Watch WWI: 1917-1920

This program begins with the 1915 sinking of the British luxury liner Lusitania, which claimed the lives of 1,198 passengers, including 128 Americans. For another two years, the United States remained neutral in WWI, but after Germany proposed an alliance with Mexico, President Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war. Passage of the Sedition Act outlawed opposition to the war. Also covered in the program are the heroic contributions to the war effort by African American soldiers and decorated individuals, such as Sergeant Alvin York and flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker.