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Assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Ferdinand traveled to the Bosnian capital of Saravejo. During his trip he was shot by a by a young Serb. The Serbian belonged to a group that believed that territories Austria had annexed should belong to Serbia. Russia along with Britain and France supported Serbia so Austria asked Germany to ally with them in the war. This lead to the first World War. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The RMS Lusitania was a ship that ferried people and goods across the Atlantic Ocean from Great Britain to the US and vice versa. A german U Boat torpedoed the Lusitania and killed 1,198 passengers. 128 of these killed were American. The currently neautral America was outraged that their citizens had died, and lead to an increase of tensions between Germany and the US which further increased our possibility of joining the war. -
Arabic Pledge
Germany torpedoed the British passenger liner Arabic. 40 passengers and crew members were killied including 2 americans. Wilson then threatened to enter the war. Germany wanted to avoid this at all costs so they wrote the Arabic Pledge which says that Germany will not sink a ship without giving a 30 minute warning to ensure the passengers could exit. -
Pancho Villa Raids Mexico
Wilson encouraged Mexico to make steps towards a democratic government. He sided with Pancho Villa to hurry this process. However, when the Mexican president Carranza showed signs of this transformation, Wilson stopped supporting Villa. This angered him, and lead to a raid in Columbus, New Mexico. Villa along with 1,500 guerilla men killed 19 people and left the town in flames. -
Sussex Pledge
The Sussex Pledge was a promise from Germany to the United States declaring that Germany would only attack ships carrying weapons. Passenger ships, merchant ships, and all non-military ships were to be warned and allowed for crew and passengers to safely exit the ship before being sunk. If this promise was broken the US would break of diplomatic relations with Germany and enter the war. -
"He Kept Us Out of War"
President Woodrow Wilson ran for re-election in 1916. He narrowly won this election. One of the slogans his party used was "he kept us out of war". America tried their best to stay out of over sea European affairs. This is why Wilson was praised for keeping us out of the war. However, America was almost forced into the war which made Wilson's slogan seem almost hypocritical, -
Zimmermann Note
The foreign secretary of Germany Arthur Zimmermann sent a telegram to Mexico. The telegram urged Mexico to form an alliance with Germany if the United States was to ever enter the war. Mexico was bribed with the lands they previously lost to the United States. This telegram was decoded by British intillegence and enraged Americans which increased the support of the war with Germany. -
Resumption of Unrestricted Warfare
Germany believed they could win the war by sea. Through the use of unrestricted warfare, Germany dominated war zones around British waters. However, they stopped this practice to aviod problems with the US. However, they believed they could win the war with this strategy. When they returned to this strategy during the war it angered America. 3 days after they broke their pledge the US entered the war. -
Russian Revolution
Russia was displeased with their involvment in World War 1. Russia was no match for the indoustrious Germany enemy. Also, they were financially unstable due to the war debt. The unhapy Russians revolted in the capital of Pertograd. Later, the Bolshevik party occupied government and placed Vladimir Lenin as their leader. He became dictator of Russia and became allies with Germany. This made global tensions rise. -
WW1 Begins and US Reaction
Americans wanted to remain neautral when the war started. Tensions between America and Germany steadily rose. However, it was only after Germany declared unrestricted warfare in zone waters that the US broke diplomatic relations. The Senate voted 82-6 and the House of Representatives voted 373-50 to enter the war. America did not hesitate to enter the war. They sent 14,000 US troops to France to begin training. Also, patriotitism quickly became the number one priority back at home.