Chapter 9Section 1

Alliances

• In the late 1800s, Germany and France were bitter enemies.

German Alliance

• Germany joined Italy and Austria-Hungary in the Triple Alliance.

• This alliance alarmed Russian leaders because they feared Germany intended to expand eastward into Russia.

French & British Alliance

• France, Russia, and Great Britain formed the Triple Entente.

Militarism

• This system of alliances encouraged militarism—the buildup of armed force between Great Britain and Germany.

Imperialism & Nationalism • Nationalism is intense pride in one’s

homeland. – The main idea behind self-

determination is that people who share a national identity should have their own country.

• Imperialism led European powers to form empires.

• In Southeastern Europe the (Balkans) Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled the Balkans; national groups within these empires began to push for independence.– Example; Serbia granted

independence.

Murder

• Austria-Hungary took control of the nation of Bosnia to stop the Serbs from uniting with it. – The Serbs were angry.

• In June 1914, a Bosnian member of a Serbian nationalist group killed the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.

Russian Support

• Russia support the Serbian nationalist group that assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand because the Russians belonged to a similar ethnic group called the Slavs and supported their independence from the Austria- Hungarian Empire.

Start of WWI• Several nations became involved. • They formed alliances and

declared war. • The first (initial) countries

involved in World War I were Austria; Serbia; Russia; Germany; France

• Soon Great Britain joined because the German invasion route into France involved invading Belgium and the British guaranteed Belgium’s neutrality. – France France, Russia, Great

Britain, and Italy became the Allies.

Start of WWI

• Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria became the Central Powers.

• Eventually, both sides became locked in a stalemate in France.

• In Russia, the Germans and Austrians swept across hundreds of miles of land and took thousands of prisoners.

American Response

• As World War I began, President Wilson declared the United States neutral.

Who did the American support?

• However, many Americans supported one side or the other.

• Most Americans favored the Allies. • However, many Irish Americans sympathize

with Germany and the Central Powers because the Irish had ruled their homeland for centuries.

• Most of President Wilson’s cabinet supported the Allies, too.

Propaganda

• The British and Germans worked to win U.S. support by using propaganda or information designed to influence opinion.

Limiting our news

• Britain also cut the transatlantic telegraph cable from Europe to the United States.

• This limited the news about the war mainly to British communications.

• Although many reports were exaggerated, many Americans believed them.

Businesses Supporting the Allies

• Businesses also supported the Allies because they had ties with businesses in the Allied countries.

• America's prosperity intertwined with the military fortunes of Britain, France, and Russia because American banks had heavily invested in an Allied victory.

• If the Allies won, the money would be paid back. • If they lost, the money would be, too.

• Although most Americans did not want to enter the war, many events drew the United States into it.

• The British navy had blockaded Germany. • They stopped neutral ships to inspect them for

contraband, or prohibited materials, headed for Germany or its allies.

• In response, Germany respond to Britain's blockade by announcing that it would sink without warning any ships in the waters around Britain.

• Attacking civilian ships without warning was against international law.

Lusitania

• In May, the British passenger ship Lusitania, entered the war zone.

• A German U-boat—or submarine—sank the ship, killing nearly 1,200 people. About 128 were Americans.

Sussex Pledge

• President Wilson still tried to stay out of the war. • However, he did send notes to Germany telling it to stop

endangering the lives of civilians in war zones. • After a U-boat shot at the French passenger ship Sussex,

Wilson warned Germany to stop its submarine warfare or risk war with the United States.

• Germany did not want the United States to join the Allies and to keep the United States from breaking off diplomatic relations, they signed the Sussex pledge. – In the Sussex Pledge, Germany promised not to sink any

merchant ships without warning.

Zimmerman Note • In January 1917, a German

official named Arthur Zimmermann told the German ambassador to Mexico to ask Mexico to ally itself with Germany in case of war between Germany and the United States.

• Germany promise to Mexico in return for their support in the war, Mexico would get back the territory it once held in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Zimmerman Telegram

• The British intercepted the Zimmermann telegram.

• It was leaked to American newspapers.

• Many Americans now believed that war with Germany was necessary.

Last Straw…

• When Germany again began unrestricted submarine warfare, it was the event that finally drew the United States into the war

• February 1917, Germany sank six American merchant ships, Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany. – It did so on April 6, 1917.