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U.S.A and the First Word War
The First World War occurred primarily in Europe in the period of 1914-1919. It was caused by a myriad of causes on the European front, and for America particularly, the policy of impartiality was tested to its limits before they finally succumbed and joined the war in April of 1917. This paper will discuss the causes of the First World War and its course, the United States of America’s involvement and the war’s impact both at home and on its foreign policy.
Initially, America had adopted a neutral policy which allowed it to continue trading with both allies and axis nations, as in 1914, President Wilson announced their neutrality and his re-election in 1916 was down to non-involvement in war rhetoric. Despite a number of American lives lost on ships sunk due to Germany’s adoption of unrestricted submarine warfare, such as the 128 lives lost on the Lusitania in 1915, neutrality was still maintained, in line with prevailing public opinion (Leary &William 54-72). In 1916, Germany agreed to what would be known as the “Sussex pledge” in which they halted the unrestricted submarine warfare. This was not to last as in 1917, they renewed unrestricted U-boats attacks. America’s resolve was finally broken when, in 1917, the press ran the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany was attempting to convince Mexico to join the war and launch an attack against America. This changed the public opinion on involvement, and in April, President Woodrow Wilson got backing from the congress to finally declare war against Germany.
In that summer, American forces began landing in France. The American troop’s first significant involvement in the war was in the battle of Chateau-Thierry, while they also helped the French and British forces, leading to the successful Nivelle Offensive. A maiden victory for the Americans was at the battle of Belleau-Wood, where their valiant efforts in days of savage fighting earned them the nickname “the devil dogs”. In 1918, the American forces were involved in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in which they forced the Germans to withdraw from the Sedan region and ultimately climaxed with the German assent to an armistice. This paved way for negotiation of peace treaties.
Both the home front and foreign policy of America were subsequently affected by war. On the home front, new food management programs such as victory gardens were initiated, propaganda systems under the committee on public information were executed. Children were run through the programs to inculcate nationalism (Mechling 128). The previously tiny army had drafted almost 2.8 million men by the summer of 1918. Foreign policy was also altered in the aim of creating and maintaining world peace. Various treaties were signed such as the good neighbor policy with Latin America nations, but the pick of the bunch was the Versailles treaty was failed to sail through congress. This treaty required Germany and in extension, other Central powers, to accept responsibility for causing the war and to pay reparations to some members of the Entente powers. It also forced the Germans to make territorial concessions and disarm. Through all these, America still strived to maintain its neutrality by refusing to join the League of Nations, which, ironically, was proposed by President Wilson in his 14 points.
It can be concluded that neutrality was a policy that served America well as it protected it from the ravages of war that Europe succumbed to. This enabled America to emerge from the war stronger than its pre-war state and become a world superpower nation.

Works cited
Jay mechling. On My Honor: Boy Scouts and the Making of American Youth. Chicago: university of Chicago Press. 2004.Print.
Leary Jr. William M. “Woodrow Wilson, Irish Americans, and the Election of 1916,” Journal of American History vol. 54. Mississippi valley: Organization of American Historians. June 1967. Print.