Arabic pledge

The Arabic Pledge resulted from German unrestricted submarine warfare during World War I.

Om May 7, 1915 a German U-boat sank RMS Lusitania off the coast of Ireland. The passenger liner had departed from the port of New York City with many American citizens on board who lost their lives when the ship sank including a member of the famous Vanderbilt family. The U.S. government condemed the German action and President Woodrow Wilson protested this violation of the United States' neutral rights and threatened to sever diplomatic relations with Germany. Nevertheless, in August the British passenger liner "Arabic" was torpedoed by a German U-boat. Approximately 40 passengers and crew were lost, including two Americans.

With the threat that the United States might join the War, the German government issued what became known as the "Arabic Pledge" which stated that Germany would warn non-miltary ships 30 minutes before they sank them to make sure the passengers and crew got out safely. They broke this pledge on March 24th, 1916 when a German U-boat torpedoed the French ship, the "Sussex." This then led to the Sussex pledge.