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Franz Ferdinand Assassination
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated while visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia. He was next in line for the Austro-Hungarian throne. The killings set off decade old tensions in Europe and started the World War. -
Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia
Gavrilo Princip was in a Serbian nationalist group that wanted to kill Franz Ferdinand, destroy the empire, and unite the Slavs. He was the one to shoot the bullet that killed Ferdinand and his wife. Austria-Hungary said it was Serbia’s fault because he was one of Serbia’s citizens. Germany agreed with Austria-Hungary saying that it was Serbia’s fault. They gave Serbia a list of things to do and Serbia turned it down. -
First Use of Gas as a Weapon by the Germans
Germany was the first country that introduced poison gas as a weapon. Anyone who inhaled the gas would have a hard time breathing and possibly die. To protect themselves, the soldiers would wear gas masks. After Germany started using poison gas, their allies did too. -
Sinking of Lusitania
The sinking of the Lusitania was a very big deal to many Americans. The reason it was bombed was that it got off track. It got of track because there was a lot of fog in the air. When in the fog, the crew could not tell where they were, so they started heading in the wrong direction. That is when the Germans bombed it because they thought it carried weapons. Many people got angry when they saw posters that said 128 women and children died. President Wilson later criticized the Germans for this. -
Wilson Reelected; Pledged American Neutrality
Wilson was re-elected was because his slogan was "He kept us out of the war". Many Americans agreed with him because they thought the war should not concern them. Yet, a lot of people agreed with the opposing sides because of ties of language, customs, and traditions, which linked the United States to Great Britain. -
Zimmermann Notes
The Zimmerman Note was a note to Mexico saying that if the US entered the war, Germany wanted to be allies with Mexico. It was called the Zimmermann Note because Arthur Zimmerman wrote it. When the note was traveling to Mexico, it was intercepted by British agents. The agents then decided to show it to President Wilson. He was very angry when he saw it. At a meeting in Germany, reporters were asking if that was true. Arthur Zimmerman said it was, which angered the Americans even more. -
Bolsheviks Led by Lenin Overthrow Russian Government
A lot of Russian people wanted to get out of the war because they were short on food and fuel. They rioted to protest. For a new leader of the government, the Bolsheviks were the ones who actually overthrew their government. They were led by Vladimir Lenin. They wanted a communist government. -
US Declares War
On April 2, 1917 President Wilson asked Congress to go to war. It took a long four days before Congress agreed. They wanted to remain a world power and would need to go to war to do that.
On April 6, 1917 Wilson signed the declaration of war. About six weeks later on May 18, 1917 Congress passed the Selective Service Act which drafted men ages 21 through 30 for the military. -
War Ends
On November 11, 1918 at 5 am the war ended. Germany was very low on soldiers and supplies. They also knew they would be invaded soon. They then signed an armistice with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiègne, France. The war ended with nine million people dead and 21 million people wounded. Also, more than five million people died from disease, starvation, and lack of protection from weather and other situations. -
Treaty of Versailles
In the Treaty of Versailles, there were many ways Germany had to pay for what they did. The Treaty made them pay the Allies billions of dollars, accept full responsibility and disarm their powers. They also had to give up some of their land in Europe and across the water. The treaty also rebuilt old nations and created new ones. Wilson was able to get his League of Nations in the treaty. He was certain that it would correct any mistakes in the rest of the treaty.
