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Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
A teenage Serbian nationalist gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, as their motorcade maneuvered through the streets of Sarajevo -
Great War begins
A global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. The war drew in all the world's economic great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the British Empire, France and the Russian Empire) versus the Central Powers of Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary -
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, in which all merchant ships, including those from neutral countries, were liable to be sunk without warning -
Lusitania Sunk
The British ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland. Within 20 minutes, the vessel sank into the Celtic Sea. Of 1,959 passengers and crew, 1,198 people were drowned, including 128 Americans. -
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, 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
Woodrow Wilson became the first Democratic president since Andrew Jackson to be elected to two consecutive terms of office when he defeated Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes in the 1916 Presidential Election. -
Zimmerman note intercepted
In the telegram, intercepted and deciphered by British intelligence in January 1917, Zimmermann instructed the ambassador, Count Johann von Bernstorff, to offer significant financial aid to Mexico if it agreed to enter any future U.S-German conflict as a German ally. -
US declares war on Germany
Germany, determined to win its war of attrition against the Allies, announced the resumption of unrestricted warfare in war-zone waters. Three days later, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Germany, and just hours after that the American liner Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat. -
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
Is defined as 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
Espionage Act–which prohibited many forms of speech -
Russia pulls out of the war
A group of Communists led by Vladimir Lenin, the Bolsheviks, overthrew the government in November 1917 and created a Communist government. Lenin wanted to concentrate on building up a communist state and wanted to pull Russia out of the war. -
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
President Woodrow Wilson gave a speech to Congress that outlined Fourteen Points for peace and the end to World War I. -
Sedition Act passed
The Sedition Act imposed harsh penalties on anyone found guilty of making false statements that interfered with the prosecution of the war; insulting or abusing the U.S. government, the flag, the Constitution or the military; agitating against the production of necessary war materials; or advocating, teaching or defending any of these acts. -
Germany signs armistice
The Armistice ended WWI. Terms of the armistice included withdrawing troops, surrendering military equipment to the Allies, promises of reparations, and demilitarization.
