-
igniting a chain reaction that pulled European powers into a global conflict. As the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, his death by a Serbian nationalist led Austria-Hungary to issue an ultimatum to Serbia, ultimately declaring war -
American neutrality in WWI was important for several reasons, allowing the U.S. to maintain profitable trade with both sides, focus on domestic issues, and avoid "entangling alliances" -
The First Battle of the Marne, fought in September 1914, was a major Allied victory that halted the German advance on Paris and ended the hope for a quick German victory in World War I -
The sinking of the RMS Lusitania on May 7, 1915, was significant because it killed 128 Americans and enraged the public, shifting American opinion against Germany and contributing to the U.S. entry into World War I in 1917 -
The Battle of Verdun was a major, lengthy, and bloody engagement of World War I fought in France from February to December 1916 -
The Sussex incident's importance lies in its role as a catalyst for the United States' entry into World War I. The German attack on the French passenger steamer Sussex in 1916 -
The battle began with a massive Allied offensive that, despite an initial heavy artillery bombardment, failed to break the German lines, leading to brutal trench warfare with minimal territorial gains -
The Zimmermann Telegram was a secret German diplomatic proposal for an alliance with Mexico against the United States during World War I, which was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence -
Unrestricted submarine warfare is the practice of sinking all enemy ships, including military and civilian vessels, without any warning. Germany famously used this tactic in both World War I and World War II to disrupt Allied supply lines, with its use in WWI leading to the U.S -
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 -
The Selective Service Act was important for establishing the U.S. government's ability to conscript citizens into the military, providing a means to rapidly raise an army for national defense -
The Espionage Act is a U.S. federal law enacted in 1917 that prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of information related to national defense -
its large influx of fresh troops and resources tipped the balance against the exhausted Central Powers, boosting Allied morale and helping to break the German army's offensive capabilities -
President Wilson's Fourteen Points were a set of principles he proposed in January 1918 for achieving lasting peace after World War I, emphasizing open diplomacy, free trade, disarmament, and national self-determination -
The Spanish flu's importance lies in its catastrophic global death toll, its role in shaping public health responses, and its contribution to medical innovation -
Russia's exit from World War I was hugely important because it allowed Germany to transfer troops to the Western Front, intensifying fighting and making an Allied victory less likely until the United States entered the war -
made it a crime to publish "false, scandalous, or malicious writing" against the U.S. government, its Congress, or the President -
The Battle of the Argonne Forest, part of the larger Meuse-Argonne Offensive, was important because it was the decisive final Allied offensive that hastened the end of World War I by breaking German resistance -
Armistice Day was important because it marked the end of fighting in World War I with a ceasefire at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 -
The Paris Peace Conference (1919) was a meeting of Allied powers to negotiate the peace terms after World War I, which resulted in the Treaty of Versailles with Germany and other treaties with Central Powers