Causes of World War I

1. Causes of World War I

2. 4 Causes of WWI • Militarism • Alliance System • Imperialism • Nationalism • MAIN

3. Militarism • Most of the countries involved in WWI began to strengthen their arsenals. • The build up of weaponry gives countries more machinery and technology in case they are threatened. • New weapons are introduced during this period. (airplanes, machine guns, poisonous gases, tanks, grenades etc..) • All countries including the United States began to really strengthen their military and competition began to take hold.

4. Alliance System • Having existing alliances is a very scary thing before a war breaks out. • Triple Alliance (Central Powers) – Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire and Italy • Triple Entente (Allied Powers) – Great Britain, France, Portugal, Italy, Russia, Serbia • United States will enter the war with the Allied Powers in 1917.

5. Imperialism • Quest for Africa – 50 of the 52 nations in the continent of Africa were overrun • Major players that include: Great Britain, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium and Italy exploited and extracted valuable resources out of the African countries. • This attitude and quest by these countries created an atmosphere of hostility between the European conquerors. • Many wars were fought for control of these countries. (The Boer War 1899-1902, The Battle for Fashoda)

6. Nationalism • With the acquisition of new lands, and new resources, the people begin to take pride in their country. • This overwhelming feeling of pride in one’s own country is called nationalism or patriotism. • Sometimes this causes country’s to prematurely act out of pride rather than smarts.

7. Archduke Franz Ferdinand and His Lovely Wife Sophia

8. Assassination of Franz Ferdinand

9. Gavrilo Princip • Killed Franz Ferdinand and his wife • Member of Serbian nationalist group: The Black Hand • Upset at Austria -Hungary for colonizing Serbia

10. The Spark that Ignited the Fuse Militarism spark! AllianceSystem Imperialism Nationalism MURDEROF ARCHDUKEFERDINAND AND HIS WIFE SOPHIA When Austrian King Archduke Ferdinand was killed by a Serbian terrorist organization, WWI could not be avoided! World War I Begins 1914-1918

11. Good Morning/Afternoon • 1-18-11 • Warm-up • Turn to Page 356 The Menin Road, by Paul Nash. 1. Describe as many things as you can from the painting. 2. Pretend you are a soldier in this war. What dangers might you face?

12. Austria-Hungary’s Response • They are enraged-they want war-they want to crush Serbia once and for all • They call on Germany for help • German Kaiser Wilhelm II gives them a “Blank Check” of blind support • Austria-Hungary issues a series of ultimatums to Serbia

13. They gave Serbia 48 hours to comply • This was not enough time for Serbian government to agree or disagree-Austria-Hungary saw this as rejection • July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia

14. The Alliance System Domino-Effect • Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia • Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary • France declares war on Austria-Hungary • Germany declares war on France and Russia • Great Britain declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary

16. Class assignment • 1. For each letter in the word MAIN create a symbol that shows its meaning. • 2. For each letter of the word MAIN include a one sentence explanation. • 3. Complete WWI Affects Slide questions