World War I

Unit 1- Chapter 10

Causes of WWI- Europe

• M.A.I.N.– Militarism– Alliances– Imperialism– Nationalism

Causes of WWI- Europe

• Militarism– War was inevitable in the eyes of most European

nations- just a matter of when– Militarism: glorification of the military (arms race)

Causes of WWI- Europe

• Alliances– Powers prepared for war by forming alliances,

ensuring that if they went to war, allies were obligated to join them

– Triple Alliance • Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

– Triple Entente• France, Russia, Great Britain

Causes of WWI- Europe

• Imperialism– For centuries, European nations had fought over

expanding their territories and influence– Newer powers (Germany, Italy, Belgium) tried to

catch up to France and Britain

Causes of WWI- Europe

• Nationalism– European nations believed that single ethnic

groups within a country should be promoted thru nationalism

– Alsace-Lorraine: originally controlled by France, was taken by German states

– Serbia: originally controlled by Austria-Hungary, became a rival for territory AND an example to Serbs living in the empire

Causes of WWI- Europe

• War begins – June 28, 1914: Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his

wife visited Sarajevo, Bosnia– Serbian nationalists (believing that Bosnia

rightfully belonged to Serbia) assassinated them– Austria-Hungary demanded Serbia cooperate in

the investigation into the murders- Serbia refused– Austria-Hungary declared war on July 28, 1914

Causes of WWI- Europe

• M.A.I.N.– Militarism– Alliances– Imperialism– Nationalism

Causes of WWI- Europe

• Alliances kick in:– Russia mobilized to support Serbia– Germany (Austria’s ally) declared war on Russia– France (Russia’s ally) declared war on Germany– To fight France, Germany declared war on

Belgium, which caused Great Britain to declare war on Germany

– Italy? They decided to wait…

Causes of WWI- United States

• Neutrality– President Wilson wanted the US to stay out of the

War, fearing conflict within the US– American businesses benefitted from increased

demand by warring nations– While some ethnic groups within the US sided

with Germany, most supported Britain and France whom the US had strong historic ties

Causes of WWI- United States

• Neutrality– Americans tended to belong to one of 3 groups:• Isolationists: the war was none of our business• Interventionists: join the Allies• Internationalists: don’t enter the war, but actively work

towards achieving peace

Causes of WWI- United States

• US Prepares for War– Britain blockaded Germany, confiscating military

contraband (weapons and other war items) from reaching the country

– When the blockade expanded to ALL good, Germany fought back by destroying Allied ships with their submarines (U-Boats)

– May 7, 1915- German U-Boat sank the British passenger ship, Lusitania, killing 1,200 passengers (128 Americans)

Causes of WWI- United States

• US Prepares for War– President Wilson was outraged and Germany

promised not to sink any more passenger ships– Promise was broken again and again– Wilson began preparing the country for war• National Defense Act- expanded the size of the army• Naval Construction Act- building of more warships

Causes of WWI- United States

• US Prepares for War– War became unavoidable by 1917

• January, 1917, German Foreign Minister sent a telegram to Mexico urging them to declare war on the US

• In return, Germany would grant Mexico land lost in the Mexican-American War

• The Zimmerman Note was intercepted by the British and published publically in the US

• Germany then announced unrestricted submarine warfare against Britain

– Congress declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917

Stalemate on the Western Front

• 450 miles of trenches had been dug across Belgium and France, creating a bloody, deadly stalemate on the Western Front

America Enters the War

– Unrestricted submarine warfare proved very effective against Allie ships

– The Allies used a convoy system to protect against U-Boat attacks• Groups of ships sail together with warships

– Effectively slowed sub attacks

America Enters the War

• November, 1917- Russia experienced its 2nd revolution in six months

• Communist rebels, under Vladimir Lenin gained control of Russia and moved to get Russia out of the war

• Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended war between Germany and the soon to be USSR

America Enters the War

• With Russia out- Germany could now focus all of its resources on the Western Front

• German offenses had great success until early 1918- when the United States finally started putting troop on the ground in France

• Refreshed American troops, led by John J Pershing wore out the war-tired Germans and stalled the offensive

America Enters the War

• American reinforcements continued to pour into France during 1918

• By the end of the war, 1.3 million served on the Western Front– 50,000 dead– 230,000 wounded

The War Ends

• With no hope of victory in sight, Germany and Austria-Hungary were collapsing

• On November 11, 1981, Germany surrendered • Deaths:– 5 million Allied Soldiers– 8 million Central Power– 6.5 million civilians

The War Ends

• While Russia claimed that the Allies were only interested in growing their own empires through war, President Wilson wanted only peace and freedom

• Outlined his vision of “peace without victory” in his Fourteen Points in early 1918– No one could be blamed for war for peace to

occur

The War Ends

• Fourteen points included:– Peace without victory– National self-determination• Right of the people to choose their form of government

– League of Nations• Governing body to ensure peace and fairness to all

countries

The War Ends

• Paris Peace Conference– Allied countries tore apart the 14 points• Germany was blamed for the war and forced to pay

reparations• New map of Europe repeatedly violated self-

determination (ex. Middle East)

– The League of Nations survived

The War Ends

• The Treaty of Versailles faced numerous problems in the United States– German Americans disliked “war guilt clause”– League of Nations included “mutual defense”

clause– NO Republican representative was a part of the

negotiations

The War Ends

• Various versions of the treaty were voted on by Congress, but Wilson refused to compromise on his beliefs

• As a result, the United States never ratified the Treaty of Versailles- and never joined the League of Nations

Effects of the War

• Influenza outbreak killed millions around the world (started in US)

• Women and African Americans were competing for jobs with white males returning from war

• Race riots across the country• Inflation-– Factory workers couldn’t afford products– Farmers couldn’t afford their bills

Effects of the War

• The Red Scare– The Soviet Union emerged as a communist nation

by the end of the war– Lenin pushed for workers to rebel across the world

to end capitalism – Worker revolts around the globe, accompanied by

worker strikes in the US led officials to fear a communist revolution in the US

Effects of the War

• 1919-1920: Palmer Raids led to arrest and deportation of thousands of people for being communist radicals

• Led to the formation of the ACLU to protect civil liberties

• Sacco and Vanzetti trial and execution showed just how real the fear of communism was

• Eventually, Red Scare fizzled out

Effects of the War

• Normalcy– Election of Warren G Harding in 1920 showed that

Americans were ready to revert back to the time before WWI

Effects of the War

• Role of the US in world affairs– America was the largest industrial country in the

world– America became the largest creditor nation in the

world (other countries owed the US money)– NYC became the economic center of the world