In the Lusitania disaster, 1,198 people died, small losses compared to those of the fighting areas. But the storm of protest was unequalled in 18 months of war. The outcry centered on the 128 Americans who died in the sinking, but President Wilson held fast to American neutrality, refusing to be pressed into a hasty decision for war in a desire for revenge.

This article is located in the History of the First World War Volume 2 (REF D522 .H58 1969 V.2).