years when Charleston and the low country coastal counties to the south of Charleston, were all gripped by sentiment that was very "pro-British and anti-German." German Americans by this time usually had only weak ties to Germany; however, they were fearful of negative treatment they might receive if the United States entered
18995-630: Was enthusiastically in favor of US entry into World War I. In the case of Alaska, which was at the time a territory, thousands of Serbian immigrants and Serbian-Americans volunteered early to join the United States Army shortly after the declaration of war, after the community had been outspokenly in favor of the US's entry into the war before this. During the First World War, many Serbian Americans volunteered to fight overseas, with thousands coming from Alaska. Henry Ford supported
19140-462: Was exhausted by the two Balkan Wars and unable to replace its losses of men and equipment. In 1915, Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and by the end of the year, a combined Bulgar-Austrian-German army occupied most of Serbia. Between 1914 and 1918, Serbia suffered the greatest proportional losses of any combatant, with over 25% of all those mobilised becoming casualties; including civilians and deaths from disease, over 1.2 million died, nearly 30% of
19285-598: Was how little the political parties became involved. Wilson and the Democrats in 1916 campaigned on the slogan "He kept us out of war!", saying a Republican victory would mean war with both Mexico and Germany. His position probably was critical in winning the Western states. Charles Evans Hughes , the GOP candidate, insisted on downplaying the war issue. The Socialist Party of America talked peace. Socialist rhetoric declared
19430-425: Was initially rare, since U-boats preferred to attack on the surface, this strategy was justified by claims that submarines were so vulnerable that they dared not surface near merchant ships that might be carrying guns and which were too small to rescue submarine crews. The Americans countered that if the new weapon cannot be used while protecting civilian lives, it should not be used at all. From February 1915, despite
19575-477: Was largely pro-British and anti-German in sentiment. Albanian-Americans in communities such as Boston also campaigned for entry into the war and were overwhelmingly pro-British and anti-German, as well as hopeful the war would lead to an independent Albania which would be free from the Ottoman Empire. The state of Wisconsin had the distinction of being the most isolationist state due to the large numbers of German-Americans, socialists, pacifists and others present in
19720-464: Was offset when Germany declared war on Portugal in March 1916, while Romania commenced hostilities against Austria on 27 August. On 6 April 1917, the United States entered the war as a co-belligerent, along with the associated allies of Liberia , Siam and Greece . After the 1917 October Revolution , Russia left the Entente and agreed to a separate peace with the Central Powers with the signing of
19865-483: Was ordered to begin moving these troops to the North-Eastern one with Austria. Under the April 1915 Treaty of London , Italy agreed to join the Entente in return for Italian-populated territories of Austria-Hungary and other concessions; in return, it declared war on Austria-Hungary in May 1915 as required, although not on Germany until 1916. Italian resentment at the difference between the promises of 1915 and
20010-436: Was originally composed of Germany, Austria–Hungary, and Italy, but Italy remained neutral in 1914. As the war progressed, each coalition added new members. Japan joined the Entente in 1914 and, despite proclaiming its neutrality at the beginning of the war, Italy also joined the Entente in 1915. The term "Allies" became more widely used than "Entente" , although the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and Italy were also referred to as
20155-537: Was renewed at regular intervals, but was compromised by conflicting objectives between Italy and Austria in the Adriatic and Aegean seas. Italian nationalists referred to Austrian-held Istria (including Trieste and Fiume ) and Trento as 'the lost territories' , making the Alliance so controversial that the terms were kept secret until it expired in 1915. Alberto Pollio , the pro-Austrian Chief of Staff of
20300-579: Was spending millions to finance sabotage in Canada, stir up trouble between the United States and Mexico and to incite labor strikes. Germany took the blame as Americans grew ever more worried about the vulnerability of a free society to subversion. Indeed, one of the main fears Americans of all stations had in 1916–1919 was that spies and saboteurs were everywhere. This sentiment played a major role in arousing fear of Germany, and suspicions regarding everyone of German descent who could not "prove" 100% loyalty. By 1915, Americans were paying much more attention to
20445-480: Was strong at the time, and the program failed to win approval. In World War II, when Stimson as Secretary of War proposed a similar program of universal peacetime service, he was defeated. Allies of World War I Associated allies and co-belligerents: The Allies , the Entente or the Triple Entente was an international military coalition of countries led by France , the United Kingdom , Russia ,
20590-513: Was the only way to achieve a decisive victory. They demanded that Kaiser Wilhelm order unrestricted submarine warfare be resumed. Germany knew this decision meant war with the United States, but they gambled that they could win before the United States' potential strength could be mobilized. However, they overestimated how many ships they could sink and thus the extent Britain would be weakened. Finally, they did not foresee that convoys could and would be used to defeat their efforts. They believed that
20735-614: Was to break the trans-atlantic supply chain to Britain from other nations to the West, although the German high command realized that sinking American-flagged ships would almost certainly bring the United States into the war. Imperial Germany also made a secret offer to help Mexico regain territories of the Mexican Cession of 1849 , lost seven decades before in the Mexican–American War of 1846 – 1848 , (now incorporated in
20880-610: Was to encourage Wilson's efforts to mediate an end of the war by bringing the belligerents to the conference table. Finally in 1917 Wilson convinced some of them that to be truly anti-war they needed to support what he promised would be "a war to end all wars". Once war was declared, the more liberal denominations, which had endorsed the Social Gospel , called for a war for righteousness that would help uplift all mankind. The theme—an aspect of American exceptionalism —was that God had chosen America as his tool to bring redemption to
21025-493: Was weaker demographically than Germany, whose 1911 population was 64.9 million to 39.6 in France, which had the lowest birthrate in Europe. This meant that despite their very different political systems, when Germany allowed the Reinsurance Treaty to lapse, France seized the opportunity to agree the 1894 Franco-Russian Alliance . It also replaced Germany as the primary source of financing for Russian industry and
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