world war i causes
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
The Causes of World War I
•Militarism
•Alliances
•Imperialism
•Nationalism
Militarism
• Militarism - Building up weapons and forces to get ready for war
Militarism
• Germany was competing with the UK to build battleships
• The British feared an attack on their Empire, so they built even more battleships
Militarism
• Germany was competing with Russia and France to expand their armies
Alliances
• Alliance - Agreement or promise to defend and help another country
Alliances
• By 1914 all the major powers were linked by a system of alliances.
• The alliances made it more likely that a war would start.
• Once started, the alliances made it more likely to spread.
Alliances
• Triple Entente – France, Russia, Great Britain
• Triple Alliance – German, Austria-Hungary, Italy
Alliances
• Aid – Supporting another country with the use of goods
• Treaty – An agreement to not attack each other
• Alliance – a promise to support another country with military if necessary
Imperialism
• Imperialism - When one country takes over another territory to try to build up an Empire
• Empire – Where a powerful country controls several less powerful countries
Imperialism
• All the great powers were competing for colonies and territory
• The British did not want Germany involved in Africa
• The Austrians did not want Serbia or Russia in the Balkans
Nationalism
• Nationalism – having pride in your country, willing to defend it
• Think: What are some holidays wherepeople celebrate pride in their heritage?
Nationalism
• This was an age when all nations wanted to assert their power and independence
• Slavs in Austria-Hungary, aided by Serbia and Russia, wanted to be free of Austrian rule
Key Figures
• Kaiser Wilhelm II • Aggressive foreign policy – wanted
Germany to be a “Bully”
• Built up German army and navy
• Determined to make Germany a top nation
• Distrusted by other powers
“Germany must have its place in the sun”“The world belongs to the strong.”
Key Figures
• Count Berchtold
• Austrian Foreign Minister, later Prime Minister
• Hated Serbia, wanted a reason to have a war with them
The Crisis
• June 28, 1914• Heir to the Austrian
throne, Franz Ferdinand, visits Sarajevo
• Sarajevo was the capital of Bosnia, recently grabbed by Austria
• Sarajevo was the center of Slav nationalism
Seal of the Black Hand group
The Crisis
• “Black Hand” terrorists attack the Arch Duke
• Bomb attempt in the morning fails to kill the Arch Duke
• Later in the day, Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip shoots Archduke and his wife
• Austrians blame Serbia for supporting terrorists
The Crisis
• Austrians, supported by Germany, send Serbia a tough ultimatum
• Serbia agrees to all but two terms of the ultimatum
• Russia prepares troops to support Serbia
The Crisis
• Germany demands that the Russian army stand down
• Germany declares war on Russia
Major Causes of WWI-Arms Race between Germany and France
-Naval Rivalry Between Britain and Germany
-Austria and Russia competing in Southeast Europe
-Two Alliances in place brought everyone against each other
-Germany trying to gain colonies annoys/scares France and Britain
-Extreme Nationalism made people too proud to negotiate problems
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The Schlieffen Plan
• Germany’s military plan to defeat France and Russia
• A fast attack, or “Knock out blow” was aimed at France first
• Germany could avoid French defenses by invading through neutral country Belgium
• Germans thought Britain would not get involved
A World War
• Neutral Country – Country that did not support either side in the war, or did not want to get involved
A World War
• Britain had Ententes with France and Russia which drug them into the fight
A World War
• 1838- UK had signed a Treaty to protect Belgium.
• Britain also scared of Germany controlling the seas and oceans
A World War• Britain did not want Germany to defeat
France and dominate Europe
• UK issued ultimatum to Germany to withdraw troops from Belgium.
• Germany Refused; war declared August 4 1914
What about the United States?
• U.S. President was Woodrow Wilson from 1912 to 1920
• Wilson wanted the U.S. to remain neutral
• Wilson won the election in 1916 by using the slogan “He kept us out of war!”
What about the United States?
• The U.S. could not stay neutral forever
• As more problems occurred, it became clear that the U.S. would soon be dragged into this world war