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The Sinking of RMS Lusitania |
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| Uploaded on Saturday 9 August, 2014 to the money trust |
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| What contributed to the American entry into World War I |
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On 7 May 1915, Europe was embroiled in what came to be known as the First World War. The United States would join two years later in 1917. But before this time, public opinion in America did not view with interest the idea of military intervention. The sinking of RMS Lusitania by a German submarine was the tragedy which turned the tables. When she carried with her 1959 people on a trans-Atlantic voyage from New York destined for Liverpool, a staggering 92 per cent of the American passengers on board the ship perished in the cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, 11 miles off the coast of Kinsale, Ireland. Suddenly, no longer did the American people feel that the Great War was not their concern. They called on their leaders to enact retribution against Germany; so hit were they by the enormity of the tragedy.
The Lusitania departed from New York, despite clear warnings from Imperial Germany of the risks involved in the boat being hit by its navy, and, in the midst of an imposed exclusion zone all around Great Britain making boats in that area liable to search and attack, notwithstanding that the Lusitania carried with her a cargo of war munitions which the Germans had prior knowledge of.
The case of the Lusitania leaves many questions unanswered. An inquest was set up in Kinsale, the day after she was sunken, followed up by an official inquiry in London. People who testified at the inquiry gave different versions, days earlier, during the inquest, such as e.g. the number of torpedoes that struck the ship. The aftermath gave rise to suspicions that the Lusitania's demise may have been premeditated to bring America into the fold, alongside the allies in their struggle against German tyranny.
The First World War broke out the same year that the Federal Reserve System commenced its operations in 1914. Warfare is the biggest debt generator. When a government's budget goes in deficit and its depleted coffers need to be replenished with money in excess of income generated through taxation, the Treasury is tasked with printing bonds. A bond is a form of loan or IOU from the issuer (the government) to the holder, and it is one of the safest investments that money can buy. The Federal Reserve System, like the Bank of England, acts as the lender of last resort to the government. It is the norm for bonds to be produced in very high quantity in times of war, thus greatly augmenting the opportunity for capital gain. The real winners were the financiers. |
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