America's Decision To Join World War I

World War I began on July 28, 1914 and lasted until November 11, 1918. Differences in foreign policies were to blame, although the immediate cause was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. The two main sides were the Allies, which included France, Great Britain and Russia; and Germany and Austria- Hungary. Thirty countries were involved total.

World War I was the first global conflict, also known as “The Great War”. It pitted the central powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire against the Allied Forces of Great Britain, The United States, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan. World War I is known for the extensive system of trenches from which both sides fought. Lethal new technologies were unleashed and for the first time a major war was fought not only on land and on sea, but below sea and in the skies as well. The war had many causes. One of the

In 1915, the British passenger ship, Lusitania, was sunk by a German submarine. In all 1,195 passengers including one hundred twenty eight Americans, lost their lives. Americans were rightfully outraged and put pressure on the United States to enter the war. President Woodrow Wilson wanted a peaceful end to the war, nut in 1917, when the Germans announced that their submarines would sink any ship that approached Britain, Wilson declared that America would enter the war on April 6, 1917. The United States only spent seven and half months in actual combat. During that time 116,000 were killed and 204,000 were wounded.

In 1919, The Treaty of Versailles officially ended World War I. The treaty required that Germany accept full responsibility for causing the war, make war reparations to some allied countries, surrender some of its territory to surrounding countries, surrender African colonies and limit the size of its military. The treaty also established The League of Nations to prevent future