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Tangling Alliances
Before WWI, the dominating countries formed alliances. They wanted to have the most, and biggest allies to help them in times of war. Britain, France, Russia, and Serbia were allied together, and Italy, Germany, Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary were allied together. When the two countries, Serbia and Austria-Hungary got in a conflict, all of the chains of allies had to participate in the fighting, because that is what allies were made to do, help in wars. -
Colonies Cause Tensions
Colonization began in the 15th century, and as the countries grew larger, they wanted more land and resources for their people to have, so they began to colonize other territories. Great Britain was a major power in the world. Other countries, like Germany, grew jealous of it, and wanted the same. This started a rivalry between them, which was one of the causes of the War. France also had conflicts with Germany, and the land they once took that belonged to their country years before. -
Arms Race
All the countries of the world wanted to have the best and strongest weapons, that no other country had. When getting ready for the war, they wanted to have all the latest technology that would give them an advantage above all the other countries at the time. So they all out in their maximum efforts to build up their armies, make stronger weapons, and better technology and achievements. This strategy of trying to be better than all the rest of the world heightened in the decade before the War. -
Nationalism Turns into a Tragedy
When Austria-Hungary took Bosnia as its own territory, Serbia was not happy because the people in Bosnia were from their descent, so they wanted to control that land. Serbia was a small country though, so it could not fight Austria-Hungary on its own. When the Archduke came to Bosnia, some Serbian nationalists assassinated him to show that they were upset and did not want the Archduke to get to power. This became a trigger that soon started the war between the countries. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand was the Archduke of Austria. He was on his way through Bosnia when some nationalists decided to try and kill him. He was killed at Sarajevo, Bosnia. Serbia thought that it should control Bosnia, but Austria-Hungary was the one that controlled that territory. When Germany formed an alliance with Austria-Hungary, they decided to declare war on Serbia. They knew that Germany would have to help them when they declared war. This event was the trigger of World War I. -
Germany gives Austria Blank Check
Austrian representatives and Hoyos went to Germany bring a memorandum expressing the need to take action in the Balkans region, and a letter of the same sort for Kaiser Wilhelm. The letters stressed the need for immediate action. Germany promised Austria-Hungary that they would help. This caused a chain reaction which caused a European war and not just a small national conflict. U.S. was not involved in the war at this time, and was not planning on getting involved at all. -
WW1 Begins
The assassination of the Archduke propelled the countries' to war. The Central Powers banded together, and when Germany declared war on France, the Allies got into the whole mess too. Old ancestral grudges caused a lot of drama and mess. The U.S. did not enter at this time. It was a neutral power, and wanted to stay that way. -
Submarine Warfare
Germany used a new technique of fighting large ships. They invented the submarine, or U-boat, which was smaller, thus swifter, but still really efficient for attacking. Using these U-boats, Germany attacked many Allied ships and even neutral American boats. When the Lusitania sank, Germany promised not to bomb anymore passenger boats, but they soon broke their promise and resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. This became a cause of the U.S.'s entry into the War. -
The sinking the Lusitania
German U-boats bombed one of U.S.'s ships, the Lusitania, and it sank, though the United States was neutral in the War at that time. This angered the American public, and they wanted to enter the War to fight on the side of the Allies against Germany. President Wilson did not agree so readily, and still wanted to stick with the peace plan. This was followed by a betrayal, by the Germans, of the promise not to bomb any more of American non-war ships, and was a cause of U.S.'s entry into the War. -
Zimmerman Note
The Zimmerman note was sent by German foreign secretary to Mexican ambassador, to propose an alliance. Germany wanted to have some help fighting the United States. Since they had their hands full with fighting France and Russia, they wanted Mexico to go against the United States. Great Britain interceded this note and sent it to the united States. When word spread, the American people were really angry and this was one of the reasons the U.S. entered the war. -
The United States Enters World War I
The sinking of the Lusitania, unrestricted submarine warfare, Germany invading neutral Belgium, and the Zimmerman Note all contributed to the entry of the United States into the War on the Ally's side. The invasion of neutral Belgium really struck a cord with the Americans. Hearing all the stories of how the German atrocities were killing unarmed civilians and destroying small towns. These stories circulated through the press and really got the Americans to want to help the Allies in the War. -
Treaty of Versailles
World War I ended with an armistice in November 1918. The Allies began to write peace treaties, and write out punishments for the defeated countries. The meetings were held in Paris, and the main treaty, the Treaty of Versailles, was written for Germany. The Germans had no say in the meetings. President Wilson, David Lloyd George, Vittorio Orlando, and Georges Clemenceau proposed their punishments and made the Treaty of Versailles. The terms were unfair, and they enraged the Germans. -
Effects of WWI
WWI had a really big impact on the United States. During the War, all of the industries produced a lot more products than they did in peaceful times, so when the War ended, it was hard to cut production. Prices dropped really low, thus it became harder for farmers to get on their feet. Many could not afford to keep their farms; the Great Depression started for them first, before the rest of the country. In the other countries, reconstruction began to repair what was destroyed during the War. -
Dawes and Young Plan
Germany was in a hard economic state and could not pay the reparations, because of hyperinflation, that the Allies demanded that it pay to them. A group of delegates made terms of a plan, which formed the Dawes Plan. France and Belgium had to move out of Germany, and a reparations payment system was set up. The plan did not work out so a new group of delegates revised the plan, thus forming the Young Plan. The plan ended economic control over Germany and lower the reparations cost. -
Great Depression Hits the Nation
The United States flourished after the War, while the rest of the war-affected countries were in hard times. But after the Roaring 20's the U.S. economy fell. Many banks failed, businesses closed, millions of people lost their jobs, and the Depression also spread to the other countries. The United States could not loan money to Germany, so it could not pay the reparations that it had to on the terms of the Treaty of Paris. The markets also had a hard time, because of big taxes on foreign trade. -
Rise of Hitler
Germany was in a lot of hardship and struggle. Their economy was in a hard time, and was pretty much destroyed. There was also bitterness and resentment over the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The resentment of the Treaty caused the people to go with a leader that would fight against it and try to fix things. The lack of orderly political structure caused people to put their trust in a leader more easily, especially one that would restore things.
