One of the greatest events of the 20th century was the outbreak of World War I in 1914 which was triggered by the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. Many historians have noted at least three major reasons why the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand forced so many nations into war-first, the competition for colonies and for military and economic might was a prime concern among the major European powers; second, the ethnic and political conflicts between and within the empires in eastern Europe were steadily rising before the war began in 1914, and third, the system of military alliances that were present in Europe at the time of the outbreak of the war had left the continent divided into two armed and hostile camps (Arnold-Foster 89). .

             For the United States, World War I was, at first, not taken seriously by America's political and social leaders, especially by President Woodrow Wilson who, along with some other prominent American politicians, wanted to stay out of the war. As Europeans from many nations on the western front fought in the trenches and Russia faced a political crisis in the form of the Bolshevik Revolution, Americans sought to determine exactly how and in what ways the war overseas would affect their lives and society as a whole. President Wilson's declaration that the war was something which Americans must have nothing to do with was obviously a huge blunder, for the war in Europe eventually did affect America, for it was forced to enter the conflict in 1917, due to the threat to national security posed by imperial Germany (Bauer 167). .

             America's decision to enter World War I, despite the protests of those that favored an isolationist policy, came a very important time for the Allies that were fighting Germany. In 1917, Germany and its allies achieved several military successes that seemed to place them on the verge of total victory, due to Germany placing strong forces along the Western Front which for the Allies proved to be disastrous when efforts were made to crush the German resistance.