The German sinking of the Lusitania during World War 1 did what?

Answer 1

A German U-boat torpedoed and sank the RMS Lusitania in May 1915. 1,198 persons died, including over 100 American civilians.

Understandably, public opinion in the US was stirred to anger by the unprovoked attack on a ship that was obviously a passenger liner. The slogan "Remember the Lusitania!" became popular at the time, much as "Remember the Maine" had been nearly twenty years earlier.

However, it is difficult to point to a direct connection between the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915 and the US entry into the war in April 1917 -- nearly two full years later. While the attack on the Lusitania was certainly in the minds of many people, it had likely become a fairly minor issue after two years.

A great many other ships were sunk by U-boats during that two-year period, many of them flying the flag of the technically-neutral US. (The Lusitania sailed under the British flag, and Britain and Germany were at war with each other in May 1915.)

Other issues were more directly responsible for the US decision to enter the war. The most notable issue was overt collaboration between Germany and Mexico, in which Germany offered to assist Mexico in invading and reclaiming the US states of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. Germany's goal was to so occupy the US with preserving its southwestern states that it would be too busy to bother with a European war.

Answer 2

It turned public opinion in the US against Germany.