Patriotic Labor: America during World War I 

Zimmerman Telegram and War

On June 28, 1914, a Serbian terrorist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary avenged their leader by declaring war on Serbia. What on other continents may have remained a localized conflict instead ignited a series of complicated alliances in imperialistic Europe. Serbia allied with Russia; Russia allied with France. In turn, Austria-Hungary joined forces with Germany. Soon, Great Britain joined Russia and France while Turkey joined Germany and Austria-Hungary. By early August of 1914, these nations were embroiled in a war of international proportions and control of Europe was on the line.
American involvement in the war was by no means a given. Because it provided a haven to immigrants from all of the European countries already involved in the conflict, choosing allegiances was a complicated matter. In 1916, US President Woodrow Wilson won re-election campaigning on a isolationist platform that explicitly opposed the country's involvement in the European war. Wilson’s government managed to keep this promise for three years. But events leading up to the entry of the United States in 1917—namely German torpedoes striking American ships—rendered it impossible to avoid the conflict.

Staying Neutral

Building an Army

Military Training

Food is Ammunition

Patriotism

Labor and Industry

A Tentative Peace

Liner SS Franconia used by the allies for war munitions and was later sunk by German sub.

Boston Public Library

Digital Commonwealth

While the United States initially remained neutral, President Wilson was determined to continue the country’s lucrative shipping trade with the European powers. A large portion of trade revenue was derived from shipping ammunition and other war supplies, with the majority of shipments going to the Allied forces of France and Great Britain. In an effort to derail this supply flow, German submarines—widely known as U-boats—sank merchant vessels hauling goods across the Atlantic Ocean.
In May of 1915, a German U-boat struck and sank a British passenger ship from the Cunard Line, the RMS Lusitania. Over 1,000 people lost their lives in the event, among them 128 Americans. The loss of American citizens fanned the flames of nationalism, as recent immigrants expressed loyalty to their new nation rather than to their distant homelands already involved in the conflict. American retaliation was, it appeared, inevitable.

U-Boats

Introduction