<P> Irish - Americans dominated the Democratic party in many large cities so Wilson had to take account of their views . They did not prevent him from being hostile to Germany, but they did force him to keep his distance from Britain . Indeed, Irish - American pressure influenced the United States into not accepting Britain's war aims as its own and define its own objectives, primarily self - determination . The Irish - American community thought they had Wilson's promise to promote Irish independence in exchange for their support of his war policies, but after the war they were bitterly disappointed by his refusal to support them in 1919 . Wilson saw the Irish situation purely as an internal UK matter and did not perceive the dispute and the unrest in Ireland as comparable to the plight of the various nationalities in Europe as a fall - out from World War I . The progress of the Irish Race Conventions give a flavour of the differing and changing opinions during the war . </P> <P> Some British immigrants worked actively for intervention . London - born Samuel Insull, Chicago's leading industrialist, for example, enthusiastically provided money, propaganda, and means for volunteers to enter the British or Canadian armies . After the United States' entry, Insull directed the Illinois State Council of Defense, with responsibility for organizing the state's mobilization . </P> <P> Immigrants from eastern Europe usually cared more about politics in their homeland than politics in the United States . Spokesmen for Slavic immigrants hoped that an Allied victory would bring independence for their homelands . Large numbers of Hungarian immigrants who were liberal and nationalist in sentiment, and sought an independent Hungary, separate from the Austro - Hungarian Empire lobbied in favor of the war and allied themselves with the Atlanticist or Anglophile portion of the population . This community was largely pro-British and anti-German in sentiment . Albanian - Americans in communities such as Boston also campaigned for entry into the war and were overwhelmingly pro-British and anti-German, as well as hopeful the war would lead to an independent Albania which would be free from the Ottoman Empire . Polish, Slovak, and Czech immigrants were enthusiastically pro-war and generally pro-British . </P> <P> Henry Ford supported the pacifist cause by sponsoring a large - scale private peace mission, with numerous activists and intellectuals aboard the "Peace Ship' (the ocean liner Oscar II). Ford chartered the ship in 1915 and invited prominent peace activists to join him to meet with leaders on both sides in Europe . He hoped to create enough publicity to prompt the belligerent nations to convene a peace conference and mediate an end to the war . The mission was widely mocked by the press, which wrote about the "Ship of Fools ." Infighting between the activists, mockery by the press contingent aboard, and an outbreak of influenza marred the voyage . Four days after the ship arrived in neutral Norway, a beleaguered and physically ill Ford abandoned the mission and returned to the United States; he had demonstrated that independent small efforts accomplished nothing . </P>

What caused the united states to enter ww1