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Imperialism before World War 1
Imperialism is when a country takes over new lands or countries and makes them subject to their rule. By 1900 the British Empire extended over five continents and France had control of large areas of Africa. With the rise of industrialism countries needed new markets. The amount of lands "owned" by Britain and France increased the rivalry with Germany who had entered the scramble to acquire colonies late and only had small areas of Africa. -
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Militarism: Anglo-German Naval Arms Race
Between 1900 and 1914, Britain saw Germany as the biggest threat to their empire. This was largely due to Germany's leader Kaiser Wilhelm II, pursuing strong policies to build a German fleet. -
The Archduke is Assassinated
On June 28, 1914; Archduke Ferdinand of Austria Hungary and his wife Sophie leave their hotel in Sarajevo. As their convoy prepares to pull off three Serbians stop in front and attempt to throw a bomb at the Archduke and his wife. As the bomb misses, the Serbians are arrested and the couple proceeds to the city hall. En route to city hall the lead security cars detour in to an alley. As the Archduke's car is left, another Serbian dressed as a policeman shoots the couple killing them. -
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Alliances Form
As Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914; Germany declared war on Austria-Hungary. When Russian forces mobilized outside of Germany, the German government demanded Russia halt mobilization. When met with defiance, Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914. An ally to Russia, France ordered mobilization on that same day, leading them to declare war on each other on August 3, 1914. When Germany planned to invade Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914. -
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Aftermath of World War 1
In the wake of World War 1, the death toll was thirty-eight million, with seventeen million deaths and twenty million. Along with eleven million military personnel and seven million civilians. After the signing of the Treaty of Versailles nine new nations were created, Finland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The ocean liner "RMS Lusitania" sails from New York and is set to port in England. En route England, the liner is struck by a German U-boat torpedo. Sinking within minutes, the wreck killed 1,198 passengers with 128 being American -
Zimmerman Note
In January 1917, Germany sent the Zimmerman Note to Mexico. The note was Germany's proposal to Mexico, Intercepted by the British, the letter said if Mexico joined Germany in the war against America, Germany would help Mexico obtain land they lost in the 1800's including Texas and Arizona. -
Germany Resumes Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
After the sinking of the Lusitania, Germany justified their attack by stating there were munitions aboard. With the US agitated, we demanded Germany to warn ocean-liners, before they destroyed them. On January 31, 1917; after being pressured by issues in the country, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg went before the Reichstag and they announced the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare. -
America Enters World War 1
After Lusitania and the Zimmerman Note, on April 2 1917; President Woodrow Wilson sat down congress and discussed if they should enter the war. On April 4, 1917; the US Congress declared war on Germany -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918. The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles Palace near Paris, hence its title. This was between Germany and the Allies. The British and French government felt that Germany was directly responsible for World War 1 and demanded that Germany pay for war reparations. In the end, Germany lost most of their territories and had to pay one-hundred and thirty-two billion dollars in war reparations. -
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Dawes and Young Plan
The Dawes Plan was an attempt in 1924 to solve the W.W.1 reparations problem that Germany had to pay, which had surprised politics following W.W.1 and the Treaty of Versailles. It was an interim move and proved unworkable. The Young Plan was adopted in 1929. The Young Plan was a program for settling German reparations after World War I, written in 1929 and adopted in 1930. After the Dawes Plan, it became obvious that Germany wouldn't willingly meet the annual payments over a period of time. -
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The Great Depression
After World War 1, the demand for farmer grown products decreased leaving farmers with a surplus of produce. With debts rising and a lack of consumption, farmers suffered a depression before anybody else. On October 24, 1929 or "Black Thursday" the Dow Jones Industrial stock lost 120 points. With growing confidence of a crash, on October 29, 1929 or "Black Tuesday" the stock completely crashed. As investors flocked to get their money back, banks failed due to insufficient funds.
