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Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife, visit Sarajevo in Bosnia. A bomb is thrown at their auto but misses. They then continued only to be shot and killed a little later by an assassin. People believed the assassin was a Serbian nationalist, the Austrians target their anger toward Serbia which led to conflicts between allies. The U.S was not involved yet and wanted to stay neutral. -
Great Britain declares war on Germany. The declaration binds all Dominions within the British Empire including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa. The U.S states declared their neutrality because they think the war will end quickly The Siege of Liege begins and Germans attack the Belgian fortress city. The twelve forts surrounding the city are then bombed into submission by German and Austrians using high explosive shells. Belgian troops then retreat northward toward Antwerp -
A German U-Boat sinks the British passenger boat, Lusitania off the Irish coast. When it sinks it causes the deaths 1,201 people, including 128 Americans. President Woodrow Wilson sends diplomatic protests to Germany because it is effecting American security. The Americans are angry at this point. -
Americans vote to re-elect President Woodrow Wilson because he kept America out of the war and their security was being protected. -
The British intercept a telegram sent by Alfred Zimmermann to the German embassies in Washington, D.C., and Mexico City. It plans for an alliance between Germany and Mexico against the United States. Germany would provide support while Mexico would benefit by expanding into the America, regaining territories that had once were apart of their country. The British send it to the Americans and is then made public, causing an outcry from interventionists in the U.S. It is a threat to the nation. -
The United States of America declares war on Germany. Germany's submarine attacks on a French passenger and merchant ships in 1917 became the primary motivation behind Wilson's decision to lead the United States into World War I because it effects their economy and security. Americans were angered, leading to lots of motivation to fight in the war. -
The first American troops land in France at the port of Saint Nazaire. They set up training camps and establish communication and supply networks. Americans are ready to join the fight. -
The Sedition Act of 1918 was enacted on May 16, 1918 to extend the Espionage Act of 1917. U.S citizens opposed the idea of Wilson bringing America to war and the Sedition Act led to the imprisonment of almost a thousand people. Their crime was protesting by speech or writing, the United States' entrance into the war. Americans weren't allowed to speak about their concerns. -
In France, the Germans sign the Armistice which is effective at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Fighting continues all along the Western Front until precisely 11 o'clock, with 2,000 casualties that day by all sides. Soldiers yearn to claim they fired the very last shot in the war. The fighting ends. November 11th became a national holiday in the United States to honor those who served in the First World War. -
At the Palace of Versailles in France, a German delegation signs the Treaty formally ending the war. Germans back home react with perceived harshness, especially clauses that blame the war on Germany. The war officially ends and U.S no longer has to be in a war and their security, economy, and democracy no longer is threatened.
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