Relativley Speaking...The Causes of America's Declaration of War on Germany

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…idealism gave the American people a moral reason, and not just an economic reason, to enter the war. This idealism touched the hearts of the American people, while the economic pressures touched their purses and Germany's naval policy touched both. If any of these factors had been omitted, the outcome may not have been the same. Each made its own mark in the movement which ended with a Congressional declaration of war against Germany in 1917.