US History: First World War

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US History
Topic 3: Why did the United States initially adhere to a policy of neutrality during the First World War? What events ultimately led to entering the war? What were some considerable social effects of the war in the United States?
The United States initially chose to be neutral during the First World War since this was the country’s foreign policy where it does not get involved with alliances with other countries. In other words, the United States was not interested in the alliances and events in Europe and chose to stay out of the war. President Wilson believed that the role of the United States is to support world peace rather than be engaged in war (Freure, 2012). As part of this goal, he sent Colonel House to broker a peace deal among the two parties conflicting in Europe.
Figure 1: President Woodrow Wilson
The United States was ultimately forced to enter the war after its shipping lanes to Europe were affected by Germans attacking shipping vessels. America’s opinion about the war also changed after Britain intercepted a telegram from Germany requesting Mexico to attack the United States. In return, Mexico would finance all the associated costs. A major considerable social effect of war on the United States is that it led to many groups who supported the war while others did not support the war (Freure, 2012). The opposers include a large number of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, and other groups. Wartime manufacturing was also beneficial to the Am...