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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
In an event that is widely acknowledged to have sparked the outbreak of World War I, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is shot to death along with his wife by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on this day in 1914. -
Kaiser declares “open season” on ships
Kaiser Wilhelm announces an important step in the development of that policy, proclaiming the North Sea a war zone and that any ship could be sunk without warning. -
Lusitania sank
The Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine that was off the south coast, which was torpedoed without warning. -
Battle of the Somme
Was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire. -
Wilson re-elected
After a hard-fought contest, Wilson defeated Hughes by nearly 600,000 votes in the popular vote and secured a narrow majority in the Electoral College by winning several swing states with razor-thin margins. -
Zimmerman note intercepted
The proposal was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence. Revelation of the contents enraged American public opinion, especially after the German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann publicly admitted the telegram was genuine on 3 March, and helped generate support for the United States declaration of war on Germany in April. -
US declares war on Germany
In response to what was claimed to be a series of provocations by the United States government. The decision to declare war was made by Adolf Hitler, almost without consultation. Later that day, the United States declared war on Germany. -
Selective Service Act
Authorized the federal government to raise a national army for the American entry into World War I through the compulsory enlistment of people. -
Convoy system
A group of merchant vessels sailing together, with or without naval escort, for mutual security and protection, has a much longer history than sometimes suggested. -
Espionage Age passed
Prohibited many forms of speech, including "any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States or the flag of the United States. -
Flu Epidemic
The 1918 flu pandemic was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic, the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus. -
Fourteen Points speech
Was a statement of principles for world peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. -
Russia pulls out of the war
Russia pulled out of World War I because the communists wanted to focus on internal rather than external problems after they seized power in the February Revolution of 1917. -
Sedition Act passed
The Sedition Act was a piece of legislation designed to protect America’s participation in World War I. -
Germany signs armistice
The allied representatives signs and is the agreement that ended the fighting on the Western Front. -
Great War begins
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the archduke of Austria-Hungary is the most logical reasoning for the cause of the war to begin.
