CHAPTER ONE THE WEIGHT OF WAR Echoes of applause rang in President Woodrow Wilson’s ears as he sat in the White House It was the evening of April 2 1917 Less than an hour before he had delivered a speech All the members of Congress and the Supreme Court were at the gathering The speech gave reasons why the United States should enter World War I 1914 1918 Wo o d r o w W i l s o n d e c i d e d a f t e r n e a r l y t h r e e y e a r s t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s c o u l d n o l o n g e r s t a y o u t o f Wo r l d W a r I 5
A s p r e s i d e n t W i l s o n c o u l d n o t d e c l a r e w a r H e n e e d e d Congress to do so Wilson’s speech brought the crowd to its feet But after he left the podium Wilson fell silent His silence lasted through his car ride to the White House Wilson finally spoke to his private secretary Joseph Tumulty Think about what it was they were applauding he said My message today was a message of death for our young men How strange it seems to applaud 6
that A few minutes later Wilson laid his head down on the table and wept World War I had been raging for nearly three years Since the war began on July 28 1914 Wilson had promised to keep the United States neutral But after his speech he made a confession to Tumulty Wilson told Tumulty he had known the United States could not stay out of the conflict forever It took Congress just four days to discuss and vote On April 6 1917 the Senate and House of Representatives voted to declare war against Germany U-boats and the Lusitania Wilson’s request for war was prompted by German military action Since fighting started in 1914 Germany used submarines called U-boats against British ships But the U-boats did not only attack military ships They also went after trade ships On May 1 1915 the British ship Lusitania left New York for the United Kingdom A week into the 7
