-
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
Two shots in Sarajevo ignited the fires of war and drew Europe toward World War I. Just hours after narrowly escaping an assassin's bomb, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to Austro-Hungarian throne and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg, are killed by Gavrilo Princip -
America Proclaims Neutrality in World War 1
Many progressives believed much of its power derived from its ability to avoid costly entanglements in Europe and elsewhere. America, they argued, could serve the world best by concentrating on reforms at home and setting an example of peace and democracy. -
The Battle of the 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. -
The Battle of the Verdun
It was one of the longest, bloodiest, and most-ferocious battles of the war -
The Sussex Incident
This was the situation during World War I when German submarines sank the French civilian ferry the Sussex in 1916. Though the U.S. was not yet part of the war, two Americans died in this torpedo attack, and President Woodrow Wilson demanded Germany cease targeting civilian ships in the North Atlantic. -
The Battle of the Somme
A more professional and effective army emerged from the battle -
The Re-Election of President Woodrow Wilson
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 Interception of the Zimmermann Telegram
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
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. -
The United States Enters World War 1
the U.S. Senate voted in support of the measure to declare war on Germany. The House concurred two days later. -
The Selective Service Act
authorized the Federal Government to temporarily expand the military through conscription. -
The Espionage Act
broadly sought to crack down on wartime activities considered dangerous or disloyal -
The Landing of the American Expeditionary Force in France
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 Fourteen Points by President Wilson
These points were later taken as the basis for peace negotiations at the end of World War I -
The Beginning of the Spanish Flu Epidemic
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. -
Russia Pulls out of World War 1
because it was in the interest of Russian Communists (Bolsheviks) who took power in November 1917. -
The Passing of the Sedition Act
to cover a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds. -
The Battle of Argonne Forest
It was one of the attacks that brought an end to the War -
Armistice Day Ends World War 1
the armistice between Germany and the Allies was the first step to ending World War I. -
The Paris Peace Conference & Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the primary treaty produced by the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I.