World War I Begins

1. What are the four main causes of World War I? Give an example for each as to why it was a cause.

1. Nationalism-it often led to competitive rivalries between nations. Serbia was an independent nation which was made up of millions of Serbs who lived under the rule of Austria-Hungary. Russia regarded itself as the protector of the Slavic people and Serbs were considered to be Slavic. This resulted in Russia and Austria-Hungary becoming rivals for influence over Serbia.
2. Imperialism- as nations industrialized they continued to expand their power over by extending their economic and political control over various peoples of the world. It soon became into a competition.
3. Militarism- with an increased interest in nationalism and imperialism it led to increased spending on military. Nations competed to make better armies and especially navies to be more successful like the British.
4. System of Alliance- the alliances were used to provide a measure of international security because nations were reluctant to disturb the balance of power. A minor outrage could cause a major problem.

2. How did the June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand become the spark for WWI?

With all the alliances in a system when Austria-Hungary decided to declare war on Serbia, Germany had to back Austria-Hungary up because of a treaty the two had made earlier. Next Germany declares war on Russia. This inevitably forced Germany to declare war on Russia's ally France. After the British swore to protect Belgium, the German army attacked the country. Then Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary.

3. What happened within the first few months of fighting?

Within the first few months Germany came up with the Schleiffen Plan. It required holding action against Russia and a quick drive through Belgium to Paris. After France has fallen the two German armies would return and defeat Russia. Too bad this plan failed miserably.

4. Generally, why did the United States want to stay out of the war?

The United States wanted to stay out of war because it was not a threat to America. Also Americans saw no reason to get involved in a struggle 3,000 miles away.

5. Specifically, Why did the following groups of Americans tend to oppose U.S. participation in the war? Naturalized citizens; socialists; pacifists; parents.

Naturalized citizens didn't tend to necessarily oppose U.S. participation but they did follow the war closely. They felt some connection to the countries which they emigrated from so they sympathized for all these different nations. Socialists opposed U.S. participation because they thought the war to be a capitalist imperialist struggle between Germany and England to control markets and colonies in Africa, China, and the Middle East. Pacifists opposed U.S. participation because they believed it to be evil and that the U.S. should set an example of world peace. Parents opposed U.S. participation because they simply did not want their sons experiencing the horrors of warfare.

6. How did Germany respond to the British naval blockade of Germany’s ports? What was the U.S. response?

Americans responded in outrage and declared that it threatened freedom of the seas and prevented American goods from reaching German ports. Germany responded by a counterbloackade using U-boats.

7. What forced the United States into the war?

The German decision that their U-boats will sink all ships, hostile or neutral, in British waters on sight. This was after President Wilson called for peace.