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Sinking of the U.S.S. Maine
Was the first United States Navy ship to be named after the state of Maine. Was built in response to the Brazilian battleship Riachuelo and the increase of naval forces in Latin America. The Maine is best known for her loss in Havana Harbor on the evening of 15 February 1898. Sent to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt against Spain, she exploded suddenly, without warning, and sank quickly, killing nearly three quarters of her crew. -
Spanish-American War
Was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, the result of U.S. intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. U.S. attacks on Spain's Pacific possessions led to involvement in the Philippine Revolution and ultimately to the Philippine-American War. -
Acquisition of Hawaii, Guam and the Philippines
U.S. overthrew Hawaii's Queen in 1893 and annexed it as a territory in 1898. Sanford Dole became governer. Sugar plantations were created by U.S. settlers. Hawaii became a state in 1959. -
Open Dollar Policy
Secretary of State John Hay first articulated the concept of the “Open Door” in China in a series of notes in 1899-1900. It was a policy that gave equal trading rights to all foreign nations in China. Used to open Asian markets to U.S. businesses. -
Roosevelt Corollary
Was an addition to the Monroe Doctrine articulated by President Theodore Roosevelt in his State of the Union address in 1904 ofter the Venezuela crisis of 1902--03. The corollary states that the U.S. will intervene in conflicts between European countries and Latin American countries to enforce legitimate claims of the European Powers. -
Dollar Diplomacy
It was started under President Taft. It encouraged the U.S. banks to invest to Caribbean countries. If a country couldn't repay loans, the U.S. would send in troops. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The objective of the assassination was to break off Austria-Hungary's South Slav provinces so they could be combined into a Yugoslavia. The assassins' motives were consistent with the movement that later became known as Young Bosnia. The assassination led directly to the First World War when Austria-Hungary subsequently issued an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia, which was partially rejected. -
Start of WWI
Was a global war centered in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. More than 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war, a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents' technological and industrial sophistication, and tactical stalemate. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, paving the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. -
Panamal Canal
The U.S. wanted land in Panama to build a canal so that travel time between the east and west U.S. coast would decrease. U.S. bought land and supported a revolution to get the 10 mile strip of land. Finished in 1914 after much hardship, the Panama Canal is still a trading and transportation hub for the world. -
German Proclamation
On 4 February the German Admiralty issued a formal declaration which warned neutral shipping to stay away from the waters surrounding Britain and Ireland from 18 February 1915 onwards on pain of sinking. Six days later U.S. President Woodrow Wilson - at that time maintaining a neutral stance - issued a thinly veiled warning to the German government. His 'Strict Accountability' message made it clear that the U.S. government would not tolerate any strategy by the German navy to sink neutral U.S. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The ship was identified and torpedoed by the German U-boat U-20 and sank in 18 minutes. The vessel went down 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, killing 1,198 and leaving 761 survivors. The sinking turned public opinion in many countries against Germany, contributed to the American entry into World War I and became an iconic symbol in military recruiting campaigns of why the war was being fought. -
Sussex Pledge
Was a promise made in 1916 during World War I by Germany to the United States prior to the latter's entry into the war. Early in 1915, Germany had instituted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, allowing armed merchant ships, but not passenger ships, to be torpedoed without warning. Despite this avowed restriction, a French cross-channel passenger ferry, the Sussex, was torpedoed without warning on March 24, 1916; the ship was severely damaged and about 50 lives were taken. -
Zimmermann Telegram
Was an internal diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January, 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico in the event of the United States entering World War I against Germany. The proposal was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence. Revelation of the contents outraged American public opinion and helped generate support for the United States declaration of war on Germany in April of the same year. -
U.S. Enters WWI
Came in April 1917, after two and a half years of efforts by President Woodrow Wilson to keep the United States neutral during World War I. Americans had no idea that war was imminent in Europe in the summer of 1914, and tens of thousands of tourists were caught by surprise. The U.S. government, under Wilson's firm control, called for neutrality "in thought and deed". Apart from an Anglophile element supporting the British, American public opinion went along with neutrality at first. -
Selective Service Act Passed
Authorized the federal government to raise a national army for the American entry into World War I through the compulsory enlistment of people. It was envisioned in December 1916 and brought to President Woodrow Wilson's attention shortly after the break in relations with Germany in February 1917. The Act itself was drafted by then-Captain (later Brigadier General) Hugh S. Johnson after the United States entered World War I by declaring war on Germany. -
Espionage Act
A United States federal law passed on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was intended to prohibit interference with military operations or recruitment, to prevent insubordination in the military, and to prevent the support of U.S. enemies during wartime. -
Wilson's 14 Points
A blueprint for world peace that was to be used for peace negotiations after World War I, elucidated in a January 8, 1918, speech on war aims and peace terms by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. -
Battle of Argonne
It was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire Western Front. It was fought from September 26, 1918, until the Armistice on November 11, a total of 47 days. -
End of WWI
Germany formally surrendered on November 11, 1918, and all nations had agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Nations (including Britain, France, Italy and Russia) signed the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the war.
