On May 1, 1915, the British cargo and passenger ship Lusitania sets out for England on its last voyage from New York City. The British ocean liner was sunk off Ireland on May 7, 1915 by a German U … A submarine is a watercraft that is capable of independent operation under the sea.
The message “Business Above All” floats above the scene, a statement about Cunard Line’s disregard for passenger safety in favor of making a profit. The attitude behind Goetz’s medal was characteristic of many German people at this time. The original medal was made by Goetz shortly after the ship sank. Angered by the Cunard Line’s audacious decision to sail a passenger ship with munitions on board, Goetz channeled his feelings into an artistic satirical message and displayed it on a medal.
It also proved to be a powerful propaganda tool for turning American public opinion against Germany and in support of joining the war. By the fall of 1916 and spring of 1917, President Wilson believed an imminent German victory would drastically and dangerously alter the balance of power in Europe. Submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram, meanwhile, inflamed public opinion. Congress declared war on Germany on April 4, 1917. The nation entered a war three thousand miles away with a small and unprepared military. The United States was unprepared in nearly every respect for modern war.
Wilson preferred a tougher line against the German Kaiser. He demanded an immediate end to submarine warfare, prompting Bryan to resign in protest. The Germans began a 2-year practice of pledging to cease submarine attacks, reneging on that pledge, and issuing it again under U.S. protest. Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare strategy sent more merchant and passenger ships to the ocean’s floor and the loss of American lives mounted. The U.S. protested and in February severed diplomatic relations with Germany, while Congress appropriated funds for increased military affairs. It increased the effectiveness of offensive attacks.
In some cases, animosity between the different nationalities serving alongside each other spilled over into physical violence. Royal Engineer Wilfred Whitlam recalled one such instance. Those were happy days and things had begun to look up. And so things were getting better and the Americans were down the south. We’d had one of their battalions in Arras in the trench and they were rather delighted that they had an officer killed on their first night.
His data argued that the actual mental age of recruits was only about thirteen years. Among recent immigrants, he said, it was even lower. As a eugenicist, he interpreted the results as roughly equivalent to a mild level of retardation and as an indication of racial deterioration. Years later, experts agreed that the results misrepresented the levels of education for the recruits and revealed defects in the design of the tests.
On the afternoon of May 7, theLusitaniaapproached the southern coast of Ireland, without a naval escort, where German U-boats were known to be active and had recently sunk three ships. Due to fog, Captain William Turner was forced to slow theLusitaniadown. Contrary to the Admiralty’s google ________ is an online store that can be used for self-publishing books. instructions for avoiding U-boats, theLusitaniawas sailing at less than top speed, in a straight line, and close to shore, rather than zigzagging in the open water where she could pick up speed. But you can’t really compare how the passengers behaved on the Titanic and the Lusitania.
Within a few months, thousands of U.S. men were being drafted into the military and sent to intensive training. Women, even many who had never worked outside the home before, took jobs in factories producing supplies needed for the war effort, as well as serving in ambulance corps and the American Red Cross at home and abroad. Children were enlisted to sell war bonds and plant victory gardens in support of the war effort. On the other side of the coin, a skeleton representing death stands at a Cunard Line booth handing out tickets to a crowd. Goetz even includes a man reading a newspaper headline that translates to “U-Boat Danger,” referring to the newspaper warning to passengers that had been published prior to theLusitaniasailing.