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War Breaks Out in Europe
Chapter 24, Section 1
Key Terms
 Militarism – the belief that a nation needs a large military force
 Central Powers – an alliance of Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria
during World War I
 Allies – an alliance of Serbia, Russia, France, Great Britain, Italy, and seven other countries during
World War I
 Trench warfare – a kind of warfare during World War I in which troops huddled at the bottom of
trenches and fired artillery and machine guns at each other
 U-boat – German submarines used to block trade
 Woodrow Wilson – President of the United States when the war started in 1914; initially supported a
policy of neutrality
 Neutrality – refusing to take sides in a war
 Zimmerman telegram – a message sent in 1917 by the German foreign minister to the German
ambassador in Mexico, proposing a German-Mexican alliance and promising to help Mexico regain
Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona if the United States entered World War I
Additional Terms and People
• nationalism– pride in one’s nation or ethnic
group
• stalemate– deadlock
• propaganda– the spread of information
designed to win support for a cause
Bell Ringer
These questions focus on events leading to
World War I.
1. Look at the map on page 680. In what parts
of Europe did the early events take place?
2. Using the map, list the allies of Serbia, Russia,
and Austria-Hungary.
Chapter 23 Summary
Section 1: The United States Continue to Expand
In the late 1800s, the United States embraced
expansionism. America acquired Alaska from
Russia and then moved on to the Pacific. The U.S.
used military force to gain control of the islands of
Samoa and Hawaii. In Asia, the U.S. issued the
open door policy to preserve trade with China.
Chapter 23 Summary (continued)
Section 2: The Spanish-American War
The U.S. went to war with
Spain in 1898 to protect
American investments in
Cuba and prevent Spanish
re-concentration of the
Cubans. A quick U.S. victory
gave the United States an
overseas empire that
included the Philippines,
Puerto Rico, and the islands
of Guam and Wake.
Chapter 23 Summary (continued)
Section 3: U.S. Involvement Overseas
President Roosevelt arranged
the building of the Panama
Canal, linking the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans. Presidents
Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson
used different approaches to
foreign policy in order to assert
U.S. power in Latin America.
Objectives
• Discover the factors that led to the outbreak of
war in Europe.
• Find out why World War I was deadlier than any
earlier conflict.
• Learn how the United States moved from
neutrality to involvement in the war.
What were the causes of World War I?
In the early 1900s, several factors led to
rising tensions among European nations.
In 1914, these tensions erupted into the
largest war the world had yet seen.
The following factors caused tension in Europe.
Imperialism
Nationalism
Militarism
Alliances
Nations
competed for
trade and
territory.
A feeling of
pride, loyalty,
and
protectiveness
toward one’s
country.
Nations built
up their
armed forces.
Nations
promised to
aid one
another in
conflict.
The spark that set off the war occurred in
Sarajevo, Bosnia.
June 28, 1914
July 29, 1914
A Serbian nationalist
assassinated Archduke
Franz Ferdinand, heir
to the throne of
Austria-Hungary.
Austria-Hungary
declared war on
Serbia.
A painting from July 1914, depicts the
moment Serbian separatist Gavrilo Princip
shoots Franz Ferdinand and Sophie.
The alliance
system drew
more than 20
countries into
war.
Two sides
formed: the
Allies and the
Central
Powers.
Causes of World War I
 1. What were the underlying causes of World War I?
 Imperialism
 Nationalism
 Militarism
 Alliances
 2. How did the network of alliances make a small event dangerous?
 An attack on one nation forced all its allies to come to its aid. Any small conflict could become a larger
war.
 3.. What nations belonged to the Central Powers? To the Allies?
 Central Powers  Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria
 Allied Powers (Allies)  Serbia, Russia, France, Great Britain, Italy, and seven other countries (Romania,
Belgium, Portugal, Greece)
Fighting began in France. Both sides hoped for a
quick victory, but neither could gain an
advantage.
By early
September,
German forces
were within 30
miles of Paris.
French and
British troops
halted the
German
advance.
This deadlock, or stalemate, lasted for over
three years.
The stalemate was made worse by the use of trench
warfare.
Neither side could successfully cross no man’s land.
Central
Powers’
trenches
no man’s land
Allies’
trenches
They fought back and forth over the same land.
Stalemate in the Trenches
 4. What mistaken assumptions about the war did people make in its early
days?
 Most people (on both sides) thought it would be over within a few months.
 5. How did trench warfare differ from earlier forms of warfare?
 Battle lines remained largely unchanged – neither side could win a clear
victory.
 When troops left the trenches, they rushed into a hail of bullets and clouds of
poison gas.
Technological advances such as airplanes, tanks, and
machine guns made the war more lethal.
Poison gas was the most
feared weapon.
Gases caused blindness,
choking, and blisters.
In 1925, many nations
agreed to ban chemical
weapons in war.
A War of New Technology
 6. What new technology was used in World War I, and how did it affect the way
war was fought?
 The tank – could cross difficult terrain and smash anything in its path
 Machine guns – fired 600 bullets a minute
 Poison gas – burned and blinded soldiers
 Airplanes – shot down enemy planes, took aerial photography
 U-boats – German submarines which blocked trade
A British Mark V* tank— carries an unditching
beam on the roof that could be attached to
tracks and used to free itself from muddy
trenches and shell craters.
President Wilson proclaimed U.S. neutrality,
but not all Americans agreed.
Americans had ethnic
loyalties to one side or
the other.
Britain used
propaganda to win
American support and
exaggerated or made up
horrifying tales about the
Central Powers.
Many Americans began to take sides.
Even though the U.S. was neutral, they supported
the Allies by trading with them.
Central
Powers
United
States
Allies
Most American trade was already with the Allies.
Then, Britain set up a blockade of German ports.
Conflict grew between Germany and the United
States.
In 1915, Germany
sank the Lusitania,
killing 128 Americans.
The U.S. was able to
convince Germany not
to target neutral ships.
In 1917, Germany began targeting U.S. merchant ships
again, and the U.S. cut off diplomatic relations.
Events in 1917 finally led America to enter
the war.
Britain
intercepted the
Zimmerman
Telegram.
Zimmerman Telegram
Germany asked for
Mexico’s help in the
war.
The British
showed it to
President
Wilson.
In return, it would help
Mexico take U.S. lands.
America’s Path to War
 7. What factors suggest that Americans hoped not to be drawn into the war?
 Wilson remained neutral; many Americans were not in favor of the war
 “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier;” “Over There”
 German attacks started to shift public opinion
 Russian leader
 8. How did the sinking of the Lusitania affect U.S. public opinion?
 Because Americans died in the attack; because it was cruel to attack an unarmed passenger ship
 9. What events led President Wilson to ask for a declaration of war in April 1917?
 The sinking of the Lusitania, the Zimmerman telegram, additional American ships were sunk by
German submarines.
A revolution in Russia removed the final
obstacle to America’s entry into the war.
Russia’s tsar was a tyrant who opposed
democracy.
In March 1917, the tsar was overthrown.
The U.S. would not have to side with a tyrant to
join the Allies.
On April 2, 1917, President Wilson asked Congress
to declare war against the Central Powers.
Wilson’s goal was to fight
“…for the rights of nations
great and small and the
privilege of men
everywhere to choose their
way of life and of
obedience. The world
must be made safe for
democracy.”
Revolution in Russia
 10. What events in Russia forced Czar Nicholas II to give up his throne?
 Russian army was outfought by the Germans; Czar Nicholas II takes control himself,
but his poor leadership was blamed for more deaths.
 By 1917, there were food shortages and inflation, which led to strikes.
 11. Why did Russia withdraw from the war?
 The war had devastated Russia, so Lenin wanted to get out.
 12. How did Russia’s withdrawal affect the Allied war effort?
 It freed German troops to concentrate on the Western front.
Additional Clips
 Archdukes, Cynicism, and World War I: Crash Course World History #36
 HOW World War I Started: Crash Course World History 209
 Who Started World War I: Crash Course World History 210
 America in World War I: Crash Course US History #30