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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Franz and his wife were assassinated on their anniversary. They were touring Sarajevo in an open car when someone threw at bomb at the car, but rolled off the back and injured bystanders and an officer. Later in the day they were going to visit the injured officer when they took a wrong turn and Cabrinovic's cohorts fired into the car killing Franz and his wife. -
Great War Begins
WW1 was started because of militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism, and because of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Austria declares war on Serbia and the allies jump in. -
Kaiser declares "open season" on ships
The North Sea was a war zone. All merchant ships, even those of neutral colonies, were liable to be sunk without warning. -
Lusitania sank
Germany declared "unrestricted submarine warfare" and sank the Lusitania with German U-boats -
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Battle of the Somme
First battle of WW1, fought on the western front, between the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire -
Wilson Re-elected
This election took place during WW1. The republicans criticized Wilson for not taking the necessary actions in the conflict with Europe. Democrats had a slogan "He Kept us out of War" and this made him seem like a peacemaker. -
Zimmerman Note Intercepted
A message from the German foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, to the German ambassador to Mexico, proposing a Mexican-German alliance in the case of war between the US and Germany, is published on the front pages of newspapers across America. -
US Declares War on Germany
President Wilson asked for a declaration of war against Germany to "make the world safe for democracy." -
Selective Service Act
Allowed the federal government to draft people into the American Army through the compulsory enlistment of people. -
Convoy System
A group of merchant vessels sailing together for mutual security and protection. -
Espionage Act Passes
To keep Americans from doing anything against the war, it put people in prison for: spying or sabotage, not going along with the draft, and speaking out against liberty bonds. -
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Flu Epidemic
Unusually deadly influenza virus that spread rapidly. -
Fourteen Points Speech
Wilson discusses the United States aims for World War 1 in fourteen points to congress. -
Russia pulls out of the War
Russia pulls out of WW1 because the communists wanted to focus on internal rather than external problems after they seized power in February Revolution of 1917. -
Sedition Act Passed
To keep Americans from saying anything bad about the war, the government jailed those who made public speeches against or said anything in private negative about the war. -
Germany signs Armistice
This document ended World War 1. It was signed on 11-11-1918 at the 11th hour.
