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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was shot to death along with his wife by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia. This event is said to have sparked the outbrake of World War I. -
WW I begins & US reaction
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia after Austrians suspected that the Serbians had something to do with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdiand.
The initial reaction of the United States was to stay neutral. As a nation of immigrants, the United States would have difficulty picking a side. -
Arabic Pledge
The Arabic Pledge was a promise made by the German Empire during World War I to limit unrestricted submarine warfare. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The British ocean liner Lusitania primarily ferried people and goods across the Atlantic Ocean between the United States and Great Britain. On May 7, 1915 it was torpedoed by a German U-boat and sunk. 128 Americans died and it enraged Americans and caused the United States' entrance into World War I. -
Pancho Villa Raids Mexico
On March 9, 1914 several hundred Mexican guerrillas under the command of "Pancho" Villa crossed the U.S.-Mexican border and attacked the small border town of Columbus, New Mexico. Seventeen Americans were killed in the raid, and the center of town was burned. -
Sussex Pledge
The Sussex Pledge was a promise given by the German Government to the United States of America on May 4th 1916 in response to US demands relating to the conduct of the First World War. -
"He kept us out of war"
Most American voters wanted to avoid involvement in the war, and preferred to continue a policy of neutrality. Woodrow Wilson's campaign used the popular slogan "He kept us out of war" to appeal to those voters who wanted to avoid a war in Europe or with Mexico. -
Zimmermann Note
The Zimmermann Note was a secret telegram sent by German general Aurthur Zimmermann to Count Johann von Bernstorff. In the tegram Zimmermann said that in the event of war with the United States, Mexico should be asked to enter the war as a German ally. In return, Germany would restore to Mexico the lost territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The Zimmermann note helped turn U.S. public opinion against Germany during World War I and strengthened the advocates of U.S. entry into the war. -
Resumption of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
A series of attacks on merchant ships, culminating in the sinking of the British ship Lusitania by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915. The incident caused U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to send a strongly worded note to the German government demanding an end to German attacks against unarmed merchant ships. By September 1915, the German government had imposed such strict constraints on the operation of the nation's submarines that the German navy was persuaded to suspend U-boat warfare altogether. -
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a series of revolutions in Russia that destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The revolution took place in the context of heavy military setbacks during the First World War, which left much of the army in a state of mutiny.
