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Imperialism
A lot of empires were conquering countries prior to WWI. France, Britain and Germany were the three biggest countries involved in this. Slowly, countries started arguing over land because they wanted more territory. This is one of the leading causes of WWI. -
Militarism
Militarism is the glorification of the military. The Germans really glorified their army. In 1880, Germany's army consisted of 1.3 million people and in 1914, it rose up to 5 million people. Germany was trying to compete with others like the British Empire. -
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie
On June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated by a Bosnian nationalist in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. This sparked a chain of events which led to the beginning of WWI. -
WWI Begins
The Great War, or The War To End All Wars, started on July 28, 1914. One of the main reasons that it began was because of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife. Their deaths caused another chain of events that led to rebellions and war. -
Nationalism
Nationalism is strong loyalty to one's country. Serbian nationalists in Serbia wanted Austria-Hungary to give them land where they were living. Austria-Hungary refused and this later resulted in the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. The assassination led to the beginning of WWI. -
Germany's Blank Check to Austria-Hungary
On July 5, 1914 Kaiser Wilhelm II promised Germany's alliance and support to Austria-Hungary under any circumstances in its conflict with Serbia, especially after Archduke Ferdinand's assassination a week prior. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The Lusitania, a British ocean liner was en route from New York to Liverpool when a German submarine fired a torpedo into the ship. The Lusitania sank in 18 minutes, taking more than 1,100 lives with it. Of those, they were more than 120 Americans. This was one of the reasons America joined WWI. -
Zimmermann Telegram
In January 1917, a telegraph was decoded by British telegraphers. The translation read that it was from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Foreign Minister of Mexico. It stated that Mexico was offered American territory if they were to help the Germans at war. This message was one of the reasons why the United States became involved in the war. -
Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare
Germany started using unrestricted submarine warfare, which is attacking neutral targets like cargo and passenger ships. The Lusitania was a victim of this, where over 1,200 people died. After a few months, the Germans stopped using submarines all together. But the Allies formed a naval blockade, so the Germans turned back to unrestricted submarine warfare on February 1, 1917 believing this can help them win the war by the end of 1917. -
U.S. Entry into WWI
Woodrow Wilson requested declaration of war against Germany on April 2, 1914 at a Congress meeting. He spoke about Germany's unannounced submarine warfare and attempt to tempt Mexico into an alliance against the United States. On April 6, 1917 The United States officially declared war on Germany. -
Alliances
After the Zimmermann telegram was intercepted by the British, the Americans joined the war as allies to Britain, France, and Russia. Many Americans were not favoring this decision and wanted to remain neutral. -
Effects of WWI
What happened because of WWI was brutal. There were over 41 million casualties, 18 million deaths and 23 million wounded. The whole war was blamed on the Germans through the Treaty of Versailles, causing disillusionment. Even through all that, six new countries were formed: Poland, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Estonia. -
Rise of Adolf Hitler
After the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler joined the political party known as the German Workers' Party. It later became known as the National Socialist German Workers' Party. He was put in charge of propaganda. He became a speaker and had gatherings where the people listened to his ideas. -
Treaty of Versailles
WWI was ended at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 18, 1919 but it did not take effect until January 10, 1920. The treaty was written and negotiated by the Allies, with no involvement of the Germans. The treaty forced Germany to pay for damage costs and responsibility of causing the war. -
Dawes Plan and Young Plan
At the end of WWI, a lot of money was needed for reparation. Due to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany would have to pay. So they created the Dawes Plan, which insured that Germany payed reparations after WWI. It was put into action in 1924. In 1929, the Young plan was formed to help along the Dawes plan. -
The Great Depression
After the stock market crash in October of 1929, the Great Depression began. Up until 1939, unemployment rates rose, investments dropped, and industrial output decreased as companies were failing. People started selling their valuables to earn some sort of currency.
