War Hysteria and German Persecution
When World War I began the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, made it known America would remain neutral in the conflict. England, France and Russia were at war with Germany.
The Germans knew to have a chance at winning the war they had to disrupt the delivery of supplies from the United States. To do this German U-Boats were used to attack shipping vessels they believed were carrying the supplies of war, including food, raw materials for manufacturing, weapons among many other items. Almost anything being shipped to England could be considered supplies of war. The Germans sunk many boats, the collateral damage that occurred was high. American citizens were being killed in the attacks, the media coverage of this along with Anti-German propagandists efforts to change public opinion about America's entering the war finally came to a head after two major incidents. The sinking of the Lusitania and the discovery of a German plan to engage the United States in all out war forced President Wilson to stand before Congress and call for a vote to declare war with Germany. German-Americans, in many cases were considered the enemy, their standing in the communities they helped to build would change drastically from ideal citizens to enemies of the state.
