World War I and The Art of War: Posters from the Collection of Oscar Jacobson
Franz Ferdinand and wife Sophie (image courtesy of Smithsonian Magazine) 3
Timeline
1914
June 1914 – Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie are assassinated
July 1914 – Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
August 1914 – Germany declares war on Russia, France, Belgium, and invades France
Britain declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary
US declares its neutral stance
France declares war on Austria-Hungary
Japan declares war on Germany
Austria-Hungary declares war on Belgium and invades Poland (Russian)
(OHS Collections)4
October 1914 – Commission for Relief in Belgium
(Image courtesy The National WWI Museum and Memorial.)5
1915
January 1915 – Bread rationing introduced in Germany
May 1915 – German U-boat torpedoes the civilian ship Lusitania, including 128 US citizens
Lusitania leaving New York Harbor (image courtesy of the Library of Congress).6
1916
June 1916 – National Defense Act signed into law expanding the size and scope of the US military
November 1916 – Woodrow Wilson is reelected
1917
February 1917 – US severs relations with Germany
April 1917 – US declares war on Germany and officially enters WWI
May 1917 – Selective Service Act
June 1917 – Espionage Act
First US Troops arrive in France
First Liberty Loan
July 1917 – First lottery of draft
December 1917 – The Eighteenth Amendment is passed and prohibition begins
1918
January 1918 – 14 Points
Poster promoting Daylight Saving Bill (image courtesy Library of Congress).7
March 1918 – Daylight saving time begins in the US
November 1918 – Armistice (eleventh day, eleventh month, eleventh hour) WWI ends
(Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.)8
1919
January 1919 – Peace conference in Paris
February 1919 – League of Nations created
June 1919 – Germany and Allies sign the Treaty of Versailles
July 1919 – Treaty of Versailles is submitted to the Senate
August 1919 – The Nineteenth Amendment passed by Congress giving women the right to vote
November 1919 – Treaty of Versailles not ratified by Senate
(Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.)9
