Up until just before the U.S. declared war on April 6th, 1917, the U.S. had desperately tried to stay neutral, but ties to Britain, propaganda, the sinking of ships by German U-boats, and a German attempt in the Zimmermann Note to get Mexico to declare war on the U.S. pushed the U.S. to get involved. In this lesson, we looked at how the U.S. got the troops and funds for the war, the impact at home, and American involvement in combat and bringing the war to an end. After declaring war against the Central Powers on April of 1917, the U.S. needed to quickly mobilize for war. To raise troops, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, formally instituting the draft. Money for the war was raised through taxes and Liberty Bonds, but also people did their part by planting victory gardens. The American Expeditionary Force was separate from the Allied forces, but still gave the needed manpower to build Allied morale and break the German forces. The Treaty of Versailles officially ended the war with Germany.