US Enters WWI: Wilson Declares War on Germany
Sixty-two thousand men in the National Guard stood ready, yet Wilson asked Congress to vote for a war he'd called "impossible." It wasn't just about submarines; it was about whether democracy could survive a machine gun's roar without an army of its own. By midnight, the draft loomed over every father and son, turning farms into recruitment centers overnight. That decision didn't just send troops overseas; it forced a nation to choose between isolation and becoming the world's policeman.
April 6, 1917
109 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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