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The Election of President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson was elected president in 1912 after serving only two years as governor of New Jersey. President of Princeton University from 1902 until his election as New Jersey governor -
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: The Outbreak of WWI
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are killed by an assassin's bullets just hours after they escaped another assassination attempt. Gavrilo Princip is immediately arrested for the shooting and Nedjelko Cabrinovic is caught fleeing after the bomb attempt. -
America Proclaims Neutrality in World War I
President Woodrow Wilson declared U.S. neutrality on August 4, 1914, and many Americans saw little reason to entangle themselves in what they viewed as European quarreling and intrigue. -
The Battle of the Marne
First Battle of the Marne was a great strategic victory, as it enabled the French to continue the war -
The Sinking of the Lusitania
The sinking of the Lusitania led to widespread criticism of Germany, and so Germany soon re-imposed its own restrictions on its submarines. -
The Battle of the Verdun
the French resistance at Verdun proved a turning point, halting the German advance. The heavy German losses at Verdun combined with even greater casualties suffered on the Somme also created a manpower crisis within the German army that would become increasingly difficult to resolve as the war progressed. -
The Sussex Incident
torpedoing of a French cross-Channel passenger steamer, the Sussex, by a German submarine, leaving 80 casualties, including two Americans wounded. -
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
Another burst of legislation followed in 1916. One new law prohibited child labor; another limited railroad workers to an eight-hour day. By virtue of this legislation and the slogan “he kept us out of war,” Wilson narrowly won re-election. -
The Interception of the Zimmermann Telegram
On January 17, 1917 British signals intelligence intercepted and decrypted a coded German telegram from German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann that was intended for Germany's ambassador to Mexico. -
The Declaration of New Unrestricted Submarine Warfare by Germany
On January 31, 1917, Bethmann Hollweg went before the German Reichstag government and made the announcement that unrestricted submarine warfare would resume the next day, February 1: "The destructive designs of our opponents cannot be expressed more strongly -
The United States Enters World War I
On April 4, 1917, the U.S. Senate voted in support of the measure to declare war on Germany. The House concurred two days later. The United States later declared war on German ally Austria-Hungary on December 7, 1917. -
The Selective Service Act
Almost all male US citizens and male immigrants, who are 18 through 25, are required to register with Selective Service. It's important to know that even though he is registered, a man will not automatically be inducted into the military. -
The Espionage Act
The Act also outlawed false statements intended to interfere with military operations -
The Landing of the American Expeditionary Force in France
Manpower to the efforts of the Allies, especially in France. Recovery of over two hundred square miles from German forces, which were ultimately restored to France. -
The Beginning of the Spanish Flu Epidemic
One could see influenza jumping from Army camp to camp, then into cities, and traveling with troops to Europe. His conclusion: the United States was the site of origin. A later equally comprehensive, multi-volume British study of the pandemic agreed with Jordan -
The Fourteen Points by President Wilson
They prescribed a program of transparency in international relations, free trade, freedom of the seas, reductions in armaments, national self-determination, and adjustment of colonial claims that gave equal weight to the peoples of the colonized countries -
Russia Pulls Out of World War I
Russia was part of Triple Entente along with Britain and France, waging war against central powers, but in 1917, Russia withdrew from the great war( aka World War 1), since there was an socialist revolution was taking place in the country and it was going under a turmoil with internal revolution -
The Passing of the Sedition Act
Passed in preparation for an anticipated war with France, the Alien and Sedition Acts tightened restrictions on foreign-born Americans and limited speech critical of the government. -
The Battle of Argonne Forest
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I. It was one of the attacks that brought an end to the War and was fought from September 26 – November 11, 1918, when the Armistice was signed. -
Armistice Day Ends World War I
The Armistice was the ceasefire that ended hostilities between the Allies and Germany on the 11th of November 1918 -
The Paris Peace Conference & Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the primary treaty produced by the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I. It was signed on June 28, 1919, by the Allied and associated powers and by Germany in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles and went into effect on January 10, 1920.