WH.H.7
“The Great War”
How did it get this far?...
WH.H.7:
Understand how national, regional, and ethnic
interests have contributed to conflict among groups
and nations in the modern era.
Focus Question:
How did international competition and nationalism increase
tensions in Europe?
Generalizations:
• World conflicts can cause domestic priorities to shift.
• Nationalism may have both a positive and negative
impact on a nation as well as the global environment.
• Idealism often wanes in the face of conflict.
Essential Questions:
• How did the Industrial Revolution lead to Imperialism?
• What were the European motives for imperialism during
the 19th century?
• What were the positive and negative effects of
nationalism?
• How did militarism, alliances, imperialism, and
nationalism help lead to World War I?
WORLD WAR I
REMEMBER THE
M.A.I.N.
CAUSES!!!!
MILITARISM
•
•
the process of building up
military strength for the
purpose of intimidating
other countries
If one nation builds up its
military, then all others
must do so as well
THE ALLIANCE SYSTEM
BY MAKING AGREEMENTS TO FIGHT ALONG
OTHER COUNTRIES MEANT THAT ANY
DISPUTE FROM DIFFERENT ALLIANCES
THREATENED TO BRING ALL COUNTRIES
INTO CONFLICT
Confusing (& secret) alliances
• 1882: Germany allied
with Austria & Italy
• 1894: France allied with
Russia
• 1904: Britain allied with
France
• Germany secretly allied
with Ottomans
• Britain secretly allied
with Japan
IMPERIALISM
THE COMPETITION FOR RESOURCES,
COLONIES, EMPIRE, AND WORLD POWER
WAS CREATING RIVALRIES AND
HOSTILITIES BETWEEN NATIONS!!!!
NATIONALISM
• Nationalism = intense pride in one’s own
country or nationality
• European states became more concerned
with their own interests than with
maintaining the peace that had held for
close to 100 years
Nationalism
FANATICAL PATRIOTISM
TOWARDS ONES HOMELAND
AND NATION THAT LEADS
TO CONFLICTS,
DECLARATIONS OF
INDEPENDENCE, AND
INCREASED TENSIONS
AMONGST EUROPEAN
NATIONS
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
• 1863 – 1914
• Nephew of Austrian
Emperor Franz Joseph &
heir to the throne of
Austria
• Married Countess Sophie
who was beneath him in
station, essentially giving
up his rights to the throne
• Sent on an official state
visit to Sarajevo in the
Austrian-held province of
Bosnia
Assassination
• June 28, 1914
• Franz Ferdinand and his
wife were assassinated
by a Bosnian nationalist
• Austria demanded that
Serbia, who had
supposedly supported
the assassins, turn over
anyone who was
involved in the plot
When Serbia refused, Austria declared war
Russia enters the war
• Russia, which
supported a policy of
Pan-Slavism (unity of
all Slavic peoples),
demonstrated its
support for Serbia by
declaring war
on Austria
Germany, under
their monarch
Kaiser
Wilhelm II,
sided with
Austria
France was allied with Russia
Germany invaded neutral Belgium to
position themselves to attack France
Britain, who was allied with Belgium,
declared war on Germany
The Two Sides of WWI
• “The Central Powers”
• Germany, Austria, & the Ottomans
• Later called… Triple Alliance
• “The Triple Entente”:
• Great Britain, France, & Russia
• Later called… The Allied Powers
The U.S. & The War
Woodrow Wilson
• 1856 – 1924
• 28th President (1913 – 21)
• A pacifist, he supported US
neutrality (taking no sides)
and isolationism (avoiding
foreign conflicts)
• His Secretary of State, William
Jennings Bryan, was also
dedicated to neutrality
Americans Take Sides
• Some were pro-Germany:
German immigrants, Irish
immigrants (who were more
anti-British)
• Pro-British:
▫ most Americans identified with
Britain because of having same
language & culture
• US businesses traded heavily
with Britain, US banks had
loaned Britain over $2 billion
(had only loaned $27 million to
Germany)
German U-boats
• Germany attempted to
prevent Britain & France
from obtaining supplies
from overseas by using
submarines to attack
shipping
• Feb. 1915: Germany
announced unrestricted
submarine warfare in
the waters around Britain –
any ships could be
attacked without warning
The Lusitania
• May 7, 1916: German U-boat
attacked and sank the British
passenger liner Lusitania,
killing nearly 1200 civilians,
including 128 Americans
• Wilson responded by warning
Germany that it had a
responsibility to protect noncombatants or risk war with
the US
The Sussex Pledge
• After a 2nd attack in March 1916
that injured Americans aboard the
French ship Sussex, Wilson issued
a sterner warning to
Germany
• Germany did not want the US to
enter the war, so they promised to
stop attacking merchant ships
without warning
• Wilson, who did not really want to
enter the war, used the so-called
Sussex Pledge as a political
tool for getting re-elected
Election of 1916
• Wilson won re-election on
the slogan “He kept us
out of war!”
• Isolationists’ numbers
were dwindling though as
the war in Europe grew
more intense and US
interests were threatened
The Zimmermann Telegram
• January 1917: German
Foreign Minister Arthur
Zimmermann sent orders to
the German ambassador in
Mexico to offer Mexico an
alliance with Germany
• Germany would help
Mexico reclaim Texas,
California, and the
Southwest if Mexico
could keep the US
occupied and out of the
war in Europe
Zimmermann Telegram Backfires
• Zimmermann’s note
was intercepted by the
British and published
in US newspapers
• Most Americans
were enraged and
began to demand
war
Germany’s New Plan
• Germany decided they needed to
end the war before the US could
mobilize
• Feb. 1, 1917: resumed
unrestricted submarine
warfare in the hopes they could
force a quick British surrender
• Began to attack US merchant
ships without warning,
prompting Wilson to take action
US Declares War
April 2, 1917: Wilson appeared before
Congress and asked for a
declaration of war against Germany
The Senate approved war by a vote of 82 to 6,
the House by a vote of 373 to 50
-In his speech, Wilson said, “The world
must be made safe for democracy. Its
peace must be planted upon the tested
foundations of political liberty. We have no
selfish ends to serve. We desire NO
conquest, no dominion.”-(imperialism!)