The Sinking of the Lusitania
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Abstract

The sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915 was an important turning point in relations between Britain and the United States. With the start of World War I in August 1914, President Woodrow Wilson had asked Americans to be neutral. The sinking of the British liner Lusitania by a German U-boat and the subsequent death of over a thousand people, including 128 Americans, began to turn Americans against Germany. While it did not lead directly to the entrance of the United States into the conflict, this event helped bring America closer to the British in World War I and forged the “special relationship” with the British that the United States has today.

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