World War I and The 1920s

1. World War I and The 1920s Imperialism

2. Imperialism • Imperialism is a policy by which one country takes control of another land or country. • Imperialists believed the United Stats should acquire overseas colonies to maintain a strong economy.

3. Imperialism and the United States • 1850s- Business leaders from the United States invested in sugar plantations in the Hawaiian Islands • 1893- The wealthy white plantation owners rebelled against Queen Liliuokalani, who opposed the increasing control of the owners. • 1890s- On February 15,1898, the U.S.S. Maine exploded while anchored in a Cuban harbor. Spain was blamed and the U.S. declared war. • 1904- President Roosevelt stated the new foreign policy of the U.S. called the Roosevelt Corollary.

4. Long-Term Causes of World War I • Nationalism- Belief in national unity and racial supremacy. • Imperialism- European nations searched for colonies during the 19th century because they produced more goods than they needed. • Military Expansion-Europeans maintained large standing armies in peace time in case of war. • Alliances- Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed the Triple Alliance. Great Britain, France, Russia and later the United States formed the Triple Entente or Allies.

5. Start of World War I • On June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand was visiting Bosnia. • Serbian Nationalists shot the Archduke and his wife. This event started WWI.

6. Battle Tactics and New Innovations • Both sides primarily used trench warfare. • A no man’s land lay between the opposing trenches. • When each side introduced machine guns and poison gas, the war turned especially deadly. • Another important development in the war was the airplane.

7. Causes of United States Involvement in WWI. • The people of the United States did not want to go to war. Officially the U.S. was neutral. • The U.S. sold military goods to the Triple Entente. • In 1917, Germany began sinking United States merchant ships in the Atlantic. • This was seen as a reason for immediate war.

8. United States Involvement in WWI. • By the time the U.S sent troops the Europe to fight on the western front, the war on the eastern front had ended. • The Russians signed a treaty with Germany after the Russian Revolution.

9. Costs of the war. • The combined costs to all nations fighting in the war was 186 billion dollars. • Over 20 million soldiers were casualties of the war. • An additional 10 million civilians died.

10. Consequences of the War. • In the event of future war all men in the U.S. between the ages of 21 and 30 were required by law to register for the draft. • In the treaty of Versailles(1919) the Germans reluctantly agreed that the war was entirely their fault. • When Adolf Hitler rose to power he used this bitterness to reclaim the achievements of Germany’s past.

11. The Roaring Twenties. • F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby. • Ernest Hemingway was regarded as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. • During the red scare the government arrested thousand of radicals.

12. Prohibition • 18th amendment outlawed the sale of alcohol. • This created speakeasies and bootleggers.