January 28
January 28
The 1917 Bath Riots
On the morning of January 28, 1917, a Mexican maid named Carmelita Torres refuses to put up with the indignity she has been made to suffer every morning since she…
A Year In History: 1917
Also Within This Year in History:
1917
Across the globe, 1917 brought upheaval. Russians overthrew Czar Nicholas II, then staged a second revolution, putting Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks in power and sparking a civil war. The U.S. and China both declared war on Germany, entering World War I in its fourth year. Puerto Ricans gained U.S. citizenship. And as America’s first-ever female congresswoman took office, the push for women’s suffrage intensified, with increased picketing and the arrest of many activists, followed by jailhouse hunger strikes, force feedings and mistreatment.
January 31
January 31
Germans unleash U‑boats
On January 31, 1917, Germany announces the renewal of unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic as German torpedo‑armed submarines prepare to attack any and all ships, including civilian passenger carriers,…
February 1
February 1
Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare
On February 1, 1917, the lethal threat of the German U‑boat submarine raises its head again, as Germany returns to the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare it had previously suspended…
February 5
February 5
U.S. ends search for Pancho Villa
American forces are recalled from Mexico after nearly 11 months of fruitless searching for Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, who was accused of leading a bloody raid against Columbus, New Mexico.…
February 5
February 5
Mexican constitution proclaimed
After seven years of revolution and civil upheaval, Mexican President Venustiano Carranza proclaims the modern Mexican constitution, which promises the restoration of lands to native peoples, the separation of church…
February 5
February 5
Immigration Act passed over President Wilson’s veto
With more than a two‑thirds majority, Congress overrides President Woodrow Wilson’s veto of the previous week and passes the Immigration Act of 1917. The law required a literacy test for…
February 7
February 7
German sub sinks Scottish passenger ship SS California
Just three days after U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s speech of February 3, 1917—in which he broke diplomatic relations with Germany and warned that war would follow if American interests at…
February 12
February 12
American schooner Lyman M. Law is sunk
The Austrian submarine U‑35 bombs and sinks the American schooner Lyman M. Law in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Cagliari, Sardinia. The Lyman M. Law, captained by S.W.…
February 22
February 22
Mussolini wounded by mortar bomb
On February 22, 1917, Sergeant Benito Mussolini is wounded by the accidental explosion of a mortar bomb on the Isonzo section of the Italian Front in World War I. Born…
February 24
February 24
Zimmermann Telegram presented to U.S. ambassador
During World War I, British authorities give Walter H. Page, the U.S. ambassador to Britain, a copy of the “Zimmermann Telegram,” a coded message from Arthur Zimmermann, the German foreign…
February 26
February 26
President Wilson learns of Zimmermann Telegram
In a crucial step toward U.S. entry into World War I, President Woodrow Wilson learns of the so‑called Zimmermann Telegram, a message from German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann to the…
March 1
March 1
Zimmermann Telegram published in United States
On March 1, 1917, the text of the so‑called Zimmermann Telegram—a message from the German foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, to the German ambassador to Mexico proposing a Mexican‑German alliance in…
March 2
March 2
Puerto Ricans become U.S. citizens, are recruited for war effort
Barely a month before the United States enters World War I, President Woodrow Wilson signs the Jones‑Shafroth Act, granting U.S. citizenship to the inhabitants of Puerto Rico. Located about 1,000…
March 5
March 5
Swedish prime minister resigns over WWI policy
Prime Minister Hjalmar Hammarskjöld of Sweden, father of the famous future United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld, resigns on this day in 1917 after his policy of strict neutrality in World…
March 8
March 8
February Revolution begins, leading to the end of czarist rule in Russia
In Russia, the February Revolution (known as such because of Russia’s use of the Julian calendar) begins on March 8, 1917 when riots and strikes over the scarcity of food…
March 10
March 10
Turkish troops begin evacuation of Baghdad
Less than two weeks after their victorious recapture of the strategically placed city of Kut‑al‑Amara on the Tigris River in Mesopotamia, British troops under the regional command of Sir Frederick…
March 15
March 15
Czar Nicholas II abdicates Russian throne
During the February Revolution, Czar Nicholas II, ruler of Russia since 1894, is forced to abdicate the throne by the Petrograd insurgents, and a provincial government is installed in his…
April 2
April 2
Jeannette Rankin, first woman elected to U.S. Congress, assumes office
Jeannette Pickering Rankin, the first woman ever elected to Congress, takes her seat in the U.S. Capitol as a representative from Montana. Born on a ranch near Missoula, Montana Territory,…
April 2
April 2
President Wilson asks for declaration of war
On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to send U.S. troops into battle against Germany in World War I. In his address to Congress that day, Wilson lamented…
April 6
April 6
The United States officially enters World War I
April 6, 1917: Two days after the U.S. Senate voted 82 to 6 to declare war against Germany, the U.S. House of Representatives endorses the declaration by a vote of…
