World War I and World War II were two very tragic wars and affected the United States greatly. The United States involvements in both wars were very similar to each other, yet very different in some ways. .
On June 28th, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian terrorist, assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. For many years Serbia and Austria-Hungary had been unfriendly because Serbian patriots wanted to unite all Serbs into a single state. Germany backed Austria-Hungary's decision to use the assassination as an excuse to settle its disagreements with Serbia.
Many became involved in the World War. Europe had been divided into two camps. The Central Powers and the Allies. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were members of the Central Powers. Russia, France, and England formed the Allies. The Balken States and Serbia sided with the Allies. .
The United States was a neutral nation when the war began. America believed that the wars of Europe were not the business of the United States. German's actions soon caused a change in the attitude of the United States towards the war. Most Americans objected to Germany's violation of Belgian neutrality. German's unrestricted submarine warfare was a violation of international law. Acts of German sabotage in the U.S. and the use of poison gas in warfare also helped to change the American public opinion. Americans became to believe that democratic government would be unsafe if Germany won the war. President Wilson tried hard to keep the United States out of war and tried to get the war nations to negotiate a peace. But he failed. Germany continued its unrestricted submarine warfare. Then, in his second term, Wilson read to Congress a message stating to enter the war to make the "world safe for democracy" and Congress declared war on April 6, 1917. .
So the United States began organizing the home front. The service men needed clothing, food, weapons, and proper medical attention.
