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The Triple Alliance saw the union of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Rules to alliance said that if any nation was attacked by France the others would help. In continuation, if any other two nations were attacking a member state, the other member states would step in as well.
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Great Britain had grown incredibly large due to imperialistic desires. The common saying, "The sun never sets on the British Empire" wasn't necessarily untrue at this point in time. Because of this a great sense of pride was developed by the British. Any one who underestimated Britain at this time was sure to see the effect of that pride.
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In order to be on par with Great Britain, Germany needed to build up its navy. The goal was to create German battleships to have a chance for victory in a war with the UK. This lead to Britain further building up their navy to destroy the threat of a German adversary. Tensions were high between the countries at this time.
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The Triple Entente brought together Great Britain, France, and Russia. First France and the UK aligned in 1904 and then Russia in 1912. The Triple Entente was a direct opponent to the Triple Alliance during WWI.
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Imperialism was a very popular trend at this time in history. Germany had not taken control of nearly as much territory as France and the UK. To change this, German set its eyes on Morocco, a territory France had already expressed interest in acquiring. The Kaiser went to Morocco and encouraged the citizens to revolt against French rule. This raised tensions between the French and Germany.
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On June 28th the Archduke of Austria and his wife were shot by rival Serbian assassins. The Archduke was the heir to the throne of Austria. This sparked the events that led to the true start of WWI.
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After the assassination of the Archduke, Germany promised to give Austria-Hungary unconditional support in their quest to get revenge on the Serbians. Germany was required to do so under the agreements made in the Triple Alliance. This proved to be one of Germany's greatest mistake.
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The actual start of WWI is debated among historians, but I believe it started the second Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed in Bosnia. Britain entered the war in August of that year after German aggression forced their hand.
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The Lusitania was a passenger ship carrying both citizens of the UK and the US. The ship was shot with torpedoes and sunk. This cause the later entrance of the United States into the war.
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The U-Boat was a powerful asset to the German Navy. It was a submarine, and the first time one had been used in a major war. These submarines fired powerful torpedoes. Unfortunately, these U-Boats fired on American Ships and in January of 2017 they had killed more American citizens when they sunk the Housatonic.
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The Zimmerman telegram was a note sent to Mexico from Germany attempting to form an alliance if the US were to join the war. The note was captured by the British before it ever arrived in Mexico. This served as another aggressor to get the US to join the war effort.
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After repeated naval strikes and the Zimmerman telegram the US finally decided to enter the war. Two million Americans entered into the war. This served as an incredible opposition to the German military.
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Over 37 million people lost their lives during WWI. Poland, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Estonia were formed after the war effort was over. After all the returning home celebration was over the world had to look at what it had done and rebuild the pieces left crumbled by the war.
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This treaty essentially set out to set Germany back in its place. Borders were redrawn and a plan for reparations was made. France wanted stricter policies against the Germans, but others feared this would fuel another war. The Germans were humiliated and infuriated by the treaty.
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This plan to assist Germany in the payment of reparations was created by Charles Dawes. The plan set for Germany to reduce its payments at first, and overtime the payments would increase as the German economy improved.
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An expanding economy, over reliance in the stock market, and the beginnings of inflation led to the stock market crash of 1929. The crash was caused by an a ton of people selling their shares in October of 1929. 6 million Americans became unemployed, industry declined, and farming was at a standstill.
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The Young Plan was another effort to help Germany pay its reparations. This plan was headed by Owen Young. It was set to reduce Germanys overall payment, and set up an international bank to assist in these payments.
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An expanding economy, over reliance in the stock market, and the beginnings of inflation led to the stock market crash of 1929. The crash was caused by an a ton of people selling their shares in October of 1929. 6 million Americans became unemployed, industry declined, and farming was at a standstill.
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Hitler filled a need that Germany had created, the need for a new leader. The economy was in shambles and Hitler used his skills to rally people up and support him. Through political maneuvering Hitler was able to act without the consent of Parliament. Hitler used the worlds fear of another war to act as he pleased and take what he wanted.
