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Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The perpetrator was 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia and one of a group of assassins organized and armed by the Black Hand. -
American neutrality in World War I began with President Woodrow Wilson's 1914 declaration, intended to keep the U.S. out of the conflict through impartiality. However, this policy was difficult to maintain due to profitable trade with the Allies, the influence of British propaganda, and events like the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, which killed American citizens. -
The German army invaded France with a plan for winning the war in 40 days by occupying Paris and destroying the French and British armies. -
The sinking of the Lusitania was important because it caused the deaths of 128 Americans and outraged the public, significantly increasing anti-German sentiment and pressuring the U.S. to move away from neutrality. -
The Battle of Verdun was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north of Verdun. -
The Sussex Pledge was a promise from Germany to the U.S. in May 1916 to limit its submarine warfare during World War I. It was significant because it temporarily kept the U.S. out of the war by agreeing to stop the unrestricted sinking of non-military ships. -
The Battle of the Somme was important because it resulted in significant, though hard-won, improvements to British military strategy and tactics, giving the British Army the experience needed for later victories. -
The Zimmermann Telegram was a secret proposal from Germany to Mexico during World War I, offering financial support and the return of lost territories (Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona) if Mexico joined an alliance against the United States. It was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence, which then shared it with the U.S. government. -
Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare was a World War I naval tactic to sink any ship, including passenger vessels, in the waters around Britain to disrupt supply lines and starve Britain into submission. -
The United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917, after years of neutrality. Key factors included Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare, the sinking of the Lusitania, and the interception of the Zimmermann Telegram, which revealed a German plot to ally with Mexico against the U.S. President Woodrow Wilson requested the declaration of war from Congress, arguing the world must be made "safe for democracy". -
The Selective Service Act is a U.S. law that establishes the authority to draft citizens into the armed forces, creating the Selective Service System. -
The Espionage Act is a U.S. federal law enacted in 1917 to prohibit the disclosure of information related to national defense and to criminalize acts that interfere with military operations. Originally passed to quell dissent during World War I, it made it a crime to convey false reports with intent to interfere with the war effort or obstruct recruiting, and gave the government power to seize mail -
American Expeditionary Forces in Europe, 1918 - ICM Holding The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in France during World War I was the U.S. Army formation led by General John J. Pershing. Initially, AEF units fought alongside Allied forces at battles like Château-Thierry and Belleau Wood, before launching its own major offensives, including the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives. -
President Wilson's Fourteen Points were a 1918 peace proposal for ending World War I, based on principles of open diplomacy, free trade, arms reduction, and national self-determination. -
The significance of the Spanish flu epidemic lies in its devastating global impact, which killed an estimated 50–100 million people worldwide, infecting about one-third of the world's population and causing a significant drop in life expectancy. -
Russia withdrew from World War I on March 3, 1918, by signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers. -
The term "Sedition Act" can refer to two different U.S. laws: the infamous Sedition Act of 1798, which made it a crime to publish "false, scandalous, and malicious" writing against the government, and the Sedition Act of 1918, which was part of the Espionage Act and targeted speech that was disloyal, profane, or abusive during World War I. The 1798 act, passed by a Federalist-controlled Congress, was aimed at critics of the Adams administration -
The Battle of Argonne Forest was significant because it was the final major Allied offensive of World War I, representing the largest and deadliest battle in American history. Its ultimate success, particularly the breakthrough of German defenses, was a major factor in forcing Germany to seek an armistice and effectively ending the war. -
Armistice Day was significant because it marked the end of major fighting in World War I on the Western Front, which had caused millions of deaths and widespread destruction. -
The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles were significant because they formally ended World War I, leading to the creation of the League of Nations and a major redrawing of the map of Europe.