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Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie were assassinated by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. -
Great Britain declares war on Germany
Great Britain declared war on Germany at 11:00 p.m. for violating Belgian neutrality. The united states declared neutrality at the outbreak of WW1.The British government took control of all the nation's railways as a wartime measure. -
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
The German submarine U-boat torpedoed and sank the Lusitania. It was swift moving British cruise liner traveling from New York to Liverpool, England. All 1,959 men, women, and children on board, 1,195 perished which included 123 Americans. -
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson defeated Republican Charles E.
President Woodrow Wilson defeated former associate justice of the Supreme Court Charles Evans Hughes, the Republican candidate of New York. -
intercepted and decrypted a telegram sent by German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman
On January 19, 1917, British naval intelligence intercepted and decrypted a telegram sent by German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to the German Ambassador in Mexico City. The Zimmerman promised that the Mexican government that Germany would help recover territory from the Mexican-American War. -
Congress Passed the Declaration of War
the United States formally declared war against Germany and entered the conflict in Europe. To protect shipping and the freedom of trade while in international waters. -
The first 14,000 U.S. infantry troops landed in France
The first 14,000 U.S. infantry troops landed in France at the port of Saint Nazaire the landing site. The United States Army had not operated in division-sized units since the American Civil War. -
The Sedition Act of 1918
To extend the Espionage Act of 1917. The Sedition Act covered a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light. -
Armistice on the Western Front
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 Versailles Peace Treaty
Officially ended World War I. Exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which led to the war. The other Central Powers on the German side signed separate treaties. The United States never ratified the Versailles treaty and made a separate peace treaty with Germany.