World War I

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were bound by international law to stop and board merchantmen, but this rule could hardly apply to the U-boats. These new weapons posed a serious threat to the United States, at this point still a neutral nation. Berlin officials declared that they would try not to sink neutral shipping but still warned that mistakes could possibly occur. In order to continue to claim profitable neutral trading rights, Wilson was determined to stick to his risky policy but meanwhile warned Germany that it would be held accountable for any attacks on American ships or lives.
The first major incident involving a submarine that challenged U.S. neutrality was the Lusitania crisis. The Lusitania, a British passenger liner, was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Ireland, resulting in a loss of 1,198 lives. Of these, 198 were Americans. With the sinking of the liner, Americans were swept by shock and anger, and the East Coast seethed with talk of fighting. Still wanting to avert war, Wilson attempted to ...

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support was obviously leaning toward the Allied side.
Just as American economic interests and actions reflected an unintentional favor towards Britain and the Allies, so did popular attitudes and public opinion. When Americans read in the newspapers that German armies were marching ruthlessly through Belgium in August of 1914, they perceived Germany as a cruel bully under the leadership of a harsh autocrat, Kaiser Wilhelm. This view of Germany was only bolstered through incidences such as the Lusitania sinking in 1915. Soon, rumormongers were quick in spreading tales of spying and sabotage by German immigrants in the Unites States. Germans at the time numbered over eight million ...

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