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Archduke Franz Ferdinand Assassinated
The Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie traveled to Sarajevo in June 1914 to inspect the imperial armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Ottoman territories in the turbulent Balkan region that were annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908. On this day Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was shot to death along with his wife at point-blank range by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. -
World War 1 begins & US reaction
Shortly after the assassination of the Archduke World War 1 began. During this time America was experiencing a state of isolation and many felt a will for neutrality. At this point in history the United States was an imigrant nation and couldn't choose one side of the war to be on. -
Lusitania Sinks: 128 Americans Killed
As Lusitania ferried people and goods across the Atlantic Ocean between the United States and Great Britain, it was torpedoed by a German U-boat and sunk. Of the 1,959 people on board, 1,198 died, including 128 Americans. After news of Lusitania sinking it enraged Americans and hastened the United States' entrance into World War I. -
Arabic Pledge
The Arabic pledge was a promise made by the German Empire during World War I to limit unrestricted submarine warfare. This was a response to the sinking of the Lusitania. -
Pancho Villa Raids New Mexico
Angered by the American support towards his rivals for the control of Mexico, the peasant-born revolutionary leader Pancho Villa attacked the border town of Columbus, New Mexico. Killing several Americans, this distracted America to focus on Mexico rather than the impeding war across the globe. -
The Sussex Pledge
This was a promise made between Germany and United States of America. The Germans, agreed to not target passenger ships, also that merchant ships would not be targeted unless they possessed weapons and that merchant ships would not be sunk without provision for the safety of passengers and crew. This pact was made due to the German's fear of American getting involved in the current war. -
Woodrow Wilson: "He kept us out of war"
'He kept us out of the war' was a campaign slogan used by Woodrow Wilson during the 1916 US election. It helped Wilson to get re-elected as president because it appealed to a large majority of voters who wanted to avoid a war in Europe. -
Resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare
As the lethal threat of the German U-boat submarine raises its head again, Germany returns to the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare it had previously suspended in response to pressure from the United States and other neutral countries. Causing an uproar in the US to defend our own neutrality against the threat of a German attack on US boats. -
The Zimmermann Note
This is the text of the so called Zimmermann telegram, writen by the German foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, to the German ambassador for Mexico . It proposed a Mexican-German alliance, in the event of a possible war between the United States and Germany. It was published on the front pages of newspapers across America, after it was intercepted and deciphered by British intelligence in January 1917. This caused AMerican feelings to lean towards entrance into the war. -
Russian Revolution
The first revolution in March was to overthrow the current Tsar Nicholas II. The second revolution happened in October known as the Bolshevik Revolution, which lead to the practice of Bolshevism within the country. This lead to ultimately lead to Russia dropping out of the war and spurring the United States to fight along side the current Allies powers. Also it caused Americans to become concerned about Bolshevism in the United States fearing that it would overthrow the democratic government. -
Period: to
Russian Revolution
The date is not exactly accurate because during the Russian Revolution Russia changed from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
