1915

Sinking of the Lusitania

Though the Lusitania was a British-owned ship, the U.S.

Library of Congress notes its passengers included more than 120 Americans on May 7, 1915, the day the luxury ocean liner was torpedoed by a German U-boat. History.com notes the Imperial German Embassy in Washington, D.C., placed ads in American newspapers reminding Americans that Germany and Britain were at war and that ships flying the flag of Great Britain were vulnerable to attack. Despite the warnings, Americans still boarded the Lusitania, and the sinking of the ship strained relations between the neutral United States and Germany.

Anti-German sentiments began to rise in the U.S. after the sinking of the ship, and such sentiments remained even as the U.S. maintained its neutral status into 1917. The final straw, and one that called to mind the sinking of the Lusitania nearly two years prior, was the interception of the Zimmerman telegram, which revealed German intentions to return to submarine warfare and target all ships, including those carrying American passengers.