There were a few main reasons why the US entered World War
I on the allied side. One was the German use of "Unrestricted Submarine Warfare", where
German u-boats sank any and all shipping that might be giving aid to their enemies,
including, as it turned out, some American ships and some with civilians on them.
Secondly, Germany had sent the Zimmerman Note to Mexico, promising Mexico military aid
and support if they would attack the US to regain the territory lost to us in 1848. We
intercepted the telegram, and considered it an act of war. Yet another reason was the
fact that the Allies were in danger of losing, and the side we had backed with billions
in war supplies and arms might actually be defeated. We did not want to deal with a
Kaiser Wilhelm-dominated Europe that was hostile to
us.
Afterwards, President Wilson went to great lengths to
try and obtain a lasting peace. He achieved only four of his Fourteen Points plan for
peace, and the Treaty of Versailles was controversial back home in the US Congress.
Although Wilson had negotiated and signed the treaty, the Senate never ratified it,
meaning there was no legal way we could join the League of Nations. This, among other
things, doomed it to eventual failure.
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