When WWI broke out in 1914, most Americans thought of it as the “European War”. For the most part Americans felt it was none of our business and was too far away to affect the United States. At the outbreak of the war, there was very little deep pro-Ally or pro-German sentiment.
Over the next three years things would begin to change. On May 7, 1915 the Lusitania, eight miles of the Irish coast, was struck by two torpedoes that split into her sides, without warning. 1,198 passengers were lost, with 114 Americans in the total. America stood appalled and many demanded a declaration of war. President Woodrow Wilson addressed an ultimatum to Germany on April 18, 1916 to which the German government replied that the following orders had been given: “Merchant vessels shall not be sunk without warning and without saving human lives unless those ships attempt to escape or offer resistance”. While the press would demand action, Wilson’s words won approval from a majority of Americans as evidenced by his re-election by a narrow margin in 1916.
On Feb. 24, 1917, the American ambassador to England, Walter Hines Page, advised the government that a note was intercepted from the German government to the German minister to Mexico. The note indicated that, in spite of trying to keep America neutral, Germany would begin unrestricted submarine warfare. More damning was the suggestion in case of war with the U.S. that Mexico would join with Germany with its financial support, allowing Mexico to reconquer her lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
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