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Imperialism
Imperialism is the act of a powerful nation or state that seizes territories outside their borders and decides to govern them as their own colonies. Many European nations were racing to build their empire. The British Empire was the largest at the time. Many countries fought over territory in Africa to try and increase the size of their empire. The Ottoman Empire also was deteriorating, which attracted many European powers. This caused imperial instability, leading to tensions rising in Europe. -
Nationalism
Nationalism was patriotism intensified. The tendencies of nationalists were to honor their country and their cultures and placed their interests above other countries. Nationalism was fuelled by newspapers, conquests and rivalry, and rhetoric. The expansion and flourish of the British empire sparked their nationalism. German nationalism was new idea and was encouraged as Germany expanded. Rising nationalism caused tension between European countries. -
Militarism
Militarism is the belief in a country among its people that military capability should be kept strong in case of the need to defend themselves. Between the years 1910 to 1914, military and army expenditure among European nations increased dramatically. The increase allowed the countries to improve their battleships and prepare more armies. The Entente powers had cooperative military discussions in secret. So, by 1914, all of the European powers were ready for war. -
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was planned by seven Bosnian Serbs as he and his wife, Sophie, travelled to Sarajevo. The first attempt to assassinate him that day was the first conspirator throwing a bomb at his car and missing. The second attempt was by another conspirator on their way home, shooting not only Ferdinand in the neck, but also shooting and killing Sophie. This attack angered Austria-Hungary so they declared war on Serbia, which then led to Germany declaring war on Russia. -
Germany's Blank Check to Austria-Hungary
The start of the blank check began when Austria-Hungary requested formal support from Germany in their risky venture to declare war against Russia. Austria-Hungary sent a representative to go and speak to Kaiser Wilhelm the Second to discuss Russia. The Kaiser did not believe that Russia would not repsond militarily. He believed they were not prepared for war. The Kaiser hoped to work things out diplomatically. But, he sadi that Germany would help fight off attackers if Russia did respond. -
WWI begins
WW1 began after Ferdinand was assassinated. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia, Germany delcared war on France, the United Kingdom declared war on Germany, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia, and Serbia declared war on Germany. The first battle of the war was in Tannenberg. This battle was fought between Russia and Germany. -
Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare
Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of warefare in which freighters and tanks are sunk without warning by submarines. The Germans used this tact for their naval warfare. This is what brought the Lusitania down. The United States broke off relations with Germany, once the latter implemented their submarine warfare once again. Germany argued that it was a war tactic and an aggressive defense. Once the Lusitania sank, the United States entered into World War 1 against Germany. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
The sinking of the Lusitania led to the United State's involvement in World War 1. The Lusitania contained 114 American passengers. As the ship was passing Ireland at 2:10pm, a German U-20 submarine fired a torpedo straight into her side. A second explosion occured of a mysterious orgin. Most passengers did not even have a chance to escape on the lifeboats. America had rising animosity towards Germany. The Germans said they would not sink without prior warning. -
Alliances
An alliance is essentially an agreement between two or more nations regarding military, economics, or politics. The two most important alliances in World War 1, were the Triple Entente formed in 1907 and the Triple Alliance formed in 1882. The Triple Alliance was formed between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. The Triple Entente was and alliance between Britain, France, and Russia. These alliances did not prevent war, they increased the likelihood of war by furthering militarised alliances. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The Zimmerman note was a factor that drew the United States into World War 1. A telegram that was deciphered by British cryptographers from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt. In the telegram, and offer stood that United States territory was being offered to Mexico in exchange for joining the German cause. After this incident, the United States formally declared war on Germany. -
US entry into the war
There were many reason why the United States decided to enter the war. The Zimmerman note was the last straw. United States declared war on German ally Austria-Hungary on December 7, 1917. The main reason why Wilson decided to enter the war was because of Germany's resumption of submarine attacks. As the United States entered the war, this clearly turned the tables in favor of the Allies, and turned the Axis to a defeated position. -
Effects of WWI
World War 1 ended on November 11, 1918. There were many effects of the war. The total amount of causualties of all countries included in the war was 37, 466, 904. The total amount of people that were killed in the war was 8, 528, 831. Also Europe's countries were rearranged and reformed. New nations in place of Austria-Hungary were Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia. Poland was reconstituted. The Ottoman Turks were able to retain the country of Turkey. -
Treaty of Versailles
The official end of World War 1 was declared by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles by the Allied Powers and Germany on June 28, 1919. Germany was forced to accept the blame, loss, and damage of the war. They were also to pay reparations worth $442 million dollars, disarm, as well as give up land to France. The German people felt pain and anger over the treaty, and they thought it was unfair. Germans lost pride over the debates of accpeting the treaty.Nationalism decreased among their people -
Dawes Plan and Young Plan
The Dawes Plan was a plan to collect the reparations from Germany from the war. Charles D. Dawes was an American banker who created a payment plan for Germany. The Young Plan was a plan for the second renegotiation of the Dawes Plan. The committee was run by Owen D. Young. He set up a system to handle the transfer of funds, but soon after the Great Depression occurred making it nearly impossible for Germany to pay. These plans affected the German Weimar Republic by causing hyperinflation. -
Great Depression
The Great Depression was the worst economic failure in the history of the United States of America. One of the causes of the depression was the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Just after two months of the crash, stockholders had lost more than $40 billion dollars. Bank failures was another cause becasue they were uninsured and people simply lost their savings. Also, people stopped purchasing products, causing a reduction in the workforce and a reduction of items produced. -
Rise of Hitler
Hitler rose to power with many different tactics. Many long-term factors included, exploiting the Weimar system through propoganda, resentment in the German people, his brilliant and inspiring speeches, and the fear his stormtroopers instilled. Hilter's voting numbers increased once the people realized that the Great Depression was ruining their lives. President Hindenburd then made Hilter the post of Chancellor.
