Social Sciences and History / Unit 2 SSH 0117 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Neutrality to War, 1914–1917
Captions available
The idea
Wilson kept the United States neutral through his first term, but German submarine warfare made neutral trade impossible. Fifty-six members of Congress voted against the war resolution; it passed.
In practice
Liberty bonds, propaganda, and laws that silenced dissent, upheld in Schenck as a clear and present danger.
Where people slip
Unit six carries the war's global course; here, the American entry and the Zimmermann telegram.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it