The majority of Americans felt that the United States should stay out of World War I because it was not a signatory to any of the agreements that had lured the European powers into conflict across the continent, so President Woodrow Wilson declared a neutrality policy, attempting instead to broker a peace agreement. Even when a German sub sank the British ocean liner Lusitania in 1915, with 128 Americans on board, the United States demanded a stop to the destruction of passenger ships, and Germany agreed, leading to continued American neutrality.
