[74] He also was without Wilson's support, as the president needed Tammany's forces for his legislation and 1916 re-election.[75] Roosevelt was soundly defeated in the Democratic primary by Gerard, who in turn lost the general election to Republican James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. He learned that federal patronage alone, without White House support, could not defeat a strong local organization.[76] After the election, he and Tammany Hall boss, Charles Francis Murphy, sought accommodation and became allies.[77]
Roosevelt refocused on the Navy Department, as World War I broke out in Europe in August 1914.[78] Though he remained publicly supportive of Wilson, Roosevelt sympathized with the Preparedness Movement, whose leaders strongly favored the Allied Powers and called for a military build-up.[79] The Wilson administration initiated an expansion of the Navy after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania by a German submarine, and Roosevelt helped establish the United States Navy Reserve and the Council of National Defense.[80] In April 1917, after Germany declared it would engage in unrestricted submarine warfare and attacked several U.S. ships, Congress approved Wilson's call for a declaration of war on Germany.