U.S. Senate votes 82-6 for war against Germany 100 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 4 1917)

(Wednesday, April 4, 1917, 11:11 p.m. local time; during World War I) — Two days after U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, “The world must be made safe for democracy,” the U.S. Senate tonight voted 82-6 in favor of declaring war against Germany.

The House would follow suit two days later by a vote of 373-50.

Wilson had cited Germany’s violation of its pledge to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean as well as its attempts to entice Mexico into an alliance against the United States.