Before World War I began, Austria-Hungary Archduke Franz Ferdinand wanted to erect a triple monarchy with Austria, Hungary, and Serbia, giving all of them equal power. However, Serbia was not satisfied with this. Prior to this plan, Austria-Hungary annexed two of Serbia's territories, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia wanted those nations back under their territory. When Franz Ferdinand was visiting Sarajevo with his wife, a Serbian terrorist group named "Black Hand" assassinated both Ferdinand and his spouse. Ferdinand's uncle and emperor of Austria-Hungary, Franz-Josef, assumed that the government of Serbia was responsible and made harsh demands. When Serbia refused, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. As a result, Russia backed up Serbia and declared war on Austria-Hungary. The German Empire, allied with Austria, responded to Russia by declaring war on them. France, allied with Russia, then declared war on Germany. When Germany invaded Belgium, Great Britain declared war on Germany.
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However, a blockade around Britain set up by Germany posed some issues. Many ships going from the United States to Britain were being sunk by German U-boats, many of these ships having Americans on board. Tensions began to rise as the United States avoided retaliating with force and instead imposed harsher foreign policy. The last straw was the Laconia, a commercial ship. Britain, when investigating the crash, found and presented to the U.S. a decoded message from Germany to Mexico. The message stated that if the U.S. entered the war on the allied side, Germany would support Mexico to conquer Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. This was the final straw for America and it eventually led to the U.S. joining the war. During WWII, the United States entered it much easier than the first war. All it took was Japan bombing Pearl Harbor for America to join the war
However, a blockade around Britain set up by Germany posed some issues. Many ships going from the United States to Britain were being sunk by German U-boats, many of these ships having Americans on board. Tensions began to rise as the United States avoided retaliating with force and instead imposed harsher foreign policy. The last straw was the Laconia, a commercial ship. Britain, when investigating the crash, found and presented to the U.S. a decoded message from Germany to Mexico. The message stated that if the U.S. entered the war on the allied side, Germany would support Mexico to conquer Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. This was the final straw for America and it eventually led to the U.S. joining the war. During WWII, the United States entered it much easier than the first war. All it took was Japan bombing Pearl Harbor for America to join the war