The Lusitania: The Most Defining Event of The 20th Century

By 1917, the Great war had been dragging on for many years with heavy causalities, this had been resulting in a stalemate from trench warfare. When Germany sank the Lusitania(a passenger ship with many Americans aboard) off the coast off Ireland, Americans were disgusted and outraged. The sinking of the Lusitania was the major cause of why the Americans decided to enter the war. It had lead to a chain of events that made the U.S. the world super power it is today.
For many years, President Woodrow Wilson secretly supported the triple entente, and wanted to help with the war effort. The American population, however, felt that the war was a European affair which dealt with old European rivalries. This opinion changed when the Germans sunk the Lusitania. The sinking of the Lusitania gave President Wilson enough ammunition to sway the Government and the American public to enter the war. Wilson dispat...