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Kaiser Declares "Open season" on Ships
Kaiser Wilhelm proclaimed the North Sea a war zone where all merchant ships including those who are from neutral countries could be sunk without warning. On February 4, 1915, Kaiser announced that Germany wanted to sink all ships sailing under the flags of Britain, Russia, or France found in the British waters. He warned neutral countries that it was not safe traveling around the British Isles but if they chose to enter after February 18, they would be doing so at their own risk. -
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Princip fired into the car, shooting Franz Ferdinand and Sophie at point-blank range. -
Great War Begins
The trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. -
Lusitania Sank
At 2:10 in the afternoon the ship neared the coast of Ireland when a torpedo was fired by the German submarine U 20 and slammed into the ship's side. Then a mysterious second explosion ripped the liner apart. The ship was in such bad shape that lifeboats crashed into passengers. Within 18 minutes the ship slipped underneath the sea. 1,119 of the 1,924 aboard died. 114 of which were Americans. -
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest of the first world war one and is also known as the Somme Offensive. It was fought near the Somme River in France and was one of the bloodiest battles in history. On the first day, there were 57,000 british casualties and at the end the Allies and Central Powers lost more than 1.5 million men. -
Wilson re-elected
During Wilson's speeches he talked about his accomplishments. A favored slogan of his was, "He kept us out of war." After the presidential election of 1916 and the presidential election held on November 7, 1916. Wilson had 49.4% of the popular cote and 277 electoral votes. Hughes had 46.2% of the popular vote and 254 electoral votes. -
Russia pulls out of the war
A group of Communists led by Vladimir Lenin, the Bolsheviks, overthrew the government in November 1917 and created a Communist government. -
Zimmerman note Intercepted
Was a message from Arthur Zimmermann to the German ambassador to Mexico telling them they wanted to form a Mexican-German alliance between the United States and Germany. -
US declares war on Germany
At 8:30pm on April 2, 1917, President Wilson asked for a declaration of war against Germany in order to make the world safe for democracy. His request was granted on April 4. -
Selective Service Act
Authorized the United States federal government to raise a national army for service in World War I through conscription. -
Convoy System
Was designed to help protect cargo in passenger ships. The system was introduced in British in 1917. It was mainly centered on the ENglish Channel, but when the U.S entered the war ships started traveling in deeper open ocean from one end of the Alantic to the other. -
Espionage Age passed
It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code (War) but is now found under Title 18, Crime. -
Flu Epidemic
The “Spanish” flu pandemic was, quite simply, the single worst disease episode in modern world history. -
Fourteen Point Speech
Wilson’s proposal called for the victorious Allies to set unselfish peace terms with the vanquished Central Powers of World War I, including freedom of the seas, the restoration of territories conquered during the war and the right to national self-determination in such contentious regions as the Balkans. -
Sedition Act passed
The Sedition Act was aimed at socialists and pacifists. It imposed harsh penalties on anyone that was found guilty of making false statements that interfered with war. This included insulting the government, flag, constitution, or military. Anyone who were found guilty were to be punished by a fine of $10,000 or imprisonment for no longer than twenty years and they could be punished with both. -
Germany signs Armistice
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice that ended fighting on land, sea and air in World War I between the Allies and their last opponent, Germany.
