-
WWI Begins & US Reaction
World War I began after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Two main forces in the war were the Allies ( France, Great Britain, Russia) and the Central Powers ( Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkish Ottoman Empire). President Wilson of the US called on Americans to be "neutral in thought as well as deed" at the outset. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinard
Gavrilo Princip a young Serbian nationalist killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand . The assassination would set off a chain of events that one month later would lead to the start of WWI. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The British passenger liner Lusitania was torpedoed by the Germans where 1,198 lives were lost, 128 being American. Americans were outraged, some more than others, that they called the event a “mass murder” and a “piracy”. Eastern Americans were the most enraged with the tragic event that they were willing to go to war, but the rest of the country didn’t want to go into a war that was on the complete opposite side of the world. -
Arabic Pledge
Berlin sunk the Arabic with the loss of 2 american lives . Wilson then set the " Arabic Pledge" which Berlin agreed to not sink unarmed and unresistant passenger ships without warning . -
Pancho Villa raids Mexico
Francisco (Pancho) Villa challenged Mexican predisent Venustiano Carranza's authority & punished gringos. In January 11, 1916, Villa killed 16 American mining engineers off a train traveling through northern Mexico. Pancho Villa wanted to provoke war between Wilson & Carranza,, this cause him to cross the border to Columbus, New Mexico in March to murder 19 Americans. General John J. ordered a force of several thousand tropps to look for Villa but failed finding him. -
Sussex Pledge
When the Arabic Pledge was violated by the Germans when they attacked a French passenger steamer, the Sussex, Wilson threatened the Germans to stop the submarine warfare or Wilson would break diplomatic relations. Germans agreed to not sink passenger ships and vessels without warning but wanted the United States to convince the Allies to modify the illegal blockade on Berlin. Wilson only accepted the German pledge without accepting the second part of the pledge. -
"He kept us out of War"
In the campaign for the election of 1916, Woodrow Wilson came up with the slogan "He kept us out of war". The slogan convinced people to rely on Woodrow Wilson to keep the United States out of the great war, which ensured Wilson's victory. -
Zimmermann Note
On January 16, 1917, Germany sent a telegram to Mexico asking for their alliance and to make war against the United States. In the telegram Geramny promised Mexioo the return of Texas, New Mexico, Nevada and California. After it was decoded and translated the U.S. government were outraged and that helped build up the United States declaration of war against Germany and enrty into WW1. -
Resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare
Germans announced on Jan, 31, 1917 their decision to use unrestricted submarine warfare, which included sinking American ships in the war zone. This decision was made because Germans thought that by doing this, then England would soon give up before the U.S. would enter the war. -
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was started after Russia's horrible war campaign in which they were doing badly compared to the rest of the allied powers. The revolutionaries overthrew Nicholas II, the last emperor of Russia and set up their own Provisional Government.
