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The heir to Austria-Hungary's throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated by a Serbian patriot. The government of Vienna offered a harsh ultimatum to Serbia. Backed by Russia, Serbia refused to negotiate. Russia's military then threatened Austria-Hungary's supporter, Germany. France and Great Britan then came to support Russia marking the beggining of WWI.
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Most Americans were Anti-German from the outset of Germany's strike on France through neutral Belgium. Tensions increased when a German note revealed plans for industrial sabotage. Majority of Americans, however, did not want to be involved with the war. In addition, Woodrow Wilson asked Americans to remain neutral "in thought and in deed".
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One hundred and twenty-eight Americans were killed in the sinking of the British passenger liner, the Lusitania. This enraged the eastern side of the U.S, but did not upset the western half. Moreover, Woodrow Wilson did not want to go to war with a disunited nation and therefore let this action go without the call of war.
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The Arabic Pledge was a promise made by the Germans to stop sinking unarmed and unresisting passenger ships without warning. After sinking the British liner, the Arabic, they made the Pledge based on the possibilty of the U.S joining the war against them.
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Pancho Villa and his men raided Columbus,New Mexico and killed 19 people. President Wilson then sent general Pershing to capture Villa in Mexico upsetting the Mexican government since the U.S. "invaded the country". The invading U.S army was withdrawn from Mexico in 1917 as the threat of war with Germany emerged.
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The U.S threatened to cut all diplomatic ties with Germany over the sinking of the French steamer, the Sussex. Germany reluctantly signed an agreement, in which they would not sink passenger and merchant ships without giving warning, to prevent the U.S. from joining the war.
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Woodrow Wilson's slogan for the election of 1916 reflected his temporary anti-war and neutral stance which appealed to citizens who wanted to avoid war with Europe. For this he was re-elected in 1916, but broke his anti-war streak when seen force to join WWI in 1917.
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German U-Boats broke the Sussex Pledge by sinking four unarmed American merchant ships. This was the last straw for Woodrow Wilson, who then asked congress to declare war. With this, the United States officially joined WWI.
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Arthur ZImmermann secretly proposed Mexico a deal, in which Mexico could recover land previously lost to the U.S, if it joined Germany in the war. This infuriated Americans who became more eager to fight the war.
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Lenin's revolution in Russia caused the Russians to officially drop out of the war. This encouraged America to fight on the side of the Allies because the U.S wouldn't feel guilt for fighting on the side of a despot government.
