In August 1914, war broke out in Europe with Austria-Hungary and Germany on one side and France, Great Britain, and Russia on the other side. The intense fighting soon spread beyond the fields, forests, and hillsides of Europe to include the seas around Weste Europe and out into the easte Atlantic. In the United States, tensions ran high, especially as newspapers reported on the destruction and loss of life in Belgium, a neutral country. Americans, who in large part came from the nations at war, tended to support their native lands. President Woodrow Wilson was worried that supporters of each side would drag the United States into the war. Furthermore, Wilson worried that violence might occur in the United States between Americans supporting one side or the other. To calm the potential for violence, Wilson went before Congress on August 19, 1914 to ask for a declaration of neutrality, stating that, “The United States must be neutral in fact, as well as in name….” 

Even with the Congressional declaration of neutrality, the actions of the United States tended to favor the Allies (i.e., the British and the French). The United States was in a recession in 1914. American businessmen and farmers saw the war as a business opportunity. The United States was eager to trade throughout Europe, but the British had established a blockade not only against German ports but neutral ports as well. Bethlehem Steel was soon sending munitions to England, while the Morgan Bank provided loans that were used by the French and British to pay for war goods. By 1917, American loans to the Allies soared to $2.25 billion; loans to Germany stood at a paltry $27 million. 

Germany also relied heavily on imported foodstuffs to feed its population and chemicals for its industries. The British Royal Navy outnumbered the German Imperial Fleet and was able to place an effective blockade on Germany’s Baltic Sea ports, as well as neutral ports in northwest Europe. By early 1915, Germany decided to expand submarine attacks from strictly Allied warships to also include any commercial ships belonging to both belligerent and neutral nations. This action began what is known as unrestricted submarine warfare. America's neutrality was in jeopardy. 

German submarines were very effective, sinking an average of two ships each day in the first quarter of 1915. To counter German successes, the British admiralty ordered British cargo ships to fly a neutral flag. The British sometimes loaded critical materials aboard fast liners and other passenger ships, believing the Germans would not dare sink a passenger ship. German commanders ignored the ruse and sank all shipping vessels. In March 1915, the first  American was killed off the British coast. The United States reacted with outrage. Attacks on ships carrying Americans increased until May 1915, when the British liner Lusitania was sunk off the Irish coast. There were 128 Americans on board the Lusitania and all were killed. President Wilson reacted by issuing a series of notes to Germany waing against further attacks on American shipping. Germany acquiesced but then on August 19, 1915 the Arabic was sunk, killing three Americans. The Germans feared that the United States would declare war and ordered submarine commanders to cease attacks on passenger liners. 

The year 1916 proved critical for both the Allies and Germany, who suffered heavy casualties in a series of failed offensives. The German High Command decided to renew unrestricted warfare to force the British to sue for peace. The Germans believed that they would have six months to complete operations before the United States would declare war. President Wilson was re-elected in 1916 on a peace platform and offered to meditate peace talks between the warring nations the next year. 

Unrestricted submarine warfare was renewed in February 1917. Anticipating reaction by the United States, the German govement instructed its ambassador to the United States to approach the Mexican govement and ask them to join Germany in a war against the United States. The telegram was sent by Germany's foreign minister, Arthur Zimmerman, and was not favorably received by the Mexican govement. The secret communication was intercepted by British intelligence and given to President Wilson. American neutrality was no longer prudent. The security of the United States was being threatened. 

In February 1917, President Wilson responded to German attacks and threats by severing diplomatic relations with Germany. Public opinion in the United States was split over whether to get involved in the European war. Some groups favored continuing the neutrality policy. Some groups favored war and loyalty was divided between both sides. However, when the Zimmerman Telegram was published in the newspapers, American public opinion swelled to support war against Germany. The President reluctantly knew after this point, war with Germany was inevitable. Despite his reticence, Wilson went before Congress on April 2 to ask for a declaration of war, which was granted.

World War I impacted Americans in a number of ways. The war increased the power of the Federal govement and changed the demography of the United States. America was impacted economically, politically, and socially by the nation’s involvement in World War I. The Wilson administration moved to centrally organize the United States’ economy during World War I with the creation of a series of wartime boards. These boards oversaw production in factories, mediated labor disputes, and improved railroad operations. The private businesses were managed more closely by the govement during the war in order to ensure domestic production met the military needs. To finance the war, the United States borrowed from the American people by selling Liberty Bonds. These bonds accounted for two-thirds of the war’s cost. In addition to borrowing, the United States also increased income and excise taxes. 

President Wilson was correct in his assessment of the American people when he said every man would pay a penalty for non-conformity. In June 1917, at the request of the Wilson administration, Congress passed the Espionage Act. The law provided penalties for spying, sabotage, and obstructing the war effort. The law also banned the use of the United States Mail to send anti-war materials. On June 30, 1918 Eugene Debs was arrested after making a series of speeches against the war urging American men not to fight. He was a prominent Socialist, four-time candidate for the presidency, and union leader. The courts convicted Debs under the Espionage Act and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. He was also permanently disenfranchised. The Supreme Court later upheld Debs’ conviction after a series of appeals. President Harding commuted Debs’ sentence after he served three years in federal prison. During his time in prison, Debs continued his bid as a Socialist candidate for the White House. 

Another impact World War I had on the United States was the shift in population demographics. The migration of Blacks from the South to the North actually began before World War I, as families sought to escape sharecropping and Jim Crow violence. However, the trend accelerated during the war years and was known as the Great Migration. One factor that prompted the population shift was that defense manufacturing jobs became available in the North as soldiers were drafted to serve in the war. Prior to the war, northe factory owners preferred immigrant workers. They typically only used Blacks as strike-breakers. The war temporarily ended immigration and opened new opportunities for Blacks. During the period, 1.5 million Blacks from the South moved to Northe cities. During the 1910s and 1920s, Chicago’s Black population grew by 148 percent; Cleveland’s by 307 percent; Detroit’s by 611 percent.

In January 1918, President Wilson spoke to Congress about the war aims of the nation. His plan ultimately became known as the Fourteen Points and was designed to create a lasting peace in the world. Once negotiations for the Treaty of Versailles were completed in June 1919, the United States was divided over whether to join the League of Nations - a vital component of the Treaty. Wilson’s Fourteen Points became a guide for the negotiations at Versailles to secure peace after World War I. Some of Wilson's suggestions were accepted, some modified, and some rejected by the countries represented at the peace conference. The Points included the following:  

1. Open diplomacy (no more secret treaties) 

2. Freedom of the seas 

3. End inteational trade barriers

4. Reduce armaments 

5. Impartial dealings with colonies and their natives 

6-13. Group of points dealing with the right of self-determination for the people of easte and central Europe 

14. Create an inteational organization, the League of Nations, to help keep the peace.

During the postwar treaty negotiations, Wilson worked hard to get as many of his Fourteen Points as possible included in the treaty. The Fourteenth Point, which proposed a League of Nations, was one that President Wilson was particularly committed to securing for world peace. After much negotiation, the League of Nations was included in the final provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty drafted at Versailles had to be ratified by the United States Senate as the final step for implementation in the United States. Although Wilson believed strongly in the League of Nations, there was significant opposition to the concept among many Americans. Public opposition to the League of Nations ultimately led the Senate to vote against ratification of the treaty. Isolationists in the Senate believed that by joining the League of Nations, the United States would be obligated to get involved in future European conflicts. 

            One of the most vocal critics of the League was Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. Lodge was a Republican and Wilson was a Democrat. They held different ideas about the role the United States should take in world affairs. Lodge was a powerful and respected Senator who served as his party’s majority leader and was on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Lodge, and others from his party, believed that he should have been involved in the treaty’s negotiations.

Reference: 

Georgia Department of Education. (2016). US History Teacher Notes. https://www.georgiastandards.org/Georgia-Standards/Documents/Social-Studies-United-States-History-Teacher-Notes.pdf