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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, were killed on June 28, 1914, by a Serb nationalist, while being on a visit in Sarajevo. This event set in train a series of diplomatic issues that led inexorably to the outbreak of WWI in Europe at the end of July 1914. -
WWI Begins and US Reaction
When Europe burst into flames in 1914, the US was bogged down in a worrisome business recession. Even though the Americans adopted neutrality and were concerned more about their domestic issues than the international ones, they eventually began to respond to British and French orders, in order to make money. The Allies' orders helped pull the American industry out of the morass of hard times and onto a peak of war-born prosperity. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
"Lusitania", liner under British registration, sunk off the Irish Coast by a German submarine on May 7, 1915. In the sinking, 1,198 persons lost their lives, 128 of whom were US citizens. -
Arabic Pledge
The Arabic Pledge, which was issued on September 18, 1915, was a promise made by the Germans to not sink unarmed and unresisting passenger ships without warning. -
Pancho Villa Raids Mexico
In January 1916, challenging Carranza's authority, while also punishing the gringos, Pancho Villa's men ruthlessly hauled sixteen young American mining engineers off a train traveling through northern Mexico, and killed them. -
Sussex Pledge
The Sussex Pledge, which was issued on May 4, 1916, promised a change in Germany's naval warfare policy namely, that the Germans won't sink passenger ships and merchant vessels without giving warning. Moreover, the Germans attached to the pledge a long string, which said that US would have to persuade the Allies to modify what Berlin regarded as their illegal blockade. -
"He Kept Us Out of War"
"He kept us out of war" was the slogan upon which Woodrow Wilson based his re-election in 1916. -
Zimmerman Note
The Zimmerman Note was a secret telegram sent on January 16, 1917, by German foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, to the German ambassador to Mexico, Heinrich von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause. -
Resumption of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
In early 1917, Germany announced that it would rescind the Sussex Pledge and that it would resume unrestricted submarine warfare against Great Britain and its allies, including the United States. -
The February 1917 Russian Revolution
The first Russian Revolution of 1917 ("February Revolution") was the uprising of March (February, Old Style), in which Tsar Nicholas II was removed from power and a parliamentarian government headed by Kerensky came to power. -
The October 1917 Russian Revolution
The second Russian Revolution of 1917 ("October Revolution") was the uprising of November (October, Old Style), in which the parliamentarian government was replaced by the Soviet government (Soviet Union) led by the Bolsheviks (Communists) under Lenin.
