The Lusitania

The Lusitania term paper due and don't know how to start it? How about like this?

In 1914, when Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated, a spark was ignited that would cause World War I. It was nearly a year later on May 7, 1915 that a German submarine shot and sank the British luxury liner Lusitania.

• There were 1,959 passengers on board
• 197 of them were American
• 128 of those Americans lost their lives
• The sinking of the Lusitania was the event that marked the United States involvement in World War I

Des Hickey and Gus Smith detail the events leading up to and following that fateful day in their insightful book, Seven Days to Disaster: The Sinking of the Lusitania.

Lusitania's Fateful Voyage

This story of the Lusitania's fateful voyage was meticulously pieced together from a collection of eye-witness accounts and first-hand interviews conducted by the authors, as well as an assortment of documents, reports, depositions and statements previously recorded. As a result of their efforts, Hickey and Smith have managed to produce an exhaustively detailed and personal account of this momentous event as it occurred. Seven Days to Disaster is different from many other books on the subject in that it introduces the reader to a fascinating roster of players, thus revealing the human names and faces behind a chapter of history that is largely symbolized by a 30,000 ton luxury liner and a German submarine.

Lusitania - Floating Palace

The Lusitania was, in 1915, arguably the most luxurious traveling vessel in the world. So luxurious in fact that she was popularly likened to a floating palace. Perhaps that luxury was the selling point for the 197 American passengers who chose to board the Lusitania, on May 1, 1915, instead of the New York, which had room for another 300 passengers. But luxury aside, the Lusitania was also faster, two days faster, and for those anxious to get to Europe to join loved ones involved in the war there, those two days made all the difference. And though the threat of a German submarine attack had been mentioned, the threats were largely ignored due to the fact that the Lusitania was so fast that it was believed able to outrun any of Germany's military subs that might threaten it. In short, no one was worried. "The Lusitania's gangways were like bridges to Liverpool; once they were crossed the passengers believed that all would be well".