American press opinion concerning the sinking of the Lusitania - May and June, 1915

The purpose of this thesis is to show the attitude toward the sinking of the Lusitania by Germany as expressed by the American press. The newspapers used represent a typical cross-section of the more important newspapers of the country, and have been selected, more or less, with geographical and editorial considerations in mind. Opinions are also given when they refer to matters relating to the Lusitania, such as the effect of the incident upon American neutrality, the attitude toward Great Britain and her violations of America's neutral rights, and the attitude toward President Wilson in his handling of the situations thus created. The period covered by this thesis is the first two months, May and June, after the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. The last chapter contains a short summary of the trend of events from June until the following April of 1916, when the last Lusitania note was dispatched. It also includes a few concluding remarks. Whether the opinions thus expressed by the American newspapers were indicative of the general feeling among the people or whether the attitude of the people was formulated by the press is a debatable question; but it readily will be acknowledged that the press is a potent factor in developing or hindering any tendencies which may arise.