Why The United States Join World War I?

Since the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, the United States had been unable to escape war, despite its best efforts. One of the most significant wars in United States history is the First World War (WWI). WWI was a pivotal event for the United States as well as for all of the countries involved. Like most wars, the origins of this war are unclear and complex. However,Germany and the United States each had an exact reason for joining WWI. For Germany, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary was their reason. For the United States, it was the signing of the Lusitania Ferdinand was assassinated in the summer of 1914 by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo. Ferdinand's assassination created immense tension between Germany and Russia. As mentioned before, Germany had been looking for any excuse to dominate Europe, so they used the tragedy of Austria-Hungary's heir as reason to start mobilizing their allies. Additionally, at the time of the assassination, Austria was an ally to Germany. WWI was a largely unnecessary war that may have been avoided, had Germany's desire for dominance not been so …show more content…
The Progressives were the dominant political and social movement in the United States from approximately 1900-1917, started by McKinley years earlier. Progressivism was a big part in setting the table for WWI. The basis of the Progressives were to make the middle class more aware of their government, work place, and surrounding economy. Progressivism was the US movement that tried to reform the corruption of government making it more effective and efficient. Progressivism also was an attempt to "civilize the urban communities".By doing this they installed many new reforms throughout the years. The actions of this political group eventually resulted in the addition of the 16th-19th Amendments to our