The Germans employed submarines in the North Atlantic during World War I , and in April 1915 the German government issued a warning that it would target British civilian ships . The '' Lusitania '' was torpedoed on May 7 , 1915 , during a voyage from New York ; 128 Americans were among the 1,198 who lost their lives . Newspapers owned by McCay 's employer William Randolph Hearst downplayed the tragedy , as Hearst was opposed to the US entering the war . His own papers ' readers were increasingly pro-war in the aftermath of the '' Lusitania '' . McCay was as well , but was required to illustrate anti-war and anti-British editorials by editor Arthur Brisbane . In 1916 , McCay rebelled against his employer 's stance and began to make the pro-war '' Sinking of the Lusitania '' in his own time
torpedoed
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
The Sinking of the Lusitania