Examine Woodrow Wilson’s reasons for entering World War I using primary sources and video adapted from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The Great War. On January 31, 1917, facing stalemate on the Western Front and with millions of its people at home on the brink of starvation, Germany made a tactical decision. It announced that German submarines would attack any ship in the war zone around Great Britain. When U.S. merchant ships were sunk, President Wilson resolved to fight. On April 2, with Americans still divided about whether to enter the war against Germany, Wilson gave a speech to Congress justifying U.S. participation. This resource is a part of the The Great War: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Collection.
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