World War 1 Digital Timeline Project

  • The Election of President Woodrow Wilson

    The Election of President Woodrow Wilson
    The Republican split enabled Wilson to win 40 states and a landslide victory in the electoral college with just 41.8% of the popular vote.
  • The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: The outbreak of WWI

    The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: The outbreak of WWI
    The danger of war in central Europe is greatly lessened by the assassination. Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia. Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. The declaration of war sets off a series of cascading declarations that lead to World War I.
  • American Proclaims Neutrality in World War I

    American Proclaims Neutrality in World War I
    The U.S. was undergoing tremendous economic, agricultural and industrial growth and were facing major social change. This made American's deeply divided about the European war, and involvement in the conflict would certainly disrupt Progressive reforms. Also George Washington had told the U.S. to stay out of european disputes and wars.
  • The Battle of the Marne

    The Battle of the Marne
    It marked the end of the German sweep into France and the beginning of the trench warfare that was to characterize World War One.
  • The Sinking of the Lusitania

    The Sinking of the Lusitania
    The sinking of Lusitania caused international outrage and helped turn public opinion against Germany, particularly in the then-neutral United States.
  • The Battle of the Verdun

    The Battle of the Verdun
    France repelled the German assault, saving the city of Verdun and winning a major morale boost. This is also sometimes called the longest battles in history because it lasted for many months.
  • The Sussex Incident

    The Sussex Incident
    The attack prompted a U.S. threat to severe diplomatic relations. The German government responded with the so-called Sussex pledge agreeing to give adequate warning before sinking merchant and passenger ships and to provide for the safety of passengers and crew.
  • The Battle of the Somme

    The Battle of the Somme
    A more professional and effective army emerged from the battle. And the tactics developed there, including the use of tanks and creeping barrages, laid some of the foundations of the Allies' successes in 1918. The Somme also succeeded in relieving the pressure on the French at Verdun.
  • The Re-Election of President Woodrow Wilson

    The Re-Election of President Woodrow Wilson
    Although many saw Hughes as the favorite to win, Wilson after a hard-fought contest defeated him by nearly 600,000 votes out of about 18.5 million cast in the popular vote. Wilson had stated that he would keep the U.S. out of war, if they voted for him.
  • The Interception of the Zimmermann Telegram

    The Interception of the Zimmermann Telegram
    It was a message from Germany sent to mexico to propose an Alliance. In return Germany promised Mexico that they will get back the southern border states of the U.S.. This message was intercepted by Great Britain and they decided to send it to the U.S.. This message enraged the U.S. to later join the war.
  • The Declaration of New Unrestricted Submarine Warfare by Germany

    The Declaration of New Unrestricted Submarine Warfare by Germany
    The unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany killed a lot of Americans and this enraged them a lot. It made them so mad that President Woodrow Wilson will go to Congress and ask to be entered into World War 1 being on Great Britain's side.
  • The United States Enters World War I

    The United States Enters World War I
    The entry of the United States was the turning point of the war, because it made the eventual defeat of Germany possible. It had been foreseen in 1916 that if the United States went to war, the Allies' military effort against Germany would be upheld by U.S. supplies and by enormous extensions of credit.
  • The Selective Service Act

    The Selective Service Act
    On May 18, 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which authorized the Federal Government to temporarily expand the military through conscription. The act eventually required all men between the ages of 21 to 45 to register for military service. This act made the U.S. army go from just a couple hundred thousand soldiers to 4 million soldiers.
  • The Espionage Act

    The Espionage Act
    The Espionage Act broadly sought to crack down on wartime activities considered dangerous or disloyal, including attempts to acquire defense-related information with the intent to harm the United States, or acquire code and signal books, photographs, blueprints, and other such documents with that intention. This violated the first amendment of freedom of speech.
  • The Landing of the American Expeditionary Force in France

    The Landing of the American Expeditionary Force in France
    They landed in Saint-Nazaire, France and France needed a lot of help. They needed a ton of resources and a ton of people to help with fighting and aiding. Soon after they have arrived the war would enter its fourth year and there was no sign of it ending any time soon.
  • The Beginning of the Spanish Flu Epidemic

    The Beginning of the Spanish Flu Epidemic
    The Spanish Flu had an enormous impact on World War I. Not only did the war spread it more rapidly throughout the globe, the flu also added to the existing military strain by suddenly taking thousands of men out of action for weeks at a time if they survived. Over 500 million people were infected and about 50 million of them died to it.
  • The Fourteen Points by President Wilson

    The Fourteen Points by President Wilson
    These points were later taken as the basis for peace negotiations at the end of World War I. This speech on War Aims and Peace Terms, President Wilson set down 14 points as a blueprint for world peace that was to be used for peace negotiations after World War I.
  • Russia Pulls Out of World War I

    Russia Pulls Out of World War I
    Russia left WWI because it was in the interest of Russian Communists who took power in November 1917. The Bolsheviks' priority was to win a civil war against their domestic opponents, not to fight in WWI. They also thought that Germany would soon lose the war in any case.
  • The Passing of the Sedition Act

    The Passing of the Sedition Act
    The Act made it a crime to convey information intended to interfere with the war effort. Later, the Sedition Act imposed harsh penalties for a wide range of dissenting speech, including speech abusing the U.S. government, the flag, the Constitution, and the military.
  • The Battle of Argonne Forest

    The Battle of Argonne Forest
    Western front's Battle of Argonne Forest contributed to the Allied victory by pushing back Germans and forcing them to capitulate. This victory ended the war and prompted a peace conference in 1919.
  • Armistice Day Ends World War I

    Armistice Day Ends World War I
    Armistice on the Western Front. 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 and Treaty of Versailles
    The terms of the treaty required that Germany pay financial reparations, disarm, lose territory, and give up all of its overseas colonies. It also called for the creation of the League of Nations, an institution that President Woodrow Wilson strongly supported and had originally outlined in his Fourteen Points address.Oct 7, 2019