World War I was when all the nations fought for their survival in the land, in which America also played a considerable role, supported by their armed forces. In 1917, the United States of America declared war on the German Empire three years after World War I.

The US was a massive supplier of money and raw materials in the war. In 1918, the American soldiers arrived as 10,000 men per day at the borders of the Western Front. The U.S. present with over 4 million military men, and nearly 65,000 soldiers suffered losses of all kinds. This incident led to a drastic effect on the U.S. Armed forces. Under the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, the war brought about substantial opposition to the U.S.

The policy of neutrality

After the war began in 1914, the U.S. proclaimed the neutrality policy, despite the hate against German Empire and the President’s commands. However, Wilson protested against the uncalled marine attacks on the U.S. and warned that the U.S. would not tolerate such unrestricted warfare against American rights and international obligations. This statement contradicted the policy of neutrality. Finally, in 1917, the United States entered into war after unraveling the official commitment to neutrality.

Although the citizens decided to remain neutral, they shifted to the German army after the U.S. entered the war over time. This led to the preparedness movement, which forced them to build solid naval and defensive forces immediately. Many famous faces and names like ex-president Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Root, and many others were the faces of this movement.

The Preparedness movement

This movement had a realistic philosophy of world affairs. The movement helped the U.S. to empty over 100,000 men in the army, which easily outnumbered the German army. They also called for the UMT – Universal Military Service, forcing everyone who turned 18 or above to take six months of training in the military and then were assigned to different units.

Declaration of World War I

Even though the U.S. urged, in January 1917, Germany resumed their unrestricted submarine warfare. After several incidents, the American Congress finally accepted the war on April 6, 1917. The congress declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire but took many steps in declaring war against the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, or the Central Powers. Hence, the U.S. remained uninvolved in military campaigns in eastern and central Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and other regions.

Due to the need for more soldiers in the armed forces, in 1917, the U.S. gave citizenship to Puerto Ricans and allowed them to participate in World War I.

American women were not a part of the combat forces but served as personnel and nurses in uniforms. During the world war, many American women also worked in hospitals close to battlefields to treat millions of soldiers and other victims of the war.