USA HISTORY

A German submarine sank the British steamship ____ and killed more than 100 US citizens, causing tensions to rise between the US and Germany.

(A) Maine

(B) ** Lusitania

(C) Titanic

(D) USS Freedom

Concept note-1: -The U.S. Readies for War The sinking of Lusitania didn’t directly cause the United States to enter the war. It did, however, fuel virulent anti-German sentiment in Britain and the United States and hinder diplomatic relations between Germany and the United States.

Concept note-2: -The Lusitania was carrying a cargo of rifle ammunition and shells (together about 173 tons), and the Germans, who had circulated warnings that the ship would be sunk, felt themselves fully justified in attacking a vessel that was furthering the war aims of their enemy.

Concept note-3: -On that day, the British luxury liner, the RMS Lusitania, set sail from New York for Liverpool; six days later, twelve miles off the southern coast of Ireland, she was torpedoed by a German submarine and sank. Of the 1, 959 people on board, 1, 195 died, including more than 120 Americans.

Concept note-4: -The sinking of the Lusitania caused outrage in Britain and the United States, which lambasted the incident as a brazen violation of international law prohibiting attacks on passenger ships.