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The election of President Woodrow Wilson
Wilson defeated incumbent Republican William Howard Taft and third-party nominee Theodore Roosevelt to easily win the 1912 presidential election, becoming the first Southerner to do so since 1848. -
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: The Outbreak of WW1
precipitated the July Crisis which led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia and the start of World War I -
America proclaims Neutrality in WW1
The American economy boomed during the period of neutrality. The war created a tremendous demand for American industrial and agricultural products. Both sides placed orders with U.S. companies but British blockades of German ports and their confiscation of cargoes limited the amount that reached Germany. -
The Battle of Marne
The First Battle of the Marne marked the end of the German sweep into France and the beginning of the trench warfare that was to characterise World War One. -
The Sinking of the Lusitania
The sinking of RMS Lusitania caused international outrage and helped turn public opinion against Germany, particularly in the then-neutral United States. Of the 1,200 people killed, 128 were American citizens. But the incident did not immediately bring the United States into the war. -
The Beginning Of the Spanish Flu Epidemic
The first apparently originated in early March 1918, during World War I. Although it remains uncertain where the virus first emerged, it quickly spread through western Europe, and by July it had spread to Poland. The first wave of influenza was comparatively mild. -
The Battle of the Verdun
One of the longest, bloodiest, and most-ferocious battles of the war; French casualties amounted to about 400,000, German ones to about 350,000. Some 300,000 were killed. -
The Sussex Incident
The attack prompted a U.S. threat to sever diplomatic relations. The German government responded with the so-called Sussex pledge (May 4, 1916), agreeing to give adequate warning before sinking merchant and passenger ships and to provide for the safety of passengers and crew. -
The Battle of the Somme
A more professional and effective army emerged from the battle. And the tactics developed there, including the use of tanks and creeping barrages, laid some of the foundations of the Allies' successes in 1918. The Somme also succeeded in relieving the pressure on the French at Verdun. -
The Re-Election of President Woodrow Wilson
The 1916 United States presidential election was the 33rd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 1916. Incumbent Democratic President Woodrow Wilson narrowly defeated former associate justice of the Supreme Court Charles Evans Hughes, the Republican candidate. Presidential election results map. -
The Fourteen Points by President Wilson
Why was the Fourteen Points important? The Fourteen Points hoped to end World War I under the philosophy of "Peace Without Victory," meaning no one country won the war. Under the Fourteen Points, Wilson hoped to create lasting world peace and avoid future large-scale wars. -
The Interception of the Zimmermann Telegram
On January 17, 1917 British signals intelligence intercepted and decrypted a coded German telegram from German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann that was intended for Germany's ambassador to Mexico. -
The Declaration of New Unrestricted Submarine Warfare by Germany
On January 31, 1917, Bethmann Hollweg went before the German Reichstag government and made the announcement that unrestricted submarine warfare would resume the next day, February 1: "The destructive designs of our opponents cannot be expressed more strongly. We have been challenged to fight to the end. -
Russia Pulls Out of WW1
The Bolsheviks signed a peace treaty with Germany on March 3, 1918, formally pulling Russia out of World War I and ceding Poland, Lithuania, the Ukraine, the Baltic provinces, Finland, and other neighboring provinces to the Germans. -
The United States Enters WW1
On April 4, 1917, the U.S. Senate voted in support of the measure to declare war on Germany. The House concurred two days later. The United States later declared war on German ally Austria-Hungary on December 7, 1917. -
The selective Service act
On May 18, 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which authorized the Federal Government to temporarily expand the military through conscription. -
The Espionage Act
The Espionage Act broadly sought to crack down on wartime activities considered dangerous or disloyal, including attempts to acquire defense-related information with the intent to harm the United States, or acquire code and signal books, photographs, blueprints, and other such documents with the intention of passing . -
The Landing of the American Expeditionary Force in France
The first American Expeditionary Forces' (AEF) contingent landed in France in late June 1917 at Saint-Nazaire. The war would soon enter its fourth year with no end in sight. Every French family had been touched by the injury and loss of loved ones, and the austerities of war. -
The Passing Of the Sedition Act
Passed by a Federalist-controlled Congress on July 14, the Sedition Act of 1798 was part of a series of measures, commonly known as the Alien and Sedition Acts, ostensibly designed to deal with the threats involved in the “quasi-war” with France -
The Battle of Argonne Forest
It was one of the attacks that brought an end to the War and was fought from September 26 – November 11, 1918, when the Armistice was signed. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest operation of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in World War I, with over a million American soldiers participating. -
Armistice Day Ends WW1
Armistice on the Western Front. On Nov. 11, 1918, after more than four years of horrific fighting and the loss of millions of lives, the guns on the Western Front fell silent. Although fighting continued elsewhere, the armistice between Germany and the Allies was the first step to ending World War I. -
The Paris Peace Conference & Treaty of Versailles
The Paris Peace Conference & Treaty of Versailles