At 8:30 p.m. on April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson, shown here delivering his message before a joint session of Congress, recommended that a state of war be declared between the United States and the imperial German government. Realizing that the war looming ahead would be a costly one, Wilson said, ‘the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured.’