-
Period: to
Wilson Urges Neutrality
Wilson fights to remain neutral in WW1. -
Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, occurred on 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo when they were mortally wounded by Gavrilo Princip. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The sinking of the Cunard ocean liner RMS Lusitania occurred on May 7, 1915 during the First World War, as Germany waged submarine warfare against the United Kingdom which had implemented a naval blockade of Germany. -
Zimmerman Note
The Zimmermann Note was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico in the prior event of the United States entering World War I against Germany. -
America Declares War
President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against Germany. On April 6, Congress granted the request and the United States was formally at war with Germany. -
Creation of the CPI
Wilson created the Committee on Public Information (CPI) to promote the war domestically while publicizing American war aims abroad. Under the leadership of a muckraking journalist named George Creel, the CPI recruited heavily from business, media, academia, and the art world. -
Selective Service Act
The Selective Service Act or Selective Draft Act authorized the United States federal government to raise a national army for service in World War I through conscription. -
Espionage Act
It was intended to prohibit interference with military operations or recruitment, to prevent insubordination in the military, and to prevent the support of United States enemies during wartime. The significance of this is that it prevented free speech that would interfere with the U.S.'s efforts to defeat Germany and it's allies. -
American Troops Enter Europe
America establishes the American Expeditionary Forces in France. -
Wilson's 14 Points
The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. -
Period: to
Second Battle of Marne
The Second Battle of the Marne, or Battle of Reims was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. -
German Surrender in Compiegne, France
Adolf Hitler deliberately chose Compiègne Forest as the site to sign the armistice due to its symbolic role as the site of the 1918 Armistice with Germany that signaled the end of World War I with Germany's surrender. -
Period: to
Paris Peace Conference
The Paris Peace Conference, also known as Versailles Peace Conference, was the meeting of the victorious Allied Powers following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers. -
Rejection of the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the formal peace treaty that ended World War I between the Allies and Germany, their main enemy during the war. The treaty was signed by representatives of each country in June 1919. For the U.S. to accept its conditions, however, it had to be ratified by Congress. Senate Majority Leader Henry Cabot Lodge, a Republican from Massachusetts, opposed the treaty, specifically the section regarding the League of Nations.