06/04/2026
Today is the 109th anniversary of the United States’s entry into World War I. It was not a war the United States wanted to be involved in, but once engaged, the nation united and dedicated itself to victory. The Great War cost the United States more than 116,000 Americans lives. Such casualties had not been suffered by the country since the Civil War generations earlier.
President Woodrow Wilson dedicated a great deal of diplomacy and energy to keeping the United States out of the horrific war in Europe. His campaign slogan in his 1916 reelection bid was, “He kept us out of the war.” Wilson believed deeply in peace, but the provocations of the German Empire proved too much to bear. The German Ambassador to the United States, Arthur Zimmermann, had used diplomatic channels to encourage the Mexican government to declare war on the United States should we enter into a war with Germany. When the truth was unveiled by British intelligence, Zimmermann confessed to the message’s authenticity. Even worse, Germans had wrecked international trade through their practice of unrestricted submarine warfare. American ships were being sunk in a war in which we were neutrals. These insults and injuries swayed public opinion and political necessity.
On April 2, 1917, President Wilson addressed both Houses of Congress. He reluctantly called for a declaration of war. The Senate approved the Declaration first followed by a vote in the House of Representatives on April 6, which passed 373 to 50 with eight Representatives abstaining. Wilson signed the declaration the same day. America was at war.
It was called the War to End All Wars, but unfortunately, that would not be the case. America fought not only to defend itself but to bring peace, stability and freedom for our friends and neighbors. We remember this historic day at the World War I Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue and all the Americans who served and sacrificed.
Photo by National Park Service.