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Militarism
Militarism, combined with new weapons, emerging technologies and developments in industrial production, fuelled a European arms race in the late 1800s and early 1900s -
Alliances
By 1914, the six major powers of Europe were split into two alliances, which would – with the exception of Italy – form the two warring sides in World War One. Britain, France and Russia were in the Triple Entente, while Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy were in the Triple Alliance. -
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie
On this day in 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are shot to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist during an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The killings sparked a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I by early August. (this event displays nationalism) -
Germany's Blank Check to Austria-Hungary
On July 5, 1914, in Berlin, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany pledges his country’s unconditional support for whatever action Austria-Hungary chooses to take in its conflict with Serbia, a long-running rivalry thrown into crisis by the assassination, the previous June 28, of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife by a Serbian nationalist during an official visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia. -
WW1 begins
Great Britain declared war on Germany. It was a decision that is seen as the start of World War One. Britain, led by Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, had given Germany an ultimatum to get out of Belgium by midnight of August 3rd. In fear of being surrounded by the might of Russia and France, Germany had put into being the Schlieffen Plan in response to the events that had occurred in Sarajevo in June 1914. (Britain and France are good examples of imperialism) -
Sinking of the Lusitania
less than a year after World War I (1914-18) erupted across Europe, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner en route from New York to Liverpool, England. -
Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare
On this day in 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 in response to pressure from the United States and other neutral countries. -
Zimmerman Telegram
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 the case of war between the United States and Germany, is published on the front pages of newspapers across America. -
Hitler on the rise
Hitler took up political work in Munich in May–June 1919. As an army political agent, he joined the small German Workers’ Party in Munich (September 1919). -
Treaty of Versailles
World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. Negotiated among the Allied powers with little participation by Germany, its 15 parts and 440 articles reassigned German boundaries and assigned liability for reparations. -
Rise of Nazi
In 1920 he was put in charge of the party’s propaganda and left the army to devote himself to improving his position within the party, which in that year was renamed the National-sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (Nazi). -
Dawes Plan
The Dawes Plan of 1924 was formulated to take Weimar Germany out of hyperinflationand to return Weimar’s economy to some form of stability. The Dawes Plan got its name as the man who headed the committee was an American called Charles Dawes. -
The Young Plan
The Young Plan was formulated in 1929. The Young Plan was an attempt by former wartime allies to support the government of Weimar Germany. In 1924, the Dawes Plan had been introduced to bring Weimar out of hyperinflation and to stabilise its economy. It appeared to have succeeded as 1924 to mid-1929 are viewed by historians as Weimar’s ‘golden years’. -
Great Depression
The stock market crashes, marking the end of six years of unparalleled prosperity for most sectors of the American economy. On October 24 -- Black Thursday -- stock prices plummet and panic selling ensues as people try to sell stock for any price they can get. By October 29 -- Black Tuesday -- stocks will completely collapse and banks will be calling in loans. An estimated $30 billion in stock values will "disappear" by mid-November. -
Great Depression pt 2
More than 3.2 million people are unemployed, up from 1.5 million before the October, 1929 crash. President Hoover remains optimistic, however, stating that "all the evidences indicate that the worst effects of the crash upon unemployment will have passed during the next 60 days." -
The Ford Strike
Three thousand unemployed workers march on the Ford Motor Company's plant in River Rouge, Michigan. Dearborn police and Ford's company guards attack the workers, killing four and injuring many more. -
April 1932
More than 750,000 New Yorkers are reported to be dependent upon city relief, with an additional 160,000 on a waiting list. Expenditures average about $8.20 per month for each person on relief. -
US entry into war
On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany. On April 4, 1917, the U.S. Senate voted in support of the measure to declare war on Germany. The House concurred two days later. The United States later declared war on German ally Austria-Hungary on December 7, 1917.
