Franz Ferdinand
was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia. This caused the Central Powers (including Germany and Austria-Hungary) and the Allies of World War I (countries allied with Serbia, such as Russia, France and the UK) to declare war on each other, starting World War I.
July Crisis
A diplomatic crisis among the major powers of Europe in the summer of 1914 that led to World War I. Immediately after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, a series of diplomatic maneuverings led to an ultimatum from Austria-Hungary to Serbia, and ultimately to war.
naval blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade is usually directed at an entire country or region, rather than a fortress or city. Most blockades historically took place at sea, with the blockading power seeking to cut off all maritime transport from and to the blockaded country.
Royal Navy
the principal naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. From the end of the 17th century until well into the 20th century it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power.
U-boat
Any German submarine of the First or Second World War, or any Austro-Hungarian submarine of the First World War.
American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)
they were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside French and British allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces
a casus belli
Casus belli is a Latin expression meaning the justification for acts of war. Casus means "incident", "rupture" or indeed "case", while belli means bellic ("of war").
RMS Lusitania
a British ocean liner, which was torpedoed by a German U-boat U-20 in 1915, killing 1,198 of the 1,959 people aboard, including 128 Americans. 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.
Selective Service Act
authorized the federal government to raise a national army for the American entry into World War I through conscription. 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 was drafted after the United States entered World War I by declaring war on Germany. The Act was canceled with the end of the war on November, 1918.
Zimmermann Telegram
a 1917 diplomatic proposal from Germany to Mexico to make war against the U.S. The proposal was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence. Revelation of the contents outraged American public opinion and helped generate support for the U.S. declaration of war on Germany in April. Source: Boundless. "American Neutrality." Boundless U.S. History.
Harlem Hellfighters
The 369th Infantry Regiment, formerly the 15th New York National Guard Regiment, was an infantry regiment of the United States Army that saw action in World War I and World War II. The 369th Infantry is known for being the first African-American regiment to serve with the American Expeditionary Force during World War I. The regiment was nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters and the Black Rattlers, in addition to several other nicknames
General John J. Pershing
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. Pershing is the only person to be promoted in his own lifetime to the highest rank ever held in the United States Army—General of the Armies
Four Minute Men
were a group of volunteers authorized by President Woodrow Wilson, to give four-minute speeches on topics given to them by The Committee on Public Information. The topics dealt with the American war effort in the First World War and were presented during the four minutes between reel changing in movie theaters across the country.
George Creel
an investigative journalist, a politician, and, most famously, the head of the US Committee on Public Information, a propaganda organization created by President Woodrow Wilson during World War I.
Committee on Public Information, also known as the CPI or the Creel Committee
an independent agency of the government of the United States created to influence U.S. public opinion regarding American participation in World War I. Over just 28 months, from April 13, 1917, to August 21, 1919, it used every medium available to create enthusiasm for the war effort and enlist public support against foreign attempts to undercut America's war aims.
National War Garden
organized by Charles Lanthrop Pack in March 1917, to address the decline in war-time food production, which resulted from agricultural labor being recruited into military service and remaining farms devastated by the conflict. The campaign promoted the cultivation of available private and public lands, resulting in over five million gardens and foodstuff production exceeding $1.2 billion by the end of the war
War Industries Board (WIB)
a United States government agency established on July 28, 1917, during World War I, to coordinate the purchase of war supplies. The organization encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to increase efficiency and urged them to eliminate waste by standardizing products. The board set production quotas and allocated raw materials. It also conducted psychological testing to help people find the right jobs.
The Espionage Act of 1917
punished individuals who interfered with the war effort, dodged the draft, or attempted to aid a nation at war with the U.S
Sedition Act 1918
an act of the United States Congress that extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds.
Treaty of Versailles
one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Paris Peace Conference
the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistice of 1918.
Sykes-Picot Agreement
A secret agreement, signed in 1916, between the governments of the United Kingdom and France with the assent of Russia, defining their proposed spheres of influence and control in the Middle East should the Central Powers be defeated in World War I.
reparation
World War I reparations were the payments and transfers of property and equipment that Germany was forced to make under the Treaty of Versailles (1919) following its defeat during World War I.
War-guilt clause
Article 231, commonly known as the "Guilt Clause" or the "War Guilt Clause", is the first article in Part VIII, "Reparations" of the Treaty of Versailles. The article, in which Germany was assigned the responsibility for damages caused by World War I, serves as a justification for the obligations put upon Germany in the remainder (Articles 233 through 247) of Part VIII, which was concerned with reparations.
League of Nations
An international organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles, which ended the first World War. Proposed by Wilson, its goals included disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries through negotiation, diplomacy, and improving global quality of life. The U.S. never joined the League.
Article X
Article X of the Covenant of the League of Nations is the section calling for assistance to be given to a member that experiences external aggression.