Thursday, October 28, 2010
The Sinking of the Lusitania
Often the sinking of the Lusitania is listed as one of the factors that pushed the US towards war. It enraged the American people and provided a lot of popular support for the war. Hatred against Germany grew as people were horrified by their actions. However, I think it could be said that the US is partly to blame. Germany had sent out a warning saying that they were at war with Britain and British ships were in danger as targets of Germany's subs. At yet, US citizens decided to ignore the warning and take the risk of traveling on a British ship. Can we really be so enraged by a crisis that was partly our fault? While it may have been wrong for Germany to attack a passenger ship, I think it can be said that we were forewarned. If we had listened to the warning and the crisis had never occured, would the US have so readily gotten involved in the war?
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Wilson accepted that Germany had sent out a warning, and so all he asked for was an apology from Germany. Germany gave the apology, and Wilson maintained his position of neutrality. He wanted to avoid war, so I don't think the sinking of the Lusitania was as much a turning point as historians have made it.
ReplyDeleteNice point Katie, I completely agree with you. I think that the sinking of the Lusitania was a huge push for America to enter the war. But I also think that propaganda played a huge role in this too, I mean people were dying everyday in Europe and the American people had been warned by the Germans that what they were doing was risky, so an event such as this wouldn't have made such an impact if the media hadn't blown it out of proportion.
ReplyDeleteShockingly I agree Katie. i think it was not all Germany's fault for the sinking of the Luistania. The United States was perfectly aware that they were opening up unrstricted warfare and especially bc the US wasnt involved in the war they should have been a little more senisible. I believe though it was Germany's re-openign of unrestricted warfare that caused some major issues.I mean other countries were able to respect the freedom of the seas and were able to "play fair". But not Germany, given the Uboats were their only chance to not completely lose the war, was it really fair that they re-opened it. So if the US wants to give a reason for entering I think that Germany was not respecting freedom of the seas is a correct one. But you are correct we kind of walked into getting sunk by riding on aBritish ship. now that I think of it, do you think maybe the US just needed an excuse to enter? Possibly they wanted to get in the war but the Luistania was jsut their gateway to enter.
ReplyDeleteI think that the United States probably did have fair warning about their ships that were taking supplies to Britain, because to be honest, that isn't really being neutral, supplying one side with supplies. But their major beef with the sinking of the Lusitania was that it was a passenger ship. However there was this warning from Germany about a week before the Lusitania set sail:
ReplyDelete"Notice!
Travellers intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travellers sailing in the war zone on the ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk."
Imperial German Embassy
Washington, D.C. 22nd April 1915
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying here. From an objective standpoint, you can't really blame Germany for their actions. That's why it is all about point of view. Oh yeah back to English. From an American standpoint what the German's did was horrible. That is why we were so quick to war afterwards.