Lusitania

Published on January 15, 2011 by admin · No Comments

Lusitania Secretary Bryan was correct in advising Wilson that the British were using American passengers as shields to disguise their shipments of contraband. This was also addressed in the response of the German government, delivered by Ambassador, Count Bernstorff on May 28, 1915. although the Germans apologized for American loss of life and offered compensation, they justified the attack, attaching support documentation.

In the course of formulating a response, Lansing sought the advice of the federal legal department. their response supported Bryan’s position and included findings that the Lusitania was considered a Royal Navy auxiliary ship, it was armed, it carried munitions considered contraband, and it was used as a troops transport for Canadian troops. Lansing buried the document.

When the Wilson administration decided to answer the Germans with a second Lusitania note, Bryan resigned after several days of agonizing. Bryan believed that the second note was sure to lead to a war declaration. but it would be another two years before Wilson asked for a war declaration, after his 1916 reelection in which the Democratic Party reminded voters, “he kept us out of war.To divide the figures again, of the 159 Americans on board, 128 had perished and of the 129 children aboard the Lusitania, ninety-four perished. Included in that figure were thirty-one infants out of a total of thirty-five on board. only four were saved.