WWI: Part 1Causes and Why America Joined the

Triple Entente

Background By 1914, Europe was ripe

for war

There were several forms of “ammunition” that had been developing for years

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand = the “trigger”

Assassination of Archduke Franz

Ferdinand June 1914

Archduke Franz Ferdinand visited the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo

While visiting, the archduke was shot by Gavrilo Princip Serbian nationalist

Member of the Black Hand organization

The assassination sparked “The Great War”

Forms of “Ammunition”

Nationalism

Extreme pride, devotion and love that people feel for their country or culture

Led to competition for power among countries

The Balkans – home to a lot of nationalism The Ottoman Empire, which had ruled the Balkans for

hundreds of years was starting to fall apart during the 1800s

The Austro-Hungarian Empire saw this as an opportunity to expand and began to push themselves and their power into the region

Many Slavic peoples there, such as the Serbs, did not like the control of these outsiders

Forms of “Ammunition”

Imperialism

Growing nationalism also led nations to compete for oversees colonies

Colonies provided markets and rich natural resources

Forms of “Ammunition”

Militarism

The world soon also saw the rise of militarism

In 1900 Germany began to build a navy that could help them compete for colonies

They also enlarged their army, supplying it’s troops with the latest weapons

Aware of Germany’s growing supply of weapons, Great Britain, France and Russia worried about Germany’s intensions

Each country began to build its own military in order to defend itself should war break out

Forms of “Ammunition”Alliances

For protection, some nations formed alliances or partnerships

believed to created a balance of power

Germany formed an alliance with Austria-Hungry and Italy

This alliance = The Triple Alliance

Fearful of Germany’s growing power, France, Russia and Great Britain formed an alliance

This alliance = The Triple Entente

Why America Joined the Triple Entente

Propaganda

A form of communication that tries to influence an audience toward a cause or position

It is bias

It is presented in order to gain an emotional instead of a rational response from its audience

Britain had a lot of effective propaganda and they used it to persuade America toward their side

Many of the American people also cared about their “mother country”

Why America Joined the Triple Entente

Economic Ties

During the beginning of the war, Britain had established a trade blockade against Germany

This made US trade with the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungry, Italy) limited and trade with the Entente (Great Britain, France, Russia) more dominant

Because America traded more with the Triple Entente, they had more of an investment in their success during/after the war

Why America Joined the Triple EntenteSubmarine Issue

Germany saw the submarine as a useful weapon against the British blockade and announced that it would begin sinking British, French and Russian ships in war zones

1915-Germany sunk the Lusitania (a British passenger ship) without warning, which happened to have neutral Americans on board President Woodrow Wilson responded by having notes sent

to Germany demanding that they stop attacking unarmed and neutral ships

However, Germany kept sinking ships

1915-Arabic attacked (British passenger ship)

1916-Sussex attacked (French passenger ship

Germany’s unrestricted warfare seriously tested American neutrality

Why America Joined the Triple Entente

Zimmermann Telegram It was a message sent by

German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann to the German minister in Mexico

The message suggested that if America and Germany went to war, Mexico should fight against the US in order to receive its lost territory of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona

This led President Wilson to declare war against Germany and its allies

Why America Joined the Triple Entente

Revolution in Russia

Overthrow of the czars or monarchs of Russia eventually leads the US to joining the war on the side of the Entente

Why? Because now the US would be fighting among all

democratic countries (Russia formed a temporary Republic after the overthrow of the czars)

This would strengthen its ultimate goal of making the world safe for democracy