Guided Reading Activity Answers

THE ROAD TO WORLD WAR I

We hav e a l ready s tud ied Im pe r ia l i sm as a f o re ign po l i cy – w he n a s t ronge r , m ore pow er fu l na t ion takes ov e r a w eake r na t ion e i the r m i l i t a r i l y o r e conom ica l l y. B u t d id y ou know im pe r ia l i sm (and co lon ia l i s m , as w e l l ) l ed t o fi e rce com pe t i t i on be tw ee n pow er fu l na t ions? Eu ropean pow ers o f ten f ound them s e lv es de s i r i ng the conques t o f t he sam e p laces – and th i s l ed t o w ar s ! C lose r t o hom e , y ou m igh t cons ide r the Un i ted S ta tes ’ w ar w i th Spa in , w h i ch took p lace exc lus iv e ly i n Spa in ’ s co lon ie s : C uba , t he P h i l i pp ines , and Pue r to R i co , no t i n the Un i ted S ta tes o r Spa in .

IMPERIALISM

IMPERIALISM CAUSED COMPETITIONS FOR MILITARY

STRENGTH: MILITARISM!

Nat ions fo l lowed a po l i cy o f m i l i t a r i sm – o r the g lo r ifi ca t ion o f the m i l i t a ry – in o rder to accomp l i sh two goa ls . Fi r s t , they sought to p ro tec t themse lves f rom an enemy a t tack . Second ly , though , they sought na t iona l g lo ry and conques t – l i ke the takeover o f fo re ign na t ions . Here , you can see how European powers used m i l i t a ry fo rce to take con t ro l o f – and keep con t ro l o f – most o f the con t inen t o f Af r i ca . France , Eng land , Germany , and I t a ly con t ro l led much o f Af r i ca un t i l t he 1960s .

MILITARISM

Nat ional ism is jus t pr ide in one’s nat ion or ethnic group. I t might be compared to patr iot i sm in a way. But when groups of peop le who do not have a po l i t ica l country of the i r own to ru le s tar t to demand the i r own country , i t can lead to major confl icts . Revolut ions , even! Austr ia -Hungary faced just th is prob lem in the late 1800s and ear ly 1900s .

NATIONALISM

The Austro-Hungarian empire suff ered because of too much nat ional ism. In the empire, there were Austr ians, Magyars, Bosnians, Serbians, Rumanians, Croats, and a host of other ethnic and nat ional groups who wanted sel f-government, or their own nat ional governments .

THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE

The Balkan peninsula, consist ing of Greece, Albania, Serbia, and a plethora of other national groups who sought self-government and independence, was considered the “powder keg” of Europe. Many people bel ieved these groups would someday fi ght for independence from colonial rulers.

THE BALKAN PENINSULA

Mil i tary Al l iances were defensive agreements created between nations in which a nation pledged to defend al l of the others in the group in the event that they were attacked by an outsider.

MILITARY ALLIANCES

Not only did mi l i tary a l l iances cause smal ler wars to erupt into much larger confl icts rapidly , but a lso, they led to confusion. Nat ions became involved with wars which often had l i t t le to do with their own nat ional secur i ty or interests.

MILITARY ALLIANCES

MILITARISM

ALLIANCE SYSTEMS

IMPERIALISM

NATIONALISM

THE M.A.I.N. CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I

The three nations in the Triple Al l iance were:

Germany

Austria-Hungary

I taly

NOTE: Italy had promised to protect Germany only against French invasion, and did not join the war eff ort against England and Russia.

THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE

The Triple Entente – entente is a French word meaning “agreement” – consisted of these three nations:

France

Great Britain

Russia

THE TRIPLE ENTENTE

EUROPE – 1914

The Archduke Franz Ferd inand and his wi fe Sophie were assass inated dur ing a parade in Sarajevo. The murderer , Gavr i lo Pr inc ip , was a member of a Serb ian Nat ional is t organizat ion cal led The B lack Hand. Austr ia-Hungary b lamed al l of Serb ia for the murders , and took revenge. Franz’s dying words to his wi fe Sophie: “You must l ive for the chi ldren.”

THE SPARK THAT SET OFF THE GREAT WAR

Gavrilo Princip, pictured to the left, murdered the Archduke of Austria-Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, led by Emperor Franz Joseph soon sent a list of demands to Serbia – most of which were impossible to satisfy – and threatened to declare war on Serbia if they were not met. Little did Austria-Hungary know that tiny Serbia had signed a secret treaty – a defense alliance – with Russia, the most populous and one of the most powerful nations in all of Europe. The war would expand rapidly from here.

WAR BETWEEN AUSTRIA AND SERBIA

1 . Aus t r ia -Hungary invaded Serb ia .

2 . Russ ia dec la red war on Aus t r ia -Hungary. (Secre t A l l i ance w i th Serb ia . )

3 . Germany dec la red war on Russ ia . (Tr ip le A l l i ance)

4 . France dec la red war on Germany. (Tr ip le En ten te )

5 . Eng land dec la red war on Germany. (Tr ip le En ten te )

6 . I t a ly – d iv ided – beg ins to fi ght France bu t then qu i t s the war – on ly t o la te r suppor t the A l l i es . . .

EUROPE AT WAR, 1914

The map to the left shows the tradit ional view of World War I and its principle combatants. The Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire, are shaded in green. The Al l ies – England, France, Russia, and wishy-washy Italy – are shaded in yel low.

EUROPE AT WAR 1914

The Battle of the Marne The Western Front

STALEMATE ON THE WESTERN FRONT

TRENCH WARFARE

The U-Boat The Zeppelin

MURDEROUS WEAPONS OF WW I

Biplanes Tanks

MURDEROUS WEAPONS OF WW I

POISON GAS

Chlorine gas and other forms of poison gas were fi rst used by the Germans at the Battle of Ypres in France. The weapon was perhaps the most feared of the entire war, because of the gruesome and painful deaths caused by the chemicals – soldiers who inhaled the poison gas would suff er chemical burns of the lungs, then slowly drown as their lungs fi l led up with mucus and fl uids.

CHLORINE GAS

Horses were used during World War I in many capacit ies, and were sti l l rel ied upon heavi ly by cavalry units, supply carriers and ambulance services. They dragged heavy guns into posit ion, moved men and equipment, and l i teral ly saved l ives. Hence, they needed to be protected, too!

GAS MASKS

THE MACHINE GUN

President Wi lson asked Americans to stay neutral in mind as wel l as in act ion. By fol lowing a “str ict and impart ia l neutral i ty,” Americans would be able to stay out of the war and remain unifi ed. Many Americans feared that the mi l l ions of German-American immigrants in our country could prove dis loyal .

PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON

Anti-German Propaganda: Freedom of the Seas:

WORLD WAR I: AMERICAN NEUTRALITY

Propaganda was produced in the United States by an organization known as the Committee on Public Information. Joseph Creel was the leader of the group. Propaganda, in general, is information designed to make a people feel passionately about a cause – often using incomplete, exaggerated, or dubious information.

PROPAGANDA

Businessmen

American Businessmen attempted to trade with both sides during World War I from 1914 to 1917. British blockades and German U-boats, however, took a toll on US Trade.

Bankers

American bankers had loaned out millions and millions of dollars to European nations, most of them to the Allied Powers. After the war, some people claimed that American supported the Allies just to win back their money.

BUSINESSMEN AND BANKERS TENDED TO PREFER TRADE AND

LOANS TO THE ALLIES.

Using their U-boats, Germany established a blockade around all of England to prevent trade between the US and England. They sank any trade vessels they could. English naval vessels, in turn, prevented any trade between the United States and Germany.

THE GERMAN BLOCKADE OF ENGLAND

THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA: MAY 7, 1915 OFF THE COAST OF

IRELAND

GERMANY WARNED THAT THE LUSITANIA MIGHT BE SUNK – IT WAS FULL OF WEAPONS. AMERICANS WERE

OUTRAGED NEVERTHELESS.

AMERICAN PROPAGANDA MAKERS USED THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA TO ENCOURAGE

THE WAR EFFORT.

“He Kept Us Out of War.”

WILSON MAINTAINS U.S. NEUTRALITY

In the Zimmermann Telegram, German Secretary of State Arthur Zimmermann suggested that Mexico should attack the United States. His hope was that if the US was occupied at home by a domestic war, they could not enter the war with Germany. In return, Zimmerman promised, they would help Mexico win back the land it had ceded to the United States in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.

THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM

In March 1917, the Tsar Nicholas II and the Romanov dynasty was overthrown by Revolution. The family had fallen under the “spell” of Rasputin – “the mad monk” – who had the mysterious ability to control Alexei’s - the heir to the throne’s - hemophilia. The Romanov’s were initially overthrown by democratic reformers led by Alexander Kerensky. The new government – an elected Duma with Kerensky as president- remained in power for just six months. The Bolsheviks, a brutally violent communist organization, would take over the country just six months later, murdering the Romanov family and establishing a totalitarian regime which would last for seventy years.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

TSAR NICHOLAS II AND THE ROMANOVS

Promising “Land, Bread, and Peace,” the Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party took over Russia in October of 1917. The Bolsheviks would fight a bloody Civil War, take power, and establish a ruthless dictatorship which murdered millions as it established a nationalized Communist dictatorship. The Romanov family was murdered in 1918.

THE RISE OF BOLSHEVISM AND THE USSR

THE COMMUNIST PARTY

Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against the Central Powers in April of 1917, immediately after the Tsar had been overthrown and replaced by the democratically elected Duma. Wilson gave the United States several reasons to fight in World War I:

World War I would be a war for “Freedom of the Seas.”World War I would be “A War To End all War.”World War I would be “A War to Make the World Safe for

Democracy.”

Since Russia was now democratic as well, all of the Allies – Great Britain, France, Russia, and now the United States – were democratic governments.

WORLD WAR I: “TO MAKE THE WORLD SAFE FOR DEMOCRACY”