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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Arch Duke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on June 28, 1914 at Sarajevo. The U.S. had almost no position in the war at this time. The Archduke and his wife were gunned down by Gavrilo Princip. This is when the war actually started, not when the U.S. entered it. -
Germany uses U-boat
The Germans wished to challenge the Brittish blockade, so they brought in the U-boat which stood for "undersea boat". The Germans hoped this would stop vital supplies from reaching the allies. Germany declared the waters around Britain a war zone. The U-boat was a revolutionary weapon. The U.S. saw this as a threat because we couldn't we couldn't accept imports from Great Britains ports. -
Sinking of the Lusatania
On May 7th, 1915, the Brittish steamship, the Lusatania, was sunk by German Authorities. Over 100 American citizens lost their lives. At this point the U.S. was pretty upset and were just about ready to enter the war. The U.S. really had to think and make a decision on whether or not they were gonna enter the war. -
Sinking of the Arabic
Germany sank a second Brittish ship, the Arabic, killing two Americans. Wilson sent a protest to Germany to stop sinking passenger ships without warning. Germany later broke this promise. This was betrayal as this promise was broken. The U.S. and President Wilson were near reaching their breaking point. -
Preparedness movement
As time went on, the U.S. began to prepare for war. We wanted the best, but expected the worst. President Wilson began to seek more militaristic power and increased troop numbers. The U.S. wanted to show that we had a very large, strong, and aggressive military. -
Sinking of the Sussex
Germany sank the French liner, the Sussex, an attack that left several Americans hurt and injured.Wilson threatened to break off diplomatic relations with Germany if it did not stop their surprise attacks. This agreement as known as the Sussex pledge. The U.S. accepted the pledge, but did not accept the conditions from Germany that the U.S. would force Britain to end its illegal blockade. -
Woodrow Wilson drops neutrality
WWI was affecting the U.S. too much and President Wilson would not standby and watch his country be heavily affected by the war, so he decided to declare the U.S. was no longer neutral. This is where Wilson decided he would back up the Brittish.