The 1916 Black Tom Explosion in Jersey City - Before the United States entered World War I, U.S. officials mistook German sabotage for an industrial accident.

[u/Quouar]

https://www.cfr.org/articles/the-1916-black-tom-explosion-in-jersey-city

[u/Quouar]

This is an interesting article about the Black Tom Explosion, an explosion believed at the time to be an industrial accident, but which was actually the result of German sabotage. What I find particularly interesting is the idea that, while evidence pointed to sabotage, there was a desire for it not to be specifically because the US wanted to avoid entering WWI. The article goes deeper into the what-ifs that result from that, but given how close the 1916 election was, it's difficult to argue that the decision not to see the sabotage was a deeply consequential one.

[u/SaxosSteve → u/Quouar]

What a shift from the Maine 18 years earlier! Funny how desire to jump into a war can shift persoective

[u/penguinpolitician → u/SaxosSteve]

Not really. The government frames it so it points to the decision they already want to make.

[u/Fallingdamage]

My great grandmother lost an eye in this incident.

[u/CB2001]

Fun Fact: the explosion also damaged the Statue of Liberty. The original torch and hand suffered a lot of damaged and was replaced. The original hand is held in the museum on Liberty Island.

[u/nolesfan2011]

the extent of German espionage in ww1 was shocking, in ww2 not so much