Why did the United States shift its position from neutrality to involvement in World War I?

In World War I, the United States went from being neutral to being involved in the war for a few reasons. We were neutral at the start of World War I. Most Americans had no interest in getting involved in this war when it first began. That sentiment began to change as events unfolded.

The Germans were using a weapon, called the submarine, to discourage our trading with Great Britain and France. The submarine would...

In World War I, the United States went from being neutral to being involved in the war for a few reasons. We were neutral at the start of World War I. Most Americans had no interest in getting involved in this war when it first began. That sentiment began to change as events unfolded.

The Germans were using a weapon, called the submarine, to discourage our trading with Great Britain and France. The submarine would sink our ships without warning. This violated our rights as a neutral nation to trade with countries, even if those countries were at war. As long as we weren’t trading war materials, we had the right to trade with them. Germany agreed to stop sinking our ships without warning in 1916. Then, in 1917, Germany resumed the sinking our ships without warning.

Americans were also angry at Germany when they learned that Germany secretly tried to get Mexico to attack the United States in World War I. This would have created a two-front war for the United States, which is more difficult to fight. Germany was going to offer Mexico some of the lands Mexico lost in the Mexican-American War if Mexico helped Germany win the war by attacking the United States. When the Zimmerman Telegram was made public, Americans were angry at Germany.

These two events greatly influenced our decision to join World War I on the side of the Allies. When the Germans resumed the attack on American trading vessels, President Wilson went to Congress to ask for a declaration of war.