The Lusitania The Lusitania was a British steamship. On May 7, 1915 during World War I it was torpedoed and sunk without warning by a German U-boat. The ship sunk 20 minutes after it was attacked. In all, 1,198 people died. 128 of them were Americans. The reason the Germans gave for sinking the ship was because they thought it was carrying supplies for the Allies. This was later proved to be true. In American newspapers a warning had been …showed first 75 words of 376 total…

…showed last 75 words of 376 total…that Germany would give Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona to the Mexican government. This letter was published in American newspapers on March 1, 1917. This letter angered Americans. More and more people demanded war. On April 6, 1917 President Wilson signed a resolution that brought America into World War I. He was forced to do this because in March of 1917 3 more American ships were sunk by German submarines. This was all started because of the sinking of the Lusitania.