World War I: Archduke Franz Ferdinand Shot and killed in 1914 due to disharmony between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is believed to have been the spark that started the First World War. Contrary to Woodrow Wilson's wishes to remain neutral during the war, the United States ultimately joined forces with the Triple Entente against the Triple Alliance. Based on the beliefs and actions of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, it was in the national interest of the United States to declare war in 1917 due to relations between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, the cause and effect of the Archduke's death, and the formation of alliances . Disputes between Austria-Hungary and Serbia provided the basis for the archduke's assassination. With the Treaty of Berlin in 1878, Austria-Hungary was allowed to occupy and administer Bosnia and Herzegovina. When Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia in 1908, it sparked a shocking reaction from the West, and many Serbs wanted a pan-Slavic state directed from Serbia, a province that had better relations with Russia than with Austria-Hungary. Hungary. Serbia protested for independence, and Serbian newspapers called for a strip of territory stretching through Novi-Bazar and Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Adriatic. The government of the dual monarchy refused to accommodate the Serbian protest, denying that Serbia had the right to question the annexation. Austria-Hungary, which was a dynastic empire, comprising many different races, hated pan-Slavism, the nationalism that the Slavic races of the Balkans aspire to establish in their own nation-states. The Austro-Hungarians felt the imminent threat of losing the southern territories inhabited by the Slavs to Serbia. As a result, Dimitrijevic planned to assassinate the Archduke... middle of paper... unable to repay the American debt of almost 2 million dollars. Germany proposed an alliance with Mexico on the following basic principles: If the United States goes to war, Mexico must fight on the home front in a financially supported alliance with Germany. Wilson protested that sinking merchant ships without protecting the lives of passengers and crews violated international law and that the United States would hold Germany "strictly responsible" for any American casualties in such attacks. Therefore, despite President Woodrow Wilson's desire to remain neutral during the war, it was in the best interests of the United States to declare war in 1917 due to the relationship between Austria-Hungary, the cause and effect of the Archduke's death, and of forming alliances based on the actions and beliefs of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Europe was in a state of open warfare, better known as World War I.