<P> Once war was declared, the more liberal denominations, which had endorsed the Social Gospel, called for a war for righteousness that would help uplift all mankind . The theme--an aspect of American exceptionalism--was that God had chosen America as his tool to bring redemption to the world . </P> <P> American Catholic bishops maintained a general silence toward the issue of intervention . Millions of Catholics lived in both warring camps, and Catholic Americans tended to split on ethnic lines in their opinions toward American involvement in the war . At the time, heavily Catholic towns and cities in the East and Midwest often contained multiple parishes, each serving a single ethnic group, such as Irish, German, Italian, Polish, or English . American Catholics of Irish and German descent opposed intervention most strongly . Pope Benedict XV made several attempts to negotiate a peace . All of his efforts were rebuffed by both the Allies and the Germans, and throughout the war the Vatican maintained a policy of strict neutrality . </P> <P> Jewish American sympathies likewise broke along ethnic lines, with recently arrived Yiddish speaking Jews inclined to Zionism, and the established German - American Jewish community largely opposed to it . In 1914--1916, there were few Jewish forces in favor of American entry into the war . Many regarded Britain as hostile to Jewish interests . New York City, with its well - organized element numbering 1.5 million Jews, was the center of antiwar activism . </P> <P> The different Jewish communities worked together during the war years to provide relief to Jewish communities in Eastern Europe . </P>

What were the main causes of american entry into wwi