In 1917, the United States entered into war with Germany and its allies. Fast forward 85 years, and the United States was thrown into the same situation. .
Al-Qaeda was a threat to the world after attacking the United States on 9/11. The militants that made up the radical faction were deemed as "animals who do not value freedom" by the Bush Administration. In Iraq, the United States believed that along with Al-Qaeda, Saddam Hussein was committing crimes against his own people. People were being killed and terrorised in the name of "government intervention." President Bush, along with the world, knew that Saddam Hussein had used chemical and biological weapons against his own people. That invoked the idea that it was necessary to intervene in the ongoing situation in Iraq. And in his State of the Union address, George Bush said that the United States would enter the country of Iraq to "protect the humanitarian rights of an innocent people." Each war was entered because of humanitarian reasons. But, both were entered due to attacks close to our homes.
Woodrow Wilson followed protocol set out by George Washington that told us not to get involved with World War I. For three years, the United States remained neutral in the conflict. But as the war dragged on, Germany's intentions were uncovered due to the discovery of the Zimmerman note. The note, which was sent to Mexico, was seen as a declaration of war on the United States, and it also said that Germany would restart its assault on American boats/shipments in the Atlantic. For Wilson, this was the last straw. He felt that there was a need for the United States to retaliate in response to the attacks on American assets. Germany had been conducting unrestricted submarine warfare on the United States' ships in the Atlantic, and as a result, American lives were being lost. Soon following the Zimmerman note, America officially entered the war in 1917.