Download Chapter 9 Section 1 The United States Enters World War I

Chapter 9, Section 1
The United States Enters World War I
World War I Begins
 Big Ideas:
A network of alliances, nationalism, and
militarism set the stage for World War I.
World War I Begins
• For centuries the “Great
Powers of Europe” were
obsessed with
maintaining a balance of
power, but with the
creation of Germany in
1871, the balance was
upset.
• France felt vulnerable.
• Germany’s growing navy
worried the British.
Militarism & Alliances
• After losing the territory of Alsace
and Lorraine to Germany in 1871,
France began to rely on Russia as
an ally to keep the Germans from
taking more.
• The Russians looked towards
expanding their influence in the
Balkans where there were Slavs,
Croats, and Serbs.
• Russia had a dream of uniting all
Slavic people.
• There were also Slavs, Serbs, and
Croats in Austria-Hungary, an ally
of Germany, and the Russians
encouraged them to rebel.
Militarism & Alliances
• The system of alliances encouraged
militarism: the build-up of armed
forces to intimidate or threaten other
nations.
• In Germany the military was the
dominant social class.
• The Kaiser always appeared in
military uniform with the rank of All
Highest Warlord.
• Germany’s naval ambitions forced
Britain to back her traditional rivals,
France & Russia.
• Germany also surpassed Britain in
the production of steel and coal.
Imperialism & Nationalism
• Nationalism, a feeling of intense
pride in one’s homeland became a
powerful idea in the late 1800s
and early 1900s.
• Nationalism fueled the
competition between nations as
each thought of their culture as
being superior to all others
• Nationalism, being incompatible
with imperialism, also
encouraged dominated
populations to seek
independence.
Imperialism & Nationalism
• Nationalism became a serious
issue in the Balkans, a
southeast region of Europe.
The weak Ottoman Empire was
losing its grip on the area.
• Serbia was the first of the
nations to achieve
independence from the
Ottomans and they
encouraged the unification
of Slavic peoples, many of
whom lived in AustriaHungary.
• Austria-Hungary worked
against this plan, while Russia
encouraged it.
Assassination Brings War
• In order to curb Slavic nationalism
in the Balkans, Austria-Hungary
annexed the nation of Bosnia
from the Ottoman Empire who
had ruled the region for 400
years.
• The annexation of Bosnia
infuriated Serbians.
• In June 1914, the heir to the
Austrian-Hungarian throne,
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his
wife were shot to death as their
motorcade passed through the
streets of the Bosnian capital of
Sarajevo.
Assassination Brings War
• The assassin, 19-year-old Gavrilo
Princip, was a member of the Serbian
nationalist group “The Black Hand.”
• The Serbian government hoped it
would start a war that would bring
down the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• They knew the Russians would back
them.
• And the Russians knew the French
would support them if they went to war.
• The Austro-Hungarians issued an
ultimatum that would place Serbia
under its authority.
• They knew full well that it would
probably lead to war, so they first got
the ‘okay’ that Germany would back
them up.
Assassination Brings War
• On July 28, 1914, the Austro-Hungarian government declared war on
Serbia.
• Russia mobilized its troops.
• The Serbs expected Russia to keep Germany busy long enough to allow
them to take Bosnia.
• On August 1st, Germany declared war on Russia.
• August 3rd Germany declared war on France.
Assassination Brings War
• The Germans knew that backing
Austria would lead to war, but it
was a war they expected to win.
• However, they were counting on
the Brits to remain neutral.
• Russia could not let Serbia fall or
they would give up their goal of
uniting the Slavs, and probably end
up with a revolution at home.
• If France let the Germans beat
Russia, the French would become
a 3rd rate power under the thumb
of the Germans.
Assassination Brings War
• The Schlieffen Plan called for
German troops to march through
Belgium in order to flank the
French and close off the coastal
ports to any possible British
reinforcements.
• Belgium was neutral, but they
declared war on Germany when
the Germans invaded.
• The British had previously
guaranteed to protect the
neutrality of Belgium.
• In order to solidify their authority
over the Belgians, the German
troops captured and executed
5,000 civilians.
Assassination Brings War
• The British could not allow
German aggression to go
unchecked. The British people
demanded action; Great Britain
entered the war.
• The Triple Entente, known as The
Allies, comprised France, Russia,
& Britain. –Italy joined in 1915.
• The alliance of Germany, AustriaHungary, & the Ottoman Empire
became known as the Central
Powers.
The Schlieffen Plan Fails
• The Germans hoped for a quick
victory over France so they could
reinforce their eastern borders
against the Russians.
• The Belgians fought back and
slowed the German advance.
• Also, the Russians mobilized
faster than expected and invaded
Germany.
• The Germans were within 30
miles of Paris, but were stopped
at the Battle of the Marne.
• In the East, the Germans
advanced into Russia scoring
multiple victories.
America Declares War
 Big Ideas: President Wilson
campaigned on keeping America
neutral, but it was becoming more and
more difficult to remain so.
America Declares War
• While the President declared the
US to be neutral, the public
discussed the war in Europe openly
and chose to support one side or
another.
• Some saw Britain as a natural
enemy of the US.
• The large population of Irish
immigrants in the US favored the
Central Powers.
• However, many Americans
remembered France as a helpful
ally during the American
Revolution and were disgusted by
stories of atrocities committed by
the Germans occupying Belgium.
America Declares War
• Wilson’s advisors, except William
Jennings Bryan, supported the
Allies.
• They feared an upset in the
balance of power should
Germany win the war.
• The British used propaganda to
influence US public opinion.
• They even cut the telegraph
line from the US to Europe so
that England would be the
sole supplier of war news to
the US.
America Declares War
• American business supported the
Allies.
• With the British controlling the
seas, the Allies were the easiest
customer for US weapons.
• American banks bet on American
involvement and an allied victory,
and loaned billions of dollars to
the British and French.
America Declares War
• The British searched ships heading for Europe to ensure that they
were not bringing contraband –items that would aid the German
war effort.
• The Germans also wanted to stop their enemies from receiving
shipments of food and materials.
• With the Brits in control of the ocean’s surface, the Germans
controlled the region beneath the waves using submarines (U-Boats).
America Declares War
• The use of unrestricted
submarine warfare angered
President Wilson.
• In 1915, Germans sank the
British cruise ship Lusitania,
killing 1,200 (128 Americans).
• Germany issued a promise, the
Sussex Pledge, that they would no
longer sink merchant ships
without warning.
• The Germans did not want the US
to enter the war.
• The US stayed neutral and
Wilson’s pledge of neutrality
earned him a narrow reelection.
America Declares War
• The American public ceased their
efforts to be neutral when a
memo, the Zimmermann
Telegram, was leaked.
• In the Zimmerman Telegram, the
Germans said they would help
Mexico take back Texas, New
Mexico, and Arizona if they
joined the war against the US.
• Also, in the beginning of 1917,
the Germans resumed
unrestricted submarine warfare.
• They felt that they could starve
the Brits into surrender before
the US could organize an
offensive.
America Declares War
• President Wilson addressed
Congress and asked for a
declaration of war against
Germany.