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Assassination of Fanz Ferdinand
A teenage Serbian nationalist gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, as their motorcade maneuvered through the streets of Sarajevo. -
Great War
World War I, also known as the First World War, or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe -
Germany signs armistice
An armistice during the First World War between the Allies and Germany -
Kaiser declares “open season” on ships
Kaiser Wilhelm announces an important step in the development of that policy, proclaiming the North Sea a war zone and that any ship could be sunk without warning -
Lusitania sank
It was attacked/sunk without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland -
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire -
Wilson re-elected
He was the first Democratic president since Andrew Jackson to be elected to two consecutive terms of office when he defeated Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes in the 1916 Presidential Election. Hughes, the Republican candidate, was defeated by nearly 600,000 votes in the popular vote. -
Russia pulls out of war
A group of Communists led by Vladimir Lenin, the Bolsheviks, overthrew the government in November 1917 and created a Communist government. Lenin wanted to concentrate on building up a communist state and wanted to pull Russia out of the war. -
Zimmerman note intercepted
instructed the ambassador, Count Johann von Bernstorff, to offer significant financial aid to Mexico if it agreed to enter any future U.S-German conflict as a German ally. -
Selective Service Act
Authorized the federal government to raise a national army for the American entry into World War I through the compulsory enlistment of people -
Convoy system
A group of merchant vessels sailing together, with or without naval escort, for mutual security and protection, has a much longer history than sometimes suggested. -
Espionage Act passed
which defined espionage during wartime. The Act was amended. In his war message to Congress, President Wilson had warned that the war would require a redefinition of national loyalty. -
Flu Epidemic
The 1918 flu pandemic was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus. -
Fourteen Points speech
A statement of principles for world peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. -
Sedition Act passed
New powers to deport foreigners as well as making it harder for new immigrants to vote. -
US declares war on Germany
They declared war on Germany hours after the Germans declared war on the US following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.