U.S. Capitol - Washington, DC
Posted by: bluesnote
N 38° 53.388 W 077° 00.533
18S E 325770 N 4306465
It was inside the US Capitol on April 6, 1917 that Congress formally declared war on Germany, inevitably altering the US involvement in World War I.
Waymark Code: WM152TB
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 10/04/2021
Views: 21
Photos taken during the summer of 2013, although my most recent visit to the capitol was in September of 2021. Inside the chambers of the US Capitol, shortly after the Zimmerman Telegram and the sinking of the Lusitania, congress voted in favor to declare war on Germany. Before this, the US was a neutral power. But those two incidents were enough to involve the US in the Great War.
Taken from Wikipedia, "On February 1, 1917, Germany began unrestricted submarine warfare against all ships in the Atlantic bearing the American flag, both passenger and merchant ships. Two ships were sunk in February, and most American shipping companies held their ships in port. Besides the highly-provocative war proposal to Mexico, the telegram also mentioned "ruthless employment of our submarines". Public opinion demanded action. Wilson had refused to assign US Navy crews and guns to the merchant ships, but once the Zimmermann note was public, Wilson called for arming the merchant ships although antiwar members of the US Senate blocked his proposal.
On April 6, 1917, Congress voted to declare war on Germany. Wilson had asked Congress for "a war to end all wars" that would "make the world safe for democracy"." (
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