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Archduke Franz Ferdinand murdered
Picture: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austro-Hungarian Empire. On June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, (nephew of Emperor Franz Josef) heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife were assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. Austro-Hungary blamed the Serbian government for this attack, and demanded an apology, but Serbia's efforts weren't enough. This assassination is what triggered World War 1. -
Austria declares war on Serbia
Picture: The Washington Times newspaper Exactly one month after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, Austria declares war on Serbia. Serbia had political ties to Russia. Austria miscalculated and thought that Russia wouldn't do anything, but Russia did end up mobilizing their troops and declaring war on Germany. -
Germany declares war on Russia
Picture: newspaper the Great War Russia mobilizing lead to Germany declaring war on them and France. Germany then invaded Belgium to get to France. That lead to Britain declaring war on Germany, which lead to the U.S. entering the war. -
Wilson Declares Neutrality
Picture: President Woodrow Wilson, who declared neutrality. President Wilson declared neutrality on August 4th, 1914, while WW1 was erupting in Europe. The majority of Americans felt that the U.S. should stay out of the war. Declaring neutrality was in the favor of many Americans. -
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
Picture: the RMS Lusitania is sinking off the coast of Ireland. The RMS Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat, and sunk off the coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915. Germany was waging submarine warfare, and had even put up ads warning people of the danger of sailing on the Lusitania. 128 Americans died, with a total of 1195 passengers who died. This changed many people's opinion about Germany. -
Zimmermann Telegram
Picture: The Zimmermann Telegram. Arthur Zimmermann, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the German Empire, attempted to send a coded telegram to Mexico in January of 1917. The telegram was intercepted by British Intelligence. In the telegram, one of the things that Zimmermann proposes is an alliance with Mexico to slow the Americans down. This makes the American public very angry, and a few months later the U.S. declares war on Germany. -
Wilson asks Congress for declaration of war
Picture: President Wilson giving war message to Congress On April 2, 1917, Wilson appeared before congress to ask for a declaration of war. He said that the U.S. needed to fight for democracy, and told congress other reasons we needed to go to war. The U.S. had close financial and trade ties to Britain, and some people think that is one of the reasons we entered war. -
America enters World War 1
Picture: A newspaper reporting the U.S. is officially at war. Woodrow Wilson won the re-election in 1916 and actually ran on the platform, "he kept us out of war". America formally enters World War 1 two days after the U.S. Senate voted 82 to 6 to declare war against Germany. The U.S. House of Representatives endorsed the declaration by a vote of 373 to 50. -
Wilson's 14 Points
Picture: Newspaper talking about Wilson's 14 points On January 8, 1918, President Wilson delivered a speech to the joint sessions of Congress. He talks about why we are in World War 1, what the moral causes of WW1 are, and outlines his famous "Fourteen Points" for achieving peace in Europe. One of Wilson's points proposed the idea of The League of Nations, which laid the groundwork for the United Nations. -
The Treaty of Versailles
Picture: world leaders at the Paris Peace Conference
The Treaty of Versailles was the most important peace treaty that ended World War 1. It was formed by the leaders of the winning countries: Lloyd George of the UK, Vittorio Orlando of Italy, Georges Clemenceau of France, & Woodrow Wilson of the U.S. The treaty was very humiliating for Germany; it assigned the war guilt to them, made them pay reparations (in paper currency and resources), they lost territory, and had a limit on their military.
