President Woodrow Wilson did not want to involve the US in a large scale, overseas war. The U.S. had a lot of reasons to stay neutral during WWI. American sympathies naturally aligned with the British. German unrestricted submarine warfare and the sinking of British ships carrying American passengers drew American outrage. 'Remember the Lusitania' became a rallying cry. The Zimmermann Note, in which Germany asked Mexico to declare war and attack the U.S., was the final straw. The telegram and Russia's withdrawal from the Allies (due to the Russian Revolution) led the U.S. to declare war on the Central Powers in April of 1917.