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The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was important because it was the catalyst for World War I, setting off a chain reaction of alliances and declarations of war that drew major European powers into a global conflict. -
This legislation was the culmination of efforts by American citizens, activists, and politicians across the political spectrum to insulate the United States from foreign conflicts and prevent the country from being drawn into another global war. -
The First Battle of the Marne was significant because it halted the German advance toward Paris, ended the hope of a quick German victory, and led to the trench warfare that characterized much of World War I -
The sinking of the Lusitania was important because the loss of 128 American lives fueled anti-German sentiment in the U.S. -
The Battle of Verdun was important because it became the longest battle in history, a brutal symbol of modern warfare's horror, and ultimately a strategic victory for France that boosted Allied morale and forced Germany into a defensive posture, leading to its adoption of unrestricted submarine warfare and ultimately drawing the United States into the war -
The Sussex incident was important because it prompted the Sussex pledge, where Germany agreed to alter its submarine warfare policies to avoid sinking passenger ships without warning -
The Battle of the Somme's significance lies in its immense human cost, which made it a symbol of the brutality of trench warfare, and in the strategic and tactical lessons learned by the Allies -
The Zimmerman Telegram was a secret diplomatic communication in 1917 from Germany to Mexico proposing an alliance if the United States entered World War I, with Germany offering to fund Mexico's efforts to reclaim Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona -
Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare in World War I was a naval strategy using U-boats to sink enemy and neutral merchant and passenger ships without warning, primarily to cut off supplies and cripple enemy economies -
The United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917, after President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against Germany. This decision was primarily driven by Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, which led to the sinking of American merchant ships, and the interception of the Zimmermann Telegram, revealing a German proposal for an alliance with Mexico against the U.S. -
The term "Selective Service Act" most commonly refers to the 1917 law that created a system of conscription to expand the U.S. military for World War I -
The Espionage Act is a U.S. federal law enacted in 1917 that makes it a crime to obtain or disclose information related to national defense with the intent to harm the United States or aid a foreign nation -
The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) were the U.S. armed forces sent to Europe in World War I, commanded by General John J. Pershing. Created in 1917, the AEF's main objective was to fight alongside Allied forces, though Pershing insisted they operate as a unified American army. -
President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points were important as they were a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for negotiations to end World War I. Delivered in a speech to Congress on January 8, 1918, the points reflected Wilson's belief in a more democratic and just world order to prevent future conflicts. -
The Spanish flu was caused by a highly contagious and deadly H1N1 influenza A virus with genes of avian origin. The exact origin is debated, but it likely emerged in the bird population, adapted to humans, and spread globally during World War I. -
Russia pulled out of World War I due to internal revolution and widespread war exhaustion, which led the new Bolshevik government to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany. -
The term "Sedition Act" most commonly refers to two distinct U.S. laws: the 1798 Sedition Act, which made it a crime to criticize the federal government, and the 1918 Sedition Act, which targeted speech and writing seen as disloyal to the U.S. war effort -
The Battle of the Argonne Forest was crucial because it was the largest operation of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, a major part of the final Allied offensive that broke German defenses, and ultimately contributed significantly to the end of the war and the signing of the Armistice