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Gavrilo Princip a young Serbian nationalist killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand . The assassination would set off a chain of events that one month later would lead to the start of WWI.
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The united states felt that they should remain a neutral force in this war . Woodrow Wilson was hoping to create neutrality between all the worlds nations. He formed the League of Nations hoping that there would be freedom of waters (seas and oceans), free trade, re-drawing of national borders, and the hopes of decolonization.
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The lusitania was torpedoes and sank off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,195 lives which included 128 americans . The Germans said that this ship was carrying 42 hundred cases of small-arms ammunition which was the reason why the sank the ship but the Americans would not buy that excuse . The country was now divided on going into war but Wilson did not want to put forth a divided nation into war .
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Berlin sunk the Arabic with the loss of 2 american lives . Wilson then set the " Arabic Pledge" which Berlin agreed to not sink unarmed and unresistant passenger ships without warning .
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Villa's men captured 16 young men off a train travelling through northern mexico and killed them . a month later villa crossed the border into Columbus, New Mexico and murdered another 19 men hopping that this would cause a war between Wilson and Carranza.
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Germany torpedoed a french passenger steamer , the Sussex . Wilson was infuriated and he warned Germany that if they did not stop sinking merchant ships he would break diplomatic relations with them which would cause a war . Germany reluctantly agreed to the Sussex pledge but the united states would have to persuade the allies to modify the illegal blockade . Wilson accepted the pledge but didn't accept the conditions that were given .
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Wilson's re-election campaign was built around the slogan " He kept us out of war" Democratic orators warned that by electing Charles Hughes the nation would be electing someone who would put the nation into war unlike Wilson .
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Germany announced the the world that they would resume unrestricted submarine warfare, sinking all ships , including america's , in the war zone . This caused president Wilson to break diplomatic relations with Germany .
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Involved Americans especially westerners. Arthur Zimmerman had secretly proposed a German- Mexican alliance which said that the anti Yankee Mexico would recover Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona
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Helped end the war because if Russia had not had the revolution then Germany would of focused all of its power on France which would not have led to an end to the war because there would still be soldiers on the eastern front .
