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Imperialism
Russia ruled over Finland, Poland and several central Asian regions as an imperial power; its disastrous war against Japan in 1904 - 1905 was an attempt to extend Russia’s imperial reach further into Korea and northern China. Despite condemnation of European imperialism in America, the United States also engaged in a degree of empire building, particularly towards the end of the 1800s. -
Alliances
"Britain, France and Russia were in the Triple Entente, while Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy were in the Triple Alliance." The war became a world war because once Austria-Hungary declaired war on Serbia they both involved all of thier allied countries to defend them and all of Europe broke out in war. -
Militarism
Militarism was a big contributer to world war 1 because the increase in troops and weapons was an obvious sign that war was upon the world. "In the years leading up to World War I, there was a great arms build up, particularly in Great Britain and Germany. The newly industrialized nations of Europe had a capacity to create more powerful weapons, in greater quantity, and and less expense than ever before. A rise in nationalism and growing competition for colonies abroad encouraged this buildup." -
Nationalism
"Nationalism is an ideology that asserts that a nation is formed by a group of people with a common identity, language, history, and set of customs. According to nationalists, loyalty to one's nation is critical, and the people of a nation must band together to promote the good of their country." In 1914 people had so much pride in thier countries that it drove people to dive even deeper into the war. All the countries involved knew the winners of the war would get anything they wanted. -
Assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The archduke traveled to Sarajevo in June 1914 to inspect the imperial armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Ottoman territories in the turbulent Balkan region that were annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908 to the indignation of Serbian nationalists, who believed they should become part of the newly independent and ambitious Serbian nation." -
Blank Check
"The “blank check” is an infamous episode in the history of the First World War; the first truly fatal error made by Germany – a promise of unconditional support for whatever action Austria-Hungary might take to punish Serbia." -
WW1 begins
"On June 28, 1914, a young Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Taking place against a backdrop of escalating tensions in the Balkans, the assassination set off a chain of events that would lead to the start of World War I barely one month later. To many people, the Great Was seemed to come out of the blue, as the European continent was enjoying a long stretch" -
Sinking of the Lusitania
On May 7, 1915, less than a year after World War I (1914-18) erupted across Europe, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner en route from New York to Liverpool, England. Of the more than 1,900 passengers and crew members on board, more than 1,100 perished, including more than 120 Americans. Nearly two years would pass before the United States formally entered World War I, but the sinking of the Lusitania played a significant role in turning public opinion agai -
Zimmerman Telegram
The zimmerman telegram was a message from Germany to Mexico proposing an aliance incase of war between Germany and the US. This was a telegram that was meant to be intercepted by the US to provoke the US to join the war. -
Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare
"On January 31, 1917, Bethmann Hollweg went before the German Reichstag government and made the announcement that unrestricted submarine warfare would resume the next day, February 1. The destructive designs of our opponents cannot be expressed more strongly." -
US Entry into the World
On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany. Wilson cited Germany’s violation of its pledge to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, as well as its attempts to entice Mexico into an alliance against the United States, as his reasons for declaring war. -
Global effect of WW1
"World War I killed more people--more than 9 million soldiers, sailors, and flyers and another 5 million civilians--involved more countries--28--and cost more money--$186 billion in direct costs and another $151 billion in indirect costs--than any previous war in history. It was the first war to use airplanes, tanks, long range artillery, submarines, and poison gas." Yougoslavia and Czechoslovakia were the only two completely new countries created because of ww1. -
Treaty of Versailles
The first term of the Treaty of Versailles was for Germany to accept full blame for the war. Second, Gremany had to pay 6,600 million euros to pay for the damage of the war. Third, Germany had to reduce all aspects of their army/navy/airforce. Fourth, Germany lost many parts of its territory with no negotiation. -
The Rise of Hitler
"The rise and fall of Adolf Hitler is one of the most terrible, dramatic and unbelievable stories in history. He dealt in death in such boxcar numbers, and so irrevocably altered civilization, that it is impossible for the ordinary human being to fathom how so much evil could exist and be perpetrated essentially by a single person." -
Dawes Plan and Young Plan
Under the Dawes Plan, Germany’s annual reparation payments would be reduced, increasing over time as its economy improved; the full amount to be paid, however, was left undetermined. Economic policy making in Berlin would be reorganized under foreign supervision and a new currency, the Reichsmark, adopted. In 1929, the committee, under the chairmanship of Owen D. Young, the head of General Electric and a member of the Dawes committee, proposed a plan that reduced the total amount of reparations
