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Britain showed its rather extreme imperialism with its colonization and subjugation of India. This attitude and lust for control and expansion is what led many countries to fight so hard during WWI
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During this period, Russia, France, and Great Britain formed a connection of alliances between them for protection if war broke out.
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This was a great example of how militarism and arms races work. During this time period, both Britain and Germany greatly increased the sizes of their navies. Each nation wanted to increase their strength and military might so the other wouldn't overpower them if war broke out, (which it soon did)
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Next in line for the Austro-Hungarian throne, his death kickstarted the Great War. The complex entanglement of alliances made it so after this on relatively small country waged war, nearly the whole world was forced in involvment.
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On this day Austria-Hungry received a telegram from Germany stating that they will support them in whatever decision they made to deal with Siria. This of course included War.
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On this day, Germany, Russia, and France entered the War started by Austria-Hungry. Only three days later would Britain also officially enter.
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Many posters like this one were hung up in virtually every nation involved in the war. Their task was to call upon the public's nationalism and patriotism to join the war for their country.
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On this day a German U-boat shot and sank the Lusitania and ended up killing 1,198 people, 128 of which were American citizens. This was one of the main events which led the U.S. into the War.
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On this day the German government officially reinstates its use of restricted submarine warfare. After the sinking of civilian ships Germany was pressued into abandoning submarine warfare by the U.S., but on this day they returned to their roots.
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On this day the Zimmerman Telegram was published in the newspapers to the American people. It contained a promise from the Germans that Mexico would get American soil if they invaded the U.S. with Germany. This greatly angerede the American public and got us one step closer to war.
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On this day the U.S declared war on Germany after they got fed up with their actions. They formally joined the Allies and fought to end the war quickly.
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This was just one of the many newspapers published which told the American public the horrors of the Great War, like the fact over 18 million people lost their lives, and over 23 million sustained injuries.
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In 1919, Adolf Hiter joined the German Workers' Party and steadily continued gaining popularity and influence until he took the title of Fuhrer in 1934. He embodied the anger and animosity the Germans felt, and he led them to get their revenge. (unsucessfully)
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The signing of this treaty officially ended the war. However, the harsh reprimands given to the Germans feuled an anger and thurst for revenge we'll see come about later.
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These were two policies created after the war to help Germany with its massive reparation costs. The Dawes Plan came up first and divided the payments Germany had to give. However, it ended up failing so the more lenient Young Plan was drafted to take its place. Germany was still unhappy however, as it felt that the reparations were still too harsh. This resentment and animosity just continued to fuel the possibility and inevitability of another war.
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The greatest stock market crash of recorded history occurred on this day. Extremely risky speculation and buying on margin artificially inflated the stock market, and on this day that massive bubble finally burst, and millions of dollars were lost. This event also helped kickstart what would be known as the Great Depression.
