Transcript I. WWI

The Causes of WWI
Militarism
Alliances
Imperialism
Nationalism

WWI: The Great War
Causes
1.
Imperialism:
France, Great
Britain, Russia,
Germany
• Kaiser Wilhelm II
• Industrialization
 Germany can
compete
through “blood
and iron”
Kaiser Wilhelm II
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Kaiser Wilhelm II
Built up German army and
navy
Aggressive foreign policy
Determined to make
Germany a top nation.
Distrusted by other powers
“Germany must have
its place in the sun”
“The world belongs to
the strong.”
2. Militarism
• Define: build up of armed forces
1890: Germany has strongest military
Militarism
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Germany was competing
with the UK to build
battleships.
The British feared an
attack on their Empire
Germany was competing
with Russia and France
to expand their armies
3. Alliance System
•Triple Entente: France, Great
Britain, and Russia
•Triple Alliance: Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire
•Global security
 Balance of power
 Imperialism caused many
countries to form alliances
Alliance Structure

Alliances tested
 Archduke Franz Ferdinand
 June 28 1914- assassinated
 Black Hand-Serbian Nationalists
 Gavrillo Princip is the assassin
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July 28, 1914: Austria-Hungary declares
war on Serbia
• Russia is allied with Serbia
• Germany is allied with Austria-Hungary
August 1: Germany declares war on
Russia
• Russia is allies with France
August 3: Germany declares war on
France
• Great Britain is allies with France
• Great Britain immediately declares war
on Germany……..WWI has BEGUN!!!!
Nationalism + Imperialism=
Extreme hatred for other
nations
 Causes build-up of arms
 Battles of WWI begins
August 4, 1914
•Germany invades Belgium

Schlieffen Plan
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Hold off Russia, ATTACK France
• Start in Belgium, drive to Paris
Once France falls, German
forces focus on Russia
Trench Warfare: fortified
ditches
“No Mans Land”
Early fighting=stalemate
Britain’s Reaction
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1838- UK had signed a
Treaty to protect Belgium.
Britain also scared of
Germany controlling
Channel ports.
Did not want Germany to
defeat France and
dominate Europe. Britain
next?
UK issued ultimatum to
Germany to withdraw
troops from Belgium. War
declared August 4 1914
World War I Assignment
1. On a sheet of poster paper, create a poster
of the causes of WWI.
 Include key facts about each cause.
 Include key countries, individuals, and
vocabulary
 Use textbook and notes as a resource
 Use Coloring Pencils or Markers
2. On a sheet of poster paper, create a
timeline of the events preceding WWI.
 Include key countries, individuals,
vocabulary
 Include declarations of war and reasons
for those declarations.
Key Ideas of WWI
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Mobilization- The gathering and
movement of troops for war
Isolationism- A policy of nonintervention into intercontinental violence
Pacifists- Opposed war and violence as
a mean of diplomacy
Monroe Doctrine- Europeans were no
longer to interfere with American affairs
Protectionism- The theory of protecting
domestic markets by placing tariffs and
quotas on imports
American Neutrality
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1914- why fight?
Opposition to the war
• Sympathy for Germany
• Sympathy for Allies
 Germany=Imperial Bully
 Economics
U.S. enters the war
• British Blockade: prevent
contraband
Reasons we couldn't remain neutral:
1. Friendship with France and G.B.
2. British propaganda had large influence
3. Economic ties to European nations
• Allies depended on U.S. supplies
• Economic boom in the U.S.
 1916, he ordered a major defense buildup
 National Defense Act: called for a larger
army and a navy second to none
 most people still favored peace though
 Wilson campaign: “man who had kept the
nation out of war”
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German U-Boats
•Counter to blockade
•Any ship is fair game
No warning needed
•Lusitania: British liner
Sank by U-boat
128 Americans killed
Americans are furious
America still neutral: Wilson
wants peace
 1916: Germany breaks promise
•Sussex: unarmed French
passenger boat
Attacked by German U-boat
•80 people killed
 U.S. issues another warning
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Zimmermann Note: British
intercepts message
•Germany asks Mexico to
declare war on U.S.
•Mexico would gain Texas, New
Mexico, and Arizona
•U.S. enters war: make world
“safe for democracy”
..\World Civilization\Zimmerman
Telegram.doc
American war effort
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April 1917: U.S. officially in war
200,000 men in army----Draft or Recruit?
Selective Service Act: men required to
register for military
• Set minimum draft age of 18
• Resulted in 3 million draftees
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U-boat resistance
• Convoy System: merchant ships
provided defense
American troops fresh
Gearing up for War
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U.S. was short on supplies
Pres. Wilson created War Industries
Board to organize the country for war
• Increased production & controlled limited
resources
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Railroad Administration— organized all
RR lines into one network that serviced
the entire nation
Shipping Board— oversaw the building
of a merchant marine
Gained govt. support thru increased
taxes & war bonds
Feeding the Allies
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Food Administration Board— headed
by Herbert Hoover
• Controlled food production & distribution
• Top needs were wheat, pork, & sugar
• Americans were encouraged to cut back to
save cost
• Volunteered to participate in saving
techniques
• (Wheatless Mondays, Meatless Tuesdays,
Porkless, Thursdays & Saturdays)
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Children grew vegetables on playgrounds
People planted "victory gardens" in
their backyards
Wartime Propaganda
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Committee on Public Information- Wilson
• 75,000 men spoke around the country
• were called "Four Minute Men"
• War was fought for democracy & freedom
• Those criticizing the war were treated poorly,
sometimes beaten
Espionage Act (1917)—fines & jail sentences
for aiding the enemy or blocking recruitment
Sedition Act (1918)--punished those using
disloyal or abusive language about the
American govt., flag, or military uniforms
1,500 citizens lost their civil liberties
People were arrested for everything from
criticizing the draft & the Red Cross to
complaining about taxes
Replacement soldiers
•General Pershing: “old glory”
Separate army
 Russia drops out of war
 April 1918: U.S. independent
army
 New weapons: tanks, poison
gas, airplanes
•War is mechanized
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Germany collapses
•Mutiny amongst the soldiers
•Rebellion in Berlin
•November 11, 1918 at 11:00:
Germany surrenders
 26 million total deaths
•Russia- 9 million
•Germany- 7 million
•U.S.- 325,000
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Post-war
Fourteen Points
•II. Absolute freedom of
navigation upon the seas
•XIV. A general association of
nations must be formed
 League of Nations: provide
national security without war
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“Big Four”:
•Woodrow Wilson- United States
•Georges Clemenceau- France
•David Lloyd George- Gr. Britain
•Vittorio Orlando- Italy
“Make Germany pay”
Treaty of Versailles
•Germany must pay for war: $28
billion in total
German military:
•100,000 soldiers
•no airplanes
•no submarines
 War Guilt Clause: Germany
must take responsibility for
starting the war
 Humiliation---Adolf Hitler uses
Treaty of Versailles as a rallying
cry for Germany prior to WWII
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End of the War
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Treaty of Versailles- Made Germans
accept reparations (compensation to
cover war damages) worth 132 billion
gold marks = $28 Billion Dollars) Initial
sum of 50 billion gold marks was 330%
of national income from previous year
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Main cause for World War II
Opposition to treaty
•Too much imperialism
•Too harsh on Germany
 U.S. never ratifies Treaty of
Versailles or joins League of
Nations
 Opposition in Congress: Henry
Cabot Lodge
 November 11, 1918 @ 11 am
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•The date to end the war.
Changes in America
Industry jobs increase
•Wages increase
 Food conservation:
•“Victory Gardens”
 Women in workforce
 Civil liberties
•Espionage and
Sedition Acts
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U.S. Economics of WWI
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United States economy was in a
recession prior to 1914
Recession- Period of reduced
economic activity
United States economy improved
following start of war and the sale of
goods to Europe- Agriculture and
Industrial equipment
Following World War I, the United
States was member in the international
market
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Military:
1917: 200,000
1918: 4.5 million
 Total labor: 1916: 40 million
1918: 44 million
 Financing the war
•Raise taxes
•Borrow from public (war bonds)
•Print money (Uh-Oh!)
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Economic boom in 1920’s