-
Accession of Wilhelm II to the German Throne
With the accession of Wilhelm II to the German throne in June 15, 1888, the German foreign policy became more hostile. The new German Emperor refused to renew the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia that maintained tranquility between Russia and Austria-Hungary and also kept France isolated.Furthermore, helping create the alliance between France and Russia, which became the basis for the future Triple Entente. -
Entente Cordiale
The British decided to enter into an alliance with France known as the Entente Cordiale. In April 8, 1904, Britain also decided to enter into an alliance with Russia that was already in alliance with France. This action formed the Triple Entente, the core of the Allies during World War I. -
Henry Ford Builds the First Model T
The introduction of the Model T as the first car affordable to the "everyday American," as well as the idea of mass production, sparked huge social and econimic change. The availability of this product was one factor that allowed the nation to experience the economic boom that was to come in the 1920s. -
Period: to
World War 1
The Great War Started in Europe, but quickly spread because of secret allies that were made in advance. Militarism, allies, naturalim, and imperialism all contributed to the start of the war. The end was decided when German troops were defeated in France and the Treaty of Versailles was written. Germany's defeat as well as creul punishments however, did more to start another war rather than end this one. -
July Ultimatum
On July 23, 1914 Austria-Hungary presented an ultimatum to Serbia. Vienna intentionally inflicted absurd demands to Serbia in order to declare war on its neighbor for ‘orchestrating’ the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Days later, the Austro-Hungarian troops invaded Serbia and started the catastrophic World War I. -
Germany Invades Belgium
This event was seen to the world as horrific and creul. Belgium was a neutral country and Germany trampled over them in an attempt to get to France, before Russia and France got to them. This not only infuriated America, but also brought Britain into the war on August 4. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The Lusitania was a British ship that carried passengers as well as goods between Britain and the U.S. German U- Boats sunk this ship and killed 1,198 people, some of whom were American. This angered Americans and more and more people began to agree that the United States should enter the war on the side of the Allied Powers. -
The Zimmerman Note
The Zimmerman telegram was a note sent from the German Foreign Secretary to the German Ambassador of Mexico. It asked for an alliance with Mexico, as well as an attack on the United States, if they declared war, and furthermore, promising a reward of the territory Mexico had lost to the United States in the Mexican- American War, if the invasion proved successful. The contents of this note were soon discovered by President Wilson, which would then lead him to declare war on Germany. -
The United States Enters World War I
Despite his origianal plans to stay neutral, President Wilson declared war on Germany after seeing continually that they showed no signs of mercy on any country, even neutral ones. America entered WWI on the side of the Allied Powers and aided in Germany's defeat. Although the United States was only involved in the war for months while the rest of the world had been for a couple years, they had helped Britain and France tremendously even while they remained neutral. -
Paris Peace Conference
A conferrence was held in France to come to terms of peace and work toward preventing future wars. Dozens of countires contributed in this discussion for peace. Germany, however, did not attend and was forced to take the fault for starting World War I. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The Paris Peace Treaty, or the Treaty of Versailles, made Germany take the blame for World War I, giving them the majorty of reparations, as well as strict regulations to follow. Germany was forced to sign the treaty which angered the Germans and led them to starting WWII; causing the one thing the treaty was attempting to prevent. -
Warren Harding Elected President
Harding was elected president in the election of 1920. Many people who voted for him wanted the United States to return to what they considered was normal; or to not be involved in international affairs any longer. Harding portrayed that he would make that happen. He, as well as Calvin Coolidge, his successor, also worked toward growing more businesses in America. This growth of business contributed to what seemed to be economic prosperity in the 1920's. -
Stock Market Crash
Moved by vast riches, many Americans went wild in the 1920s. Investing beyond their needs with money they didn’t have, predicting the stock market would continue to go up and up. However, on October 29th, 1929, the stock market plummeted leaving people in a panic. As people ran to the banks, most americans landed themselves in thousands of dollars worth of debt because they had spent money they did not have. -
Period: to
The Great Depression
The U.S. economy had crashed after what had seemed to be a decade of good fortune in America. However, becuase of the real economic problems that had been hidden before the stock market crash, this period hit all Americans hard. Though some suffered much harder than others. -
Period: to
America's Banks Failed
As the stock markets crashed, people ran to the banks to save their money. Almost overnight, bank after bank began to fail. By 1933 more than 11,000 of the nations 25,000 banks had failed. With no money to lend out, loans started to soar and the majority of banks in America finally went belly up. -
Period: to
The Dust Bowl
Across the Great Plains farmers had begun to farm intensively during a severe drought, which made the soils turn to dust and farming no longer was possible. Heavy winds carried the dust at high speeds creating huge dust storms. The area in which this happened was known as the Dust Bowl. This period of severe storms drove families out of their homes, and worsened the effects of the Great Depression on many. -
Hitler Rising to Power
Adolf Hitler was sworn into office as the Chancelor of Germany on January 30, 1933. Little did President Hindenburg know, this would not only lead to the downfall he was trying to avoid, but also lead Germany into starting a war that the Treaty of Versailles was created to prevent. -
Period: to
World War II
WWII, while attempted to be prevented by the Treaty of Versailles, was unfortunately also provoked by it. Many Germans felt they were treated unfairly by the treaty, especially Adolf Hitler. Hitler rose to power and quickly enacted a plan for revenge. The start of this war was greatly due to the punishments Germany recieved after WW1 and Hitler's great motivation as well as public speaking skills.