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Archduke is Assassinated
Some historians say that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the cause of the start of World War I. He was the heir to the throne of Austria. People back then believed that if the Heir was killed, they would be free from Austria. -
President Keeps Us Out of War
The Germans crossed over Belgium on their way to fight the French. The British and most of Europe joined to fight in the war. The US President, Woodrow Wilson, decided that Europe could have its own little war. This was the proclamation that America was not going in to the war with Europe. -
The Germans Sink the Lusitania
A British ship called the Lusitania was mostly a passenger ship and a German U-boat sent a torpedo and ended up sinking the vessel.
This angered the Americans because many passengers were American. Plus the Germans were using unrestricted submarine warfare. -
Arabic Pledge
The Arabic Pledge outlawed the sinking unarmed ships. This use of submarines was know as unrestricted submarine warfare.The Pledge was named after the S.S. Arabic. This was the name of a British vessel that was sunk by the Germans -
He's Back in Office
Woodrow Wilson was reelected President after a close battle for the office with Mr. Hughes. He won the battle with his main slogan "He kept us out of war." This was a big draw to people because they believed that the sinking of the Lusitania was wrong, but they did go there at their own risk. -
Zimmerman's Letter
A German man named Zimmerman wrote a telegram persuading Mexico to get America to join the World War. The telegram said that Germany was willing to help the Mexicans get back the territory they lost to the Americans. Even though this sounded appealing, the Mexicans refused because they didn't think it could be possible to gain the land they lost. The British were able to intercept the message and get the news to the U.S. -
The 14 Points
Woodrow Wilson's 14 points were created to express the advantages of joining the war. Many points included having free trade, freedom for Poland, respect for Belgium integrity, and so many others. One of the most famous points on his 14 point speech was the idea of a League of Nations. Ironically, when the League of Nations created, America did not join. -
Cantigny
Cantigny is the village were the American troops took the offensive and won their first victory of World War I. With the help of the French, America was able to push Germany back a couple steps. I believe that at this first victory the Americans realized that they had a long way to go. -
Germany Surrenders
After eight long tiring years, the Germans finally surrendered and the first World War was over. Over 16 million people died and most of them were civilians. That does not make me happy because that means that people who didn't want to fight died because other people were fighting. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles stated that the Germans were the ones who began the war and that they would pay for the damage of everything. The Treaty put a restriction on how many soldiers Germany could have which made Germany's army look like a police force. Even though the countries were in agreement, many countries wanted Germany to pay for what they had done.
