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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, was assassinated and it was believed the assassin was a Serbian nationalist so Austrians were angry at Serbia. This started the war and affected political and economies all around the world including the US. -
US stays Neutral
When Great Britain declares war on Germany, the declaration binds all Dominions within the British Empire, and the US declares its neutrality. This means US won't have any enemies for now because they aren't taking any sides. -
Lusitania sinks
A German U-Boat sinks the Lusitania in 18 minutes. It drowned 128 Americans threatening America's security. President Wilson sent 4 diplomatic protests to Germany because of the ship sinking. -
Election Day
President Woodrow Wilson is re-elected because his slogan was "He kept us out of war." People believed since he kept them out of war in his first term, he would do the same again. America depended on President Wilson to keep them out of the war. -
The Zimmermann telegram
The Zimmermann telegram was a secret message intercepted by the British from Germany to Mexico proposing to be allies against the US and Mexico would regain the territory they lost to the US including, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas if they agreed. The US would loose territory and would give them another reason to join in the war. -
US Enters the War
The US declares war on Germany meaning they will finally enter World War I. This will impact the way people look at President Wilson because his campaign was based on keeping America out of the war. -
American Allies
The first American troops land in France. America and France are allies and they were going to fight Germany. America wasn't alone when fighting Germany, they had France on their side. -
Sedition Act
Congress passed the Sedition Act which expanded the Espionage Act of 1917 and made it illegal to speak out against the military or government. This limited America's freedom of speech which is clearly apart of The Bill of Rights and many people were arrested because of this. -
Armistice Ends Fighting
The Germans sign the Armistice in a railroad car which ended the war. Soldiers claim to have said they fired the last shot in the war. This is significant to America because the war had finally ended, meaning America was no longer in war. -
Treaty of Versailles
After Germany signed the 230 paged Treaty of Versailles, it formally ended the war. The Treaty didn't have much in common with the 14 points and the Germans back home reacted with mass demonstration against harshness. The Treaty made sure nobody was able to fight and the war was officially over so America wouldn't have to worry about another war for a while.