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Imperialism
Imperialism began around 1760, which was about the Europeans influencing other parts of the world in order to gain political power. The nations were in that process of engaging and colonizing other parts of the world. -
Militarism
German Militarism lasted around 1850 to the 1900s. Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Prussia in 1806, and in order to keep peace, they had to reduce their army to no more than 42,000 men. -
Nationalism
In Italy, around the 19th century, the nationalism was a revival. It was a political and intellectual movement that unified different states of Italy to a single state known as the Kingdom of Italy. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie was in June, 1914, in Sarajevo. They were shot by Gavrilo Princip who was one of a group of six assassins. The objective of the shooting was to stop Austria-Hungary's South Slav provinces and combine it to a Yugoslavia. -
Germany's Blank Check to Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary needed to make an alliance with Bulgaria because of the nation's closeness with Serbia and it's strong defender, Russia. The blank check marked a forceful moment in the events leading up to the outbreak of WW1 in 1914. -
Beginning of WWI
The war began because of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. It caused a diplomatic crisis which within weeks began a war and soon spread all over the world. -
Alliance
The Treaty of London was signed on April 26, 1915 in London. Its purpose was to gain the alliance of Italy against its former allies which was also the German empire and Austro-Hungary. -
The Sinking of the Lusitania
The ship sank because a german submarine fired on it and made it sink in about 18 minutes. About 1,200 people died leaving only 761 survivors. This sinking turned public opinion against germany and contributed to the American entry into WW1. -
Germany Resumes Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
The german commanders did not accept the passivity of the Lusitania, and made an aggressive choice of using a submarine. The navy stayed along the Western Front as a defense in 1917. -
The Zimmermann Telegram
The Zimmermann Telegram was a secret diplomatic communication system between Germany and Mexico when the U.S. was in World War 1 against Germany. Arthur Zimmermann helped generate support for the United States declaring war on Germany in April. -
The United States entry into World War 1
President Woodrow Wilson kept the United States neutral for two and a half years. American opinion toward Germany was negative because they saw the German Empire as a villain after the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915. So the U.S. declared war on germany on April 6, 1917, as well as on Austria-Hungary on December 7, 1917. -
After World War 1
The War killed more than 9 million soldiers, sailors, and flyers. Another 5 million civilians were killed with more countries involved. The total in direct costs was $186 billion and another $151 billion for indirect costs. This was the first war to use airplanes, tanks, long range artillery, submarines, and poison gases. After World War 1, there 7 million men permanently disabled. -
The Treaty of Versailles
This was one of the most important peace treaties that brought World War 1 to an end. The Treaty of Versailles ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. -
The Rise of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was a german politician who was part of the DAP, German Workers' Party, or NSDAP. The NSDAP, known as the Nazi Party, was an anti-Marxist political party formed during the post-World War I era. He rose to power in September 1919 and ended in March 1933 because the Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act that month. This Enabling Act of 1933 insured that Hitler could constitutionally work with dictatorial power without legal obligation. -
Dawes Plan and Young Plan
Dawes Plan was to solve the WWI reparations problem that Germany was had to pay. The Plan provided an end to the Allied occupation, and a payment plan for Germany's war reparations. The Plan solved an international crisis and the Young Plan was adopted in 1929 to replace it. The Young Plan reduced further payments of Germany's reparation sum of 132 billion by 20%. It divided the annual payment into 2 components; a part with one third of the sum and another part with two-thirds of the sum. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was a fall in stock prices that began on September 4, 1929, and became worldwide news with the stock market crash, or Black Tuesday. The Great Depression fell by 15% between 1929 and 1932. It had destructive effects on the rich and poor. The Unemployment in the U.S. grew to about 25% and in some other countries, it grew to as high as 33%.
