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election of president wilson
Wilson handily defeated Taft and Roosevelt winning 435 of the 531 available electoral votes. Wilson also won 42% of the popular vote, while his nearest challenger, Roosevelt, won just 27%. -
assassination of franz ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are shot to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist during an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. The killings sparked a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I by early August. -
america proclaims neutrality
As World War I erupts in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson formally proclaims the neutrality of the United States, a position that a vast majority of Americans favored, on August 4, 1914. -
battle of the marne
The First Battle of the Marne succeeded in pushing the Germans back for a distance of 40 to 50 miles and thus saved the capital city of Paris from capture. In this respect it was a great strategic victory, since it enabled the French to renew their confidence and to continue the war. -
declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare
Unrestricted submarine warfare was first introduced in World War I in early 1915, when Germany declared the area around the British Isles a war zone, in which all merchant ships, including those from neutral countries, would be attacked by the German navy. -
sinking of the Lusitania
On May 7, 1915, the German submarine (U-boat) U-20 torpedoed and sank the Lusitania, a swift-moving British cruise liner traveling from New York to Liverpool, England. Of the 1,959 men, women, and children on board, 1,195 perished, including 123 Americans. -
battle of the verdun
Battle of Verdun, (February 21–December 18, 1916), World War I engagement in which the French repulsed a major German offensive. It was 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
torpedoing of a French cross-Channel passenger steamer, the Sussex, by a German submarine, leaving 80 casualties, including two Americans wounded. The attack prompted a U.S. threat to sever diplomatic relations. -
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. -
re election of 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 battle of the somme
Battle of the Somme, Allied offensive in World War I. British and French forces launched a frontal attack against an entrenched German army north of the Somme River in France. A weeklong artillery bombardment was followed by a British infantry assault on the still-impregnable German positions. -
Zimmerman telegram
The Zimmermann Telegram was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico if the United States entered World War I against Germany. With Germany's aid, Mexico would recover Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. -
russia pulls out of world war 1
On March 3, 1918, in the city of Brest-Litovsk, located in modern-day Belarus near the Polish border, Russia signs a treaty with the Central Powers ending its participation in World War I. -
usa enters world war 1
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. -
selective service act
To that end, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which Wilson signed into law on May 18, 1917. The act required all men in the U.S. between the ages of 21 and 30 to register for military service. Within a few months, some 10 million men across the country had registered in response to the military draft. -
the passing of the espionage
The Espionage Act of 1917 was passed by Congress on June 15, 1917, two months after the United States entered World War I. While The Espionage Act of 1917 limited Americans' First Amendment Rights, it was ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court in the 1919 case of Schenck v. United States. -
the fourteen points by president wilson
The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms to the United States Congress by President Woodrow Wilson. -
flu epidemic
It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919. In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918. -
the passing of the sedition act
The Sedition Act of 1918 curtailed the free speech rights of U.S. citizens during time of war. Passed on May 16, 1918, as an amendment to Title I of the Espionage Act of 1917, the act provided for further and expanded limitations on speech. -
the battle of Argonne forest
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest operations of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in World War I, with over a million American soldiers participating. It was also the deadliest campaign in American history, resulting in over 26,000 soldiers being killed in action (KIA) and over 120,000 total casualties. -
armistice day ends WW1
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 and treaty of Versailles
The Paris Peace Conference was an international meeting convened in January 1919 at Versailles just outside Paris. The purpose of the meeting was to establish the terms of the peace after World War.