Initially, Americans were reluctant to enter the war. Although a general pro-English, anti-German feeling was the norm, the United States wanted to maintain a policy of non-intervention. However, two events shifted public opinion. The first one were the reports of atrocities in Belgium in 1914. The second one was the sinking of the passenger liner RMS Lusitania in 1915.
The Western Democracies feared the communist revolutionaries in Russia; and supported the White Army in hopes of stopping the communist Red Army from taking control.
