I. World War I (1914-1918) – (The U.S. didn’t enter WWI until 1917.)

A. What were the causes of WWI?:

1. Imperialism –

a. What is imperialism? - European nations, the U.S., and Japan competed to

control colonies all over the world for trade and natural resources.

b. Imperialism started with the explorations of Christopher Columbus in 1492.

c. Imperialism led to many conflicts between many nations up to World War I.

2. Nationalism –

a. Nationalism is an intense loyalty to your nation and promotion of its

interests above all other nations; the belief that your nation is better than any

other nation. (you should also know about: “jingoism” – warlike

nationalism; using military force to promote your nations interests.)

a. France and Germany hated each other because they believed that their

nations were superior to all others.

b. Serbians in Austria-Hungary wanted to be independent and to join

the nation of Serbia.

3. European alliances – many European nations had alliances with other nations to

protect themselves from attack.

a. Triple Alliance – Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire (Turkey)

b. Triple Entente – Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, USA ( joined 1917)

4. Militarism – building up your nation’s military strength.

a. If one European nation increased its military strength, its rivals would

build up their strength too.

1) By 1900, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary and Russia had

created huge armies.

2) The United Kingdom (Britain) and Germany were in a competition

to create the world’s largest navy.

b. An “arms race” started as each nation tried to keep up with all the other

nations in Europe.

B. The War

1. What event caused World War I to start?

a. The assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary

is the event that started World War I.

1) Serbians who wanted to be independent from Austria-Hungary

assassinated Franz Ferdinand to show their opposition to

Austria-Hungarian rule.

2) Austria-Hungary threatened to invade Serbia which set off a series

of events that led to the beginning of World War I.

2. Who fought who in World War I?:

a. The war was fought between the “Triple Entente” ( also know as the

“Allied Powers” or “Allies”) and the “Triple Alliance” (also known as

the “Central Powers”)

“Allies” “Central Powers”

United Kingdom Japan Germany

France U.S. (1917) Austria-Hungary

Russia Italy Ottoman Empire (Turkey)

3. Important events from World War I:

a. U.S. Neutrality

1) From 1914 to 1917, the U.S. was “neutral” (did not take a side) in

World War I.

2) Why was the U.S. neutral at the beginning of World War I?

a) Washington’s Farewell Address (1796) – When President

Washington left the Presidency in 1797, he wrote an essay in

which he stated that the U.S. should avoid alliances with other

nations in order to avoid fighting in wars that the nation could not

afford to fight. Washington’s advice in the Farewell Address

became U.S. foreign policy from 1797 to the end of World War II

(1945)

b. Trench Warfare –

1) Because of the machine gun and improved artillery

fire, both sides dug trenches (a series of holes in the ground) to

protect their soldiers.

2) Eventually the trenches stretched from Switzerland to

the French coastline (English Channel).

c. Submarine Warfare – Germany used submarines (called “U-Boats”) to

attack ships bringing supplies to Britain and France.

d. War of Attrition –

1) World War I was a “war of attrition”.

2) In this type of war you fight until your nation can no longer support

the war; you fight until your nation runs out of men, weapons and

money.

e. Battle of Tannenberg (August 1914) –

1) The Russian army is was badly defeated by the German army at the

Battle of Tannenberg.

2) The Russians suffered many defeats in the war and eventually

surrendered to the Germans in March 1918.

f. Sinking of the Lusitania (May 1915) –

1) A German U-Boat (submarine) sank the British

passenger ship Lusitania killing over 1,000 people; including

hundreds of Americans.

2) Many Americans believed that he sinking of the Lusitania was

illegal because it was not a warship.

3) The sinking of the Luisitania led the U.S. closer

joining the Allies.

g. U.S. Neutrality Ends: U.S. joins the Allies (April 1917) – U.S. President

Woodrow Wilson tried to keep the U.S. out of the war, but the U.S. joined

the Allies in 1917.

1) What cause the U.S. to join the Allies????:

a) Sinking of the Lusitania

b) The Zimmerman Telegram (January 1917) – a telegram from

the German Foreign Minister (Arthur Zimmerman) to the

Mexican government in 1917.

(1) Germany offering to help if the Mexicans

if they attacked the U.S.

(2) The telegram was captured and printed in U.S. newspapers

h. Battle of Mesopotamia (July 1917-October 1918) – Arab forces led by

Prince Faisal bin Ali and British Major Thomas E. Lawrence (“Lawrence

of Arabia”) defeated Ottoman forces in the Middle East.

C. Results of World War I

1. New weapons – airplane, submarine, tank, machine gun, poison gas

2. Russian Revolution (1917) the Russians overthrow the King (Tsar Nicholas II)

and execute him.

a. Under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin they create the world’s first

communist nation: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR;

also called “Soviet Union”.

b. Communism was “invented” by a German philosopher named Karl

Marx.

c. communism – an economic and political system in which there is no

private property; all businesses, farms, homes are owned by the

government.

3. The map of Europe changed – many new nations in Europe; Poland,

Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Albania, Baltic States

4. The map of the Middle East changed -

a. New nations were created in the Middle East by Britain and France

out of the land that was once controlled by the Ottoman Empire:

Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Palestine

b. Ottoman Empire became Turkey.

c. Britain (which controlled Palestine) agreed to consider creating a

“Jewish homeland” in Palestine; this region is a historical and

religious home for Jews dating back to at least 1000 B.C..

5. Treaty of Versailles (1919) this treaty that ended WWI.

a. The treaty ended the war and blamed Germany for starting the war.

b. Germany was not allowed to have an army or navy.

c. Germany was forced to pay “reparations”; basically Germany had to

pay for the entire cost of the war (approx. $32,000,000,000 billion).

REVIEW Name:

World War I (1914-1918)

Instructions: Use the textbook and class notes to complete each section of this review.

Read the directions before beginning work on each section. Complete this assignment on a

separate sheet of paper.

Vocabulary: Provide complete definitions for each of the following terms

nationalism ethnic groups militarism

alliance system entente balance of power

jingoism propaganda autocracy

convoy front armistice

mobilization dissent socialist

pacifist espionage sabotage

imperialism

People: Explain why each of the following people were important during World War I.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Kaiser Wilhem II Arthur Zimmerman

Woodrow Wilson John J. Pershing Karl Marx

Vladimir Lenin Bolsheviks T.E. Lawrence

Prince Faisal bin Ali

Main Ideas: Use the textbook and class notes to answer each of the following questions

in a complete sentence.

1. List the four causes of World War I.

2. What event caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia in 1914 starting World

War I?

3. List the nations that made up the Central Powers in World War I.

4. List the nations that made up the Allied Powers in World War I.

5. List 2 events which caused the U.S. to enter World War I.

6. Congress created “The Selective Service Act” in 1917. What did this law do? 676

7. In 1918, Congress created “The Espionage Act”. What did this law do? 686

8. In 1918, Congress created “The Sabotage Act” and “The Sedition Act”. According to

these laws, what actions became a crime in the U.S.? Why did some Americans dislike

these laws? 686

9. World War I ended on November 11, 1918. After World War I, November 11 became

know as “Armistice Day”. In 1954, this holiday was renamed. What is the name of this

holiday today, and why do we have this holiday ? 681

10. List the 4 results of World War I.

11. List 4 new weapons that were used in World War I.

12. Why did Russia have a revolution in 1917? What type of government replaced the rule

of the Tsar?

13. How was the Middle East changed by World War I?

14. President Wilson’s plan for peace in Europe after World War I was is called “The

Fourteen Points”. Use page 689 to answer the following questions concerning

The Fourteen Points:

a. President Wilson’s Fourteen Points contained an idea known as “national self

determination”; define this term.

b. The Fourteen Points proposed a number of ideas for improving international

relations. One proposal was to promote free trade among nations. List 4 additional

ideas proposed by the Fourteen Points to improve international relations.

c. The Fourteen Points included a proposal to create “The League of Nations”. What

was the purpose of the League of Nations? Why did many Americans dislike the

League of Nations?

15. What is the Treaty of Versailles”? Why were many Germans angered by the Treaty of

Versailles?