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The Election of President Woodrow Wilson
The Republican split between Roosevelt and Taft enabled Wilson to win 40 states and 41.8% of the popular vote, the lowest vote share for a victorious presidential candidate since 1860. -
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: The outbreak of WWI
The assassination set off a series of war declarations on numerous nations because of alliances that have been formed. -
America Proclaims Neutrality in World War 1
The war created a tremendous demand for American industrial and agricultural products. Both sides placed orders with U.S. companies but British blockades of German ports and their confiscation of cargoes limited the amount that reached Germany. -
The Battle of the Marne
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
helped turn public opinion against Germany, particularly in the then-neutral United States. Of the 1,200 people killed, 128 were American citizens. But the incident did not immediately bring the United States into the war. -
The Battle of the Verdun
France repelled the German assault, saving the city of Verdun and winning a major morale boost. This battle is frequently called the longest battle in history, as it lasted for many months. -
The Sussex Incident
prompted a U.S. threat to sever diplomatic relations. The German government responded with the so-called Sussex pledge (May 4, 1916), 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
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
Wilson secured a narrow majority in the Electoral College by sweeping the Solid South and winning several swing states with razor-thin margins. Wilson won California, the decisive state, by just 3,773 votes. -
The Interception of the Zimmermann Telegram
conveyed Germany's intentions should America enter the war. That included urging Mexico to join Germany in declaring war against the United States. In exchange, Germany committed to assist Mexico in regaining its lost territories of Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico. -
The Declaration of New Unrestricted Submarine Warfare by Germany
brought American entry into World War I on the British side. -
The United States Enters World War 1
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
provide our Nation with a structure and a system of guidelines which will provide the most prompt, efficient, and equitable draft possible, if the country should need it. -
The Espionage Act
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 -
The Landing of the America Expeditionary Force in France
helped the French Army on the Western Front during the Aisne Offensive and fought its major actions in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in the latter part of 1918. -
The Fourteen Points by President Wilson
to undermine the Central Powers' will to continue, and to inspire the Allies to victory. The 14 Points were broadcast throughout the world and were showered from rockets and shells behind the enemy's lines. -
The Beginning of the Spanish Flu Epidemic
killed an estimated 50 million people. One fifth of the world's population was attacked by this deadly virus. Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history. -
Russia Pulls Out of World War 1
it was in the interest of Russian Communists (Bolsheviks) who took power in November 1917. The Bolsheviks' priority was to win a civil war against their domestic opponents, not to fight in WW1. They also thought that Germany would soon lose the war in any case. -
The Passing of the Sedition Act
tightened restrictions on foreign-born Americans and limited speech critical of the government and made it a crime for American citizens to "print, utter, or publish . . . any false, scandalous, and malicious writing" about the Government. -
The Battle of Argonne Forest
to bring about the collapse of the German Army and compel Germany to seek an armistice and end the war. -
Armistice Day Ends World War 1
it was the agreement which stopped the fighting on the Western Front while the terms of the permanent peace were discussed. -
The Paris Peace Conference & Treaty of Versailles
making peace settlements and about making a better world; it was also the focus of the hopes and expectations of nations trying to reconstitute themselves, in the case of Poland,who just wanted their independence from an empire