Patriotic Labor: America during World War I 

Building an Army

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

Military Training

Food is Ammunition

Patriotism

Labor and Industry

A Tentative Peace

Telegram from Secretary of State Robert Lansing to the American Embassy, London: Zimmermann Telegram as Received by the German Minister to Mexico

National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference

National Archives and Records Administration

For Americans who remained reluctant to enter the war in Europe, the final straw came in the form of a telegram. In February 1917, the British government intercepted a message from German Secretary of War Arthur Zimmerman to the German Ambassador in Mexico. This message offered Mexico an alliance—if Mexico agreed to invade the United States, Germany promised to grant Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas to Mexico after war’s end.
Having received word of this German plot from the British, and amidst unrestricted U-boat attacks on domestic vessels, the United States finally declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. The nation’s decision to enter the conflict was not, however, backed by the budget needed to supply the required material and human resources.

Center for Legislative Archives

Zimmerman Telegram and War

Introduction

U-Boats