THE ROAD TO WORLD
WAR I
Guided
Reading
Activity
Answers
IMPERIALISM
We have already
studied
Imperialism as a
foreign policy –
when a stronger,
more powerful
nation takes over
a weaker nation
either militarily
or economically.
But did you know
imperialism (and
colonialism, as
well) led to fierce
competition
between powerful
nations?
European powers
often found
themselves
desiring the
conquest of the
same places – and
this led to wars!
Closer to home,
you might
consider the
United States’ war
with Spain, which
took place
exclusively in
Spain’s colonies:
Cuba, the
Philippines, and
Puerto Rico, not
in the United
States or Spain.
IMPERIALISM CAUSED COMPETITIONS
FOR MILITARY STRENGTH: MILITARISM!
MILITARISM
Nations followed
a policy of
militarism – or
the glorification
of the military –
in order to
accomplish two
goals. First, they
sought to protect
themselves from
an enemy attack.
Secondly,
though, they
sought national
glory and
conquest – like
the takeover of
foreign nations.
Here, you can
see how
European powers
used military
force to take
control of – and
keep control of –
most of the
continent of
Africa. France,
England,
Germany, and
Italy controlled
much of Africa
until the 1960s.
NATIONALISM
Nationalism is
just pride in
one’s nation or
ethnic group.
It might be
compared to
patriotism in a
way. But when
groups of
people who do
not have a
p o l i t i ca l
country of
their own to
rule start to
demand their
own country, it
can lead to
major
c o n f l i ct s .
R e v o l u t i on s ,
e v e n ! A u s t ri a Hungary faced
just this
p r o b l em i n t h e
late 1800s and
early 1900s.
THE
AUSTROHUNGARIAN
EMPIRE
The AustroH u n g a ri a n
e m p i r e s u f f e re d
because of too
much
n a t i o n a l is m . I n
the empire,
there were
Austrians,
M a g y a rs ,
Bosnians,
Serbians,
Rumanians,
Croats, and a
host of other
ethnic and
national groups
who wanted
selfg o v e r n m en t , o r
their own
national
g o v e r n m en t s .
THE
BALKAN
PENINSULA
The Balkan
p e n i n s u la ,
c o n s i s ti n g o f
Greece, Albania,
Serbia, and a
p l e t h o ra o f
other national
groups who
sought selfg o v e r n m en t a n d
i n d ep e n d en c e ,
w a s c o n s i d er ed
the “powder
keg” of Europe.
Many people
b e l i ev e d t h e s e
groups would
someday fight
for
i n d ep e n d en c e
from colonial
r u l e rs .
MILITARY
ALLIANCES
Military
A l l i a n c es w e r e
defensive
agreements
c r e a t e d b e t w e en
nations in
w h i ch a n a t i o n
p l e d g ed t o
defend all of
the others in
the group in the
event that they
were attacked
by an outsider.
MILITARY
ALLIANCES
Not only did
m i l i t a ry
a l l i a n ce s c a u s e
s m a l l er w a r s t o
erupt into much
l a r g er c o n f l i c ts
rapidly, but
also, they led to
confusion.
Nations became
i n v o l v ed w i t h
w a r s w h i ch
often had little
to do with their
own national
s e c u ri t y o r
i n t e r es t s .
THE M.A.I.N. CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I
MILITARISM
ALLIANCE SYSTEMS
IMPERIALISM
NATIONALISM
THE TRIPLE
ALLIANCE
The three
nations in the
Triple Alliance
were:
 Germany
 AustriaHungary
 Italy
NOTE: Italy had
promised to
protect
Germany only
against French
invasion, and
did not join the
w a r e f f o rt
against England
and Russia.
THE TRIPLE
ENTENTE
The Triple
Entente –
entente is a
French word
meaning
“agreement” –
c o n s i s te d o f
these three
nations:
 France
 Great Britain
 Russia
EUROPE – 1914
THE SPARK
THAT SET
OFF THE
GREAT
WAR
The Archduke
Franz Ferdinand
and his wife
Sophie were
assassinated
during a parade
in Sarajevo. The
murderer,
Gavrilo Princip,
was a member of
a Serbian
Nationalist
organization
called The Black
Hand. AustriaHungary blamed
all of Serbia for
the murders, and
took revenge.
Franz’s dying
words to his wife
Sophie: “You
must live for the
children.”
WAR BETWEEN AUSTRIA AND SERBIA
 Gavrilo Princip, pictured to the
left, murdered the Archduke of
Austria-Hungary. The AustroHungarian Empire, led by
Emperor Franz Joseph soon sent
a list of demands to Serbia –
most of which were impossible
to satisfy – and threatened to
declare war on Serbia if they
were not met. Little did Austria Hungary know that tiny Serbia
had signed a secret treaty – a
defense alliance – with Russia,
the most populous and one of
the most powerful nations in all
of Europe. The war would
expand rapidly from here.
EUROPE AT
WAR, 1914
1. Austria-Hungary
invaded Serbia.
2. Russia declared
war on AustriaHungary. (Secret
Alliance with
Serbia.)
3. Germany
declared war on
Russia. (Triple
Alliance)
4. France declared
war on Germany.
(Triple Entente)
5. England
declared war on
Germany. (Triple
Entente)
6. Italy – divided –
begins to fight
France but then
quits the war –
only to later
support the Allies...
EUROPE AT
WAR 1914
The map to the
left shows the
t r a d i ti o n a l v i e w
of World War I
and its
p r i n ci p l e
combatants.
The Central
Powers:
Germany,
AustriaHungary,
B u l g a ri a , a n d
the Ottoman
Empire, are
s h a d ed i n
green. The
A l l i es –
England,
France, Russia,
and wishywashy Italy –
are shaded in
yellow.
STALEMATE ON THE WESTERN FRONT
The Battle of the Marne
The Western Front
TRENCH WARFARE
MURDEROUS WEAPONS OF WW I
The U-Boat
The Zeppelin
MURDEROUS WEAPONS OF WW I
Biplanes
Tanks
POISON GAS
CHLORINE GAS
 Chlorine gas and
other forms of poison
gas were first used by
the Germans at the
Battle of Ypres in
France. The weapon
was perhaps the most
feared of the entire
war, because of the
gruesome and painful
deaths caused by the
chemicals – soldiers
who inhaled the
poison gas would
suffer chemical burns
of the lungs, then
slowly drown as their
lungs filled up with
mucus and fluids.
GAS MASKS
Horses were
used during
World War I in
many
c a p a c i t i es , a n d
were still relied
upon heavily by
cavalry units,
s u p p l y c a r r i e rs
a n d a m b u l a n ce
s e r v i ce s . T h ey
d r a g g ed h e a v y
guns into
position, moved
men and
e q u i p m en t , a n d
l i t e ra l ly s a v e d
lives. Hence,
t h e y n e e d ed t o
be protected,
too!
THE MACHINE GUN
PRESIDENT
WOODROW
WILSON
President
Wilson asked
Americans to
stay neutral in
mind as well as
in action. By
following a
“strict and
impartial
neutrality,”
Americans
would be able
to stay out of
the war and
r e m a i n u n i f i ed .
Many
Americans
feared that the
millions of
GermanAmerican
i m m i g ra n t s i n
our country
could prove
d i s l oy a l .
WORLD WAR I: AMERICAN NEUTRALITY
Anti-German Propaganda:
Freedom of the Seas:
PROPAGANDA
Propaganda was produced
in the United States by an
organization known as the
Committee on Public
Information. Joseph Creel
was the leader of the
group. Propaganda, in
general, is information
designed to make a people
feel passionately about a
cause – often using
incomplete, exaggerated,
or dubious information.
BUSINESSMEN AND BANKERS TENDED TO
PREFER TRADE AND LOANS TO THE ALLIES .
Businessmen
Bankers
American Businessmen
attempted to trade with
both sides during World
War I from 1914 to 1917.
British blockades and
German U-boats,
however, took a toll on US
Trade.
American bankers had
loaned out millions and
millions of dollars to
European nations, most of
them to the Allied Powers.
After the war, some
people claimed that
American supported the
Allies just to win back
their money.
THE GERMAN BLOCKADE OF ENGLAND
Using their U-boats,
Germany established a
blockade around all of
England to prevent trade
between the US and
England. They sank any
trade vessels they could.
English naval vessels, in
turn, prevented any
trade between the
United States and
Germany.
THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA : MAY 7,
1915 OFF THE COAST OF IRELAND
GERMANY WARNED THAT THE LUSITANIA MIGHT BE SUNK – IT WAS
FULL OF WEAPONS. AMERICANS WERE OUTRAGED NEVERTHELESS.
AMERICAN PROPAGANDA MA KERS USED THE SI NKING OF
THE LUSITANIA TO E NCOURAGE THE WA R E FFORT.
WILSON MAINTAINS U.S. NEUTRALITY
“He
Kept Us
Out of
War.”
THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM
In the Zimmermann
Telegram, German Secretary
of State Arthur
Zimmermann suggested that
Mexico should attack the
United States. His hope was
that if the US was occupied
at home by a domestic war,
they could not enter the war
with Germany. In return,
Zimmerman promised, they
would help Mexico win
back the land it had ceded
to the United States in the
1848 Treaty of GuadalupeHidalgo.
THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
In March 1917, the Tsar Nicholas II
and the Romanov dynasty was
overthrown by Revolutio n. The
family had fallen under the “spell” of
Rasputin – “the mad monk” – who
had the mysterious ability to control
Alexei’s - the heir to the throne’s hemophilia. The Romanov’s were
initially overthrown by democratic
reformers led by Alexander
Kerensk y. The new government – an
elected Duma with Kerensk y as
president - remained in power for
just six months . The Bolshevik s, a
brutally violent communist
organiz ation, would take over the
country just six months later,
murdering the Romanov family and
establis hing a totalitarian regime
which would last for seventy years.
TSAR NICHOLAS II AND THE ROMANOVS
THE RISE OF BOLSHEVISM AND THE USSR
Promising “Land, Bread, and
Peace,” the Vladimir Lenin
and the Bolshevik Party
took over Russia in October
of 1917. The Bolsheviks
would fight a bloody Civil
War, take power, and
establish a ruthless
dictatorship which murdered
millions as it established a
nationalized Communist
dictatorship. The Romanov
family was murdered in 1918.
THE COMMUNIST PARTY
WORLD WAR I: “TO MAKE THE WORLD
SAFE FOR DEMOCRACY”
Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against the Central
Powers in April of 1917, immediately after the Tsar had been
overthrown and replaced by the democratically elected Duma.
Wilson gave the United States several reasons to fight in World War
I:
World War I would be a war for “Freedom of the Seas.”
World War I would be “A War To End all War.”
World War I would be “A War to Make the World Safe for
Democracy.”
Since Russia was now democratic as well, all of the Allies – Great
Britain, France, Russia, and now the United States – were democratic
governments.