America Enters World War I
When the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, Lena Hanson was probably living in Rose, Wisconsin. *
* Insight to be reviewedWhen the First World War began in 1914, the United States remained neutral. Despite this, German U-boats attacked U.S. merchant vessels and declared “unrestricted warfare against all ships” entering the war zone. Three years, into the conflict, President Woodrow Wilson stood in front of the U.S. Congress on April 2, 1917, and asked for a declaration of war, explaining that the United States must “exert all its power and employ all its resources” to end the First World War. Congress conceded. Thousands of Americans flocked to recruitment stations, eager to “do their bit” to defeat the enemy. Within nine months, 175,000 American soldiers were stationed along the Western Front, prepared to take on the Central Powers. While some Americans criticized President Wilson for going back on his promise to remain neutral, most eagerly put their backs into the war effort, supporting the four and a half million American soldiers who served in Western Europe.