WWI
1914-1918
CAUSES OF WWI
►Competition
for land and power
►Growing sense of Nationalism
►Creation of alliances
►Militarism
TWO MAIN ALLIANCES
► CENTRAL
POWERS
 Germany
 Austria-Hungary
 Bulgaria and Turkey
► ALLIED




POWERS
Great Britain
France
Russia
Belgium and later Italy (also Serbia, Romania,
Albania, Montenegro, Greece and Portugal)
MAJOR EVENTS:
ASSASSINATION OF ARCHDUKE
FRANZ FERDINAND –
► Heir
to the Austrian
throne
► Visited Serbia with wife
Sophia
► Was assassinated by
members of Serbian
terrorist organization
► Sparked WWI
DECLARATIONS OF WAR
► Austria-Hungary
declared war on Serbia and
began an invasion – July 28, 1914
► Russia (allied w/ Serbia) ordered mobilization of its
troops – July 28-29
► Germany (allied w/ Austria-Hungary) responded
by declaring war on Russia and attacked France
(Russia’s ally) thereby declaring war with them as
well – Aug 1 and 3
► Great Britain declared war on Germany – Aug 4
CHARACTERISTICS OF WWI
► Government
propaganda
► Fought on two fronts
► Trench Warfare
► Use of airplanes
► New weapons (machine guns, poison gas,
etc.)
► Unrestricted submarine warfare (U-boats)
► TOTAL WAR
THE U.S. JOINS THE WAR
► The
U.S. had maintained a policy of
isolationism, which kept the it out of the
war for 3 years
► The U.S. joined the war in 1917
 Angered by the use of unrestricted
submarine warfare (sinking of unarmed
civilian vessels)
 Zimmerman Note – offer to Mexico to
give them U.S. lands if Mexico joined the
war and attacked the U.S. (intercepted by
U.S. intelligence)
LAST YEAR OF THE WAR
► U.S.
involvement gave the allies the upper
hand
► In July of 1918, Germany was pushed back
to the German border
► In November, the Kaiser abdicated
► November 11, 1918 the Germans signed an
armistice (agreement to end the war)
THE WAR AT HOME
► The
Selective Service Act – registered
American men for the draft
► The War Industries Board – controlled
industrial production (government spending
increased rapidly between 1916 and 1918)
► Espionage and Sedition Acts – targeted
socialists and labor leaders (made it a crime
to criticize the war effort)
► Women and African-Americans filled the
jobs of almost 2 million men that fought in
Europe
AMERICAN HEROES
► General
John J. Pershing – led the American
Expeditionary Force (instrumental in the
Battle of Argonne Forest)
► Alvin York – won the medal of honor for
bravery and his capturing of many German
troops
THE PEACE AGREEMENT
The Paris Peace Conference
Excluded the Central Powers
The Big Three – U.S., Great Britain, France negotiated the
peace
The Peace of Paris
Five separate peace treaties
THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES (most important)
Germany was punished harshly
 lost land
 military restrictions
 payment for war damages
Establishment of the League of Nations
EFFECTS OF WORLD WAR I
► European
boundaries changed
► European monarchies ceased to exist
► Political and Social disarray
► Genocide of Armenians and other ethnic
groups
► Millions lost their lives
► Hardships placed on Germany gave rise to
political changes and the eventual takeover
by Hitler
Europe – before and after WWI
In 1914
In 1921
Germany’s Territorial Losses:
A new independent Poland was
created. Germany lost territory to
France and Poland, as well as all
of its overseas colonies.
Austria-Hungary and Turkey:
The Austro-Hungarian Empire
was divided into several new
national states. Turkey lost its
territories in the Middle East
THE PEACE TERMS ENDING WORLD WAR I
Punishing Germany:
Germany lost its navy, while its
army was reduced to a small
police force. Germany was forced
to accept blame for starting the
war in the “war Guilt Clause” and
was required to pay huge
reparations (payments for
damages) to the Allies.
League of Nations:
The Treaty created the League of
Nations, an organization of
nations pledged to defend each
other against aggressors. The
League was severely weakened
when several major powers, such
as the United States and Russia,
failed to join it.
Activity: Read the articles below from the Covenant of the
League of Nations and answer the question that follows.
• Article 10. The members of the League undertake to…preserve against external
aggression the territorial integrity and political independence of all members.
• Article 11. Any war or threat of war, … is hereby declared a matter of concern to
the whole League, and the League shall take any action that may be deemed
wise to safeguard the peace of nations.
• Article 12. Members of the League agree that, if there should arise a dispute
likely to lead to a rupture, they will submit the matter … to the Council, and they
agree in no case to resort to war until three months after a report by the
Council. The award of the arbitrators or the judicial decision shall be made
within a reasonable time.
Based on these articles, how did the authors of the Covenant believe the League
could prevent future wars? ______________________________________________
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Germany’s Territorial Losses:
Austria-Hungary and Turkey:
THE PEACE TERMS ENDING WORLD WAR I
Punishing Germany:
League of Nations:
THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES
In 1919, for the first time, the U.S. Senate rejected a peace treaty. The Senate failed
to reach its required two-thirds majority when just 39 of 55 senators voted for the
treaty. Though President Woodrow Wilson had personally negotiated the treaty
following World War I along with his idea for a League of Nations, the Senate could
not agree. “Reservationists”, led by Henry Cabot Lodge, would only approve the
treaty if certain reservations or alterations were adopted, while the “Irreconcilables”
opposed it in any form. This expressed the view of many former American leaders,
including George Washington – that the United States need not “entangle our peace
and prosperity in the toils of European ambition”
The United States never ratified the Treaty of Versailles, nor did it join the League
of Nations. However, in 1921, Congress approved resolutions that formally ended
hostilities with both Germany and Austria-Hungary.
If you were a senator in 1919, would you have voted for the Treaty of Versailles?
Would you have voted to join the League of Nations? Explain your answers.
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