On this episode of Our American Stories, when war erupted across Europe in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson promised to keep the United States out of it. For nearly three years, he tried. But German submarine warfare, the sinking of the Lusitania, and repeated attacks on American shipping steadily narrowed the country's options. By the spring of 1917, neutrality was no longer holding. On April 2, Wilson went before Congress and asked for a declaration of war.

As part of our ongoing Story of Us—Story of America series, Dr. Bill McClay, author of Land of Hope, shares the story of how America entered World War I and how the conflict transformed life at home.

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