American entry into World War I in the context of "Russian Empire–United States relations"

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⭐ Core Definition: American entry into World War I

The United States entered into World War I on 6 April 1917, more than two and a half years after the war began in Europe. Apart from an Anglophile element urging early support for the British and an anti-tsarist element sympathizing with Germany's war against Russia, American public opinion had generally reflected a desire to stay out of the war. Over time, especially after reports of German atrocities in Belgium in 1914 and after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in a torpedo attack by a submarine of the Imperial German Navy off the southern coast of Ireland in May 1915, Americans increasingly came to see Imperial Germany as the aggressor in Europe.

While the country was at peace, American banks made huge loans to the Entente powers (Allies), which were used mainly to buy munitions, raw materials, and food from across the Atlantic in North America from the United States and Canada. Although president Woodrow Wilson made minimal preparations for a land war before 1917, he did authorize a shipbuilding program for the United States Navy. Wilson was narrowly re-elected in 1916 on an anti-war platform.

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👉 American entry into World War I in the context of Russian Empire–United States relations

The Russian Empire officially recognized the United States of America in 1803. However, Russia had established trade relations with the Thirteen Colonies well before they issued the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. This commerce, which violated the Navigation Acts of the British Empire, continued to take place during the American Revolution. Although Russian empress Catherine the Great decided against openly endorsing either side during the American Revolutionary War, she did hold the view that it was the "personal fault" of British policy and also believed that secession among British colonies in the Americas could be "advantageous" to her realm. Russia's position on the United States, therefore, largely facilitated France's pro-American position and contributed to the British defeat in 1783.

Diplomats were first exchanged between Saint Petersburg and Washington, D.C., in 1809. During the American Civil War, Russia openly supported the Union and while it refrained from entering the conflict as a belligerent, the Imperial Russian Navy maintained a presence in American ports as a show of force against the Confederacy. In 1867, the Alaska Purchase resulted in the American acquisition of Alaska, which had previously been a Russian colony in North America. Following the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917 (the year of American entry into World War I), the United States supported the White movement until 1920. However, the Allied effort to support the White movement was ultimately unsuccessful, as the Russian Civil War ended with the establishment of the Soviet Union.

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American entry into World War I in the context of Internment of German Americans

Internment of German resident aliens and German-American citizens occurred in the United States during the periods of World War I and World War II. During World War II, the legal basis for this detention was under Presidential Proclamation 2526, made by President Franklin D. Roosevelt under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act.

With the U.S. entry into World War I after Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare, German nationals were automatically classified as enemy aliens. Two of four main World War I-era internment camps were located in Hot Springs, North Carolina, and Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer wrote that "All aliens interned by the government are regarded as enemies, and their property is treated accordingly."

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American entry into World War I in the context of Zimmermann telegram

The Zimmermann telegram (or Zimmermann note or Zimmermann cable) was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office on January 17, 1917, that proposed a military contract between the German Empire and Mexico if the United States entered World War I against Germany. With Germany's aid, Mexico would recover Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. The telegram was intercepted by British intelligence.

Revelation of the contents enraged Americans, especially after German State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Arthur Zimmermann publicly admitted on March 3, 1917, that the telegram was genuine. It helped to generate support for the American declaration of war on Germany in April 1917.

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American entry into World War I in the context of Socialist Party of America

The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America who had split from the main organization in 1899.

In the first decades of the 20th century, the SPA drew significant support from many different groups, including trade unionists, progressive social reformers, populist farmers and immigrants. Eugene V. Debs twice won over 900,000 votes in presidential elections (1912 and 1920), while the party also elected two U.S. representatives (Victor L. Berger and Meyer London), dozens of state legislators, more than 100 mayors, and countless lesser officials. The party's staunch opposition to American involvement in World War I, although welcomed by many, also led to prominent defections, official repression, and vigilante persecution. The party was further shattered by a factional war over how to respond to the October Revolution in the Russian Republic in 1917 and the establishment of the Communist International in 1919—many members left the Socialist Party to found Leninist parties including the Communist Party USA.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Internment of German Americans ← Zimmermann telegram ← Socialist Party of America ← Russian Empire–United States relations ← Zimmermann Telegram
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
President of the United States → Woodrow Wilson → United States Congress → German Empire → United States → World War I → Anglophile → United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland → Russian Empire → The Rape of Belgium → Sinking of the RMS Lusitania → Torpedo → Imperial German Navy → Ireland → Allies of World War I → North America → Canada → United States Navy → 1916 United States presidential election →