The Sussex Pledge

The Sussex incident was a microcosm of the American-German affairs relating to U-boat warfare during the First World War. A French passenger steamer, the Sussex received an unwarranted attack from a German submarine. The sinkings of the Lusitania and the Arabic still fresh in his mind, Secretary of State Robert Lansing  advocated cutting off relations with Germany; this new style of war was both surreptitious and dangerous, and moved many Americans' views on the war more in line with the Allied forces. However, the Kaiser was not eager to displease such a powerful force and potential foe as the United States. This led to his acceptance of President Wilson's petitions on May 4, 1916. Wilson had, on April 18, warned Germany that unless it stopped this warfare on passenger and merchant ships, the United States would indeed cut off relations. This Sussex pledge kept peace for a few months, but war was still imminent lest the pledge should have faltered. And the pledge did, when Germany decided that it gave them the best advantage to drop the pretenses of peaceful negotiation and declare unrestricted submarine warfare on all ships near Allied nations.

Divine, Robert A., T. H. Breen, George M. Fredrickson, and R. Hal Williams. America Past and Present. Revised Sixth Edition, AP* Edition . Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., 2003. 712-3, 714. Print.

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"Liberty Bonds." Web. 18 Mar 2011. <http://www.conservapedia.com/images/1/1f/Liberty_Bonds.jpg>.