The two reasons:
- Britain intercepted the Zimmerman Telegram
- Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare
Context/detail:
Public outrage in the US against the Germans swept the nation following the sinking of the British ocean liner, <em>Lusitania</em> -- but that happened before 1917. When a German U-boat (submarine) sank the Lusitania in May, 1915, over 1,000 persons were killed, including more than 100 Americans. The passenger liner was targeted by the Germans because they suspected weapons were being shipped to Britain in the cargo hold of the ship.
Germany managed to stave off American entry into the war at the time by pledging to stop submarine attacks. But a couple years later they resumed such attacks, and there was also an intercepted telegram (the "Zimmerman Telegram") that showed Germany was trying to secure Mexico as an ally against the United States.
In 1917, the US declared war on Germany in response.
Because they are racist and racist people love people who are racist like them and so they gain popularity like that
Some might say FDR, some might say LBJ, others might say Nixon. The reality is that the power of the Legislative vis a vis the Executive is in constant flux.
In terms of sweeping policy initiatives FDR's administration might be the time when the Presidency took on many of its contemporary roles. The activism of the LBJ administration was a further expansion of the New Deal-era role of the FDR administration. LBJ also was arguably the first president to use the US armed forces in foreign engagements without Congress declaring war (Gulf of Tonkin resolution)--a precedent we have become all too familiar with. In terms of 'imperial pretensions' Nixon assumed all the New Deal, Great Society, civil rights activism, and the ability to intervene militarily of the preceding Presidencies and expanded them to include unfettered use of the CIA and FBI.
No candidate in the election of 1824 received of a majority of electoral college votes and so the 12th Amendment was needed so as to send the election to the House to decide.
