How the US entered WWI in 1917

Should the US have entered into World War I?

America entered World War I in 1917, but had remained neutral until that point. President Woodrow Wilson addressed Congress, further underlining the USA's neutrality. Eleven weeks later, he asked for a declaration of war. With attacks by German saboteurs on an American munitions depot, it seemed he had no choice. But did he? This article asks what might have happened if the US stayed out of WWI.

How WWI began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

World War I started for several reasons—imperialism, militarism, nationalism, and more—but the catalyst was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Hohenberg by the young assassin Gavrilo Princip. Read this article ton see how the assassination sparked the chain reaction that led to the Great War.

The 1915 sinking of the Lusitania precipitated World War I

In 1915, the British RMS Lusitania sank after being torpedoed by a German submarine. The Germans claimed the ocean liner was transporting munitions. Almost 1,200 civilians were killed in the disaster, which became a symbol of German aggression in the lead-up to World War I.

What impact did WWI have on the US civil rights movement?

One of the great hypocrisies in American history involve the expectation of African-Americans to defend liberty in several wars while being deprived of it when they returned home to, as this article puts it "disfranchisement, segregation, debt peonage and racial violence." The writer reflects on World War I and how it affected the fight for civil rights in the USA.

An interactive timeline of the major events of World War I

World War I took place between July 28, 1914 and November 11, 1918, but a lot happened within that relatively short time. And even more occurred afterward. The comprehensive timeline shows when major and influential events took place during the conflict, accompanied by articles, videos, and other media in support.

Explaining the final battle of World War I

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the last battle of the First World War. Beginning in September and ending November 11, 1918, the battle was a tumultuous event and the first time the American Army fought on the world's stage. America simultaneously achieved victory and discovered new methods to fight a war. This Apple History podcast provides the details.

How the Great Depression and end of WWI paved the way for Hitler’s rise to power

The end of WWI was triggered by an armistice that blamed the conflict on Germany and required the financially struggling country to pay reparations. This outraged nationalists and ignited conspiracies that Hitler was able to capitalize on, according to this six-minute video. It was during this financial strain that the Great Depression hit.

American annexation of Texas eventually sparked war with Mexico

After Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836, the US annexed it in 1845—despite Mexico’s refusal to recognize Texas as separate. That annexation, combined with a heated border dispute, triggered the Mexican-American War the following year.

Before World War II, the US was a Pacific power

Decades before Pearl Harbor, the US held major Pacific territories—Hawaii, the Philippines, Guam, American Samoa, and numerous island bases—giving it strategic reach across the western Pacific. This presence increasingly overlapped with Japan’s imperial ambitions in the region, contributing to rising tensions.

World War I brought attention to US reliance on mineral imports

Domestic stockpiles were inadequate for the extended trade disruptions caused by the four-year war. In response, the US Geological Survey increased its geological mapping to help search for important metals alongside new oil fields for fuel.

The Wrights’ patent battles delayed the development of aviation technology in the US

By the time World War I began in 1914, the US was lagging behind European powers in aviation. This stemmed primarily from wars over patents between the Wrights and competitor Glenn Curtiss. The pair argued their 1906 patent covered all mechanisms enabling lateral flight.

The attacks prompted a quick jump in American public support for war

In a Gallup poll taken days after the attack, an extraordinary 97% of Americans approved Congress declaring war on Japan—reflecting overwhelming national unity in the wake of the strike.

A boom hit after WWI, with consumerism usurping frugality as an American value

When American soldiers returned home after WWI in the 1920s, they found a country ready to spend money, make a home, and indulge in creature comforts after wartime rationing. This uptick in US wealth and production led to job opportunities for advertising experts.

US–Soviet hostility began long before the Cold War

US–Soviet tensions began decades before WWII. After the 1917 revolution, the US refused to recognize the Bolshevik regime and even sent troops to fight against it.

European leaders pursued appeasement of Hitler in the 1930s

In the 1930s, Britain sought to maintain peace by ceding territory to Nazi Germany, most notably via the 1938 Munich Agreement allowing Germany to annex the Sudetenland. These concessions, seen as pragmatic amid anti‑war sentiment, ultimately failed to curb Hitler’s aggression and directly contributed to the outbreak of World War II.

The first test of America's war powers came just a decade after the Constitution was ratified

During the undeclared Quasi-War with France in 1800, the Supreme Court ruled in Bas v. Tingy that Congress had authorized a valid "imperfect war" through statutes alone, without a formal declaration, establishing that there is a legal spectrum between peace and declared war.

Key was initially opposed to the War of 1812

Like the majority of Americans, Francis Scott Key was opposed to the US declaring war on Great Britain, calling the move “abominable.” His feelings began to change after the British raided Washington, D.C. He joined the Georgetown Artillery shortly after.

The Great Depression was an international depression felt far beyond the US

Many countries suffered through a depression in the 1930s that the First World War, the US stock market crash, and an economic downturn in Germany turned into an international crisis.

The US finished what the French had started with Panama's canal

For about two decades, Suez Canal-builder and Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps led the project, but financial troubles forced it into the hands of the US, who completed it in 1914. This timeline, made to accompany the definitive PBS American Experience documentary about the canal, highlights major moments in its construction.

Why Captain America sparked outrage in 1940

In 1940, Captain America’s debut showed him punching Hitler months before the US entered WWII. The bold cover sparked backlash and even threats.

The US officially adopted an income tax in 1913

The US first levied income taxes during the Civil War, but modern income taxes became an American fixture in 1913. Two years earlier, Congress passed the 16th Amendment to give the government the right to tax individuals' and businesses' income. The US still technically levies the same federal income tax now as it did then—though it's evolved.

250 years of world trade history

Adam Smith’s revolutionary ideas about free trade were often ignored throughout American history to protect domestic industry—until World War II caused a shift in sentiment about global trade.

‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ became associated with sports at the 1918 World Series

The song is often played at the start of amateur and professional sports games, a tradition that historians say became popular during World War I. During the seventh-inning stretch of the first game of the 1918 World Series, a band started an impromptu version. Red Sox player Fred Thomas, on leave from the Navy, turned to salute the flag, and the crowd followed his lead.

FDR's Good Neighbor policy reversed the interventionism that had grown from the Monroe Doctrine

Franklin Roosevelt pledged in his 1933 inaugural address to be a "good neighbor" to Latin America and to oppose armed intervention by American forces. His administration withdrew troops from previous occupations and signed a multilateral agreement stating that no state has the right to interfere in another's affairs.

Many myths continue to circulate about the first Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving myth didn’t really start in 1621, argues historian David Silverman in this interview with Smithsonian. Rather, it took hold over 200 years later. During the Civil War, Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln as a way to promote national unity. The tidy story of friendship between Native Americans and colonists was used to quell racial tensions of the late 19th century.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Poison ivy was sent to Europe in the 1600s as an exotic, ornamental oddity, where it was purposefully grown in the English royal gardens at Kew, the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, and a few other locations.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.