Carter Roy

With a Lusitania, Wilson essentially called the Germans bluff, maybe because he wanted America to declare war on Germany.

Or maybe he thought everything would be fine.

because the Lusitania would have all the protection everyone expected it to have.

A UK Naval escort, timely danger warnings, the safest known route, everything that didn't happen.

After all, Wilson's historical reputation is as an isolationist.

Either way, U.S.

government officials neglected to warn the Lusitania's passengers that they might be sailing straight to their deaths.

Now, you're probably wondering, why would the British Navy sacrifice a ship filled with ammunition they needed?

Why blow up your own weapons?

Because the loss of one ship's cargo outweighed the potential benefit of getting the U.S.

military on their side.

And here's the thing, even if none of this was planned, there was some kind of coverup around the Lusitania, maybe before it even sank.

First, the passengers weren't made aware they'd be at sea a day longer than usual.

And by the time that became obvious, day six and they're still on the boat, they were no longer allowed to send telegrams.

Allegedly, this was to avoid detection by German U-boat receivers, but it prevented passengers from sharing happenings aboard the Lusitania with the outside world.

Happenings like...

the complete lack of lifeboat drills.

This could have resulted from the staff shortage, but several passengers lodged complaints during the voyage and nothing was done.

People didn't know what to do if disaster struck.

They didn't even know how to put on their life vests.