[JAWs]

The case for US entry into WW1, IMO was always debateable. (Don't get me wrong, Kaiser Billy was the bad guy, but was making the world safe fro French and British imperialism so good?) However, once the U-Boats killed all those Americans, we had no real choice.

[Aurelius]

Just as a footnote. The LUSITANIA was transporting munitions, it apparently was basically a transport vessel maquerading as a liner, as was a sister ship in the Cunard (?) line. Whether or not you agree with the historical accuracy of those assertions, it is documentable fact that the German embassy attempted to publish a paid advertisement in 50 of the leading U.S. newspapers warning Americans not to travel on those liners because they were believed to carry munitions and would be U-boat targets. The U.S. State Department contacted the papers and asked them not to publish the ad. All but one (A St. Louis paper, I believe) complied. In what may have been his finest hour, William Jennings Bryan resigned his cabinet post in protest of the Wilson administration's action in this matter. It is further alleged [please note the qualification] that the British government, specifically W. Churchill, ordered the Lusitania, on its final voyage, to proceed without escort through known submarine infested waters.