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WWI: Part 1Causes and Why America Joined the
Triple Entente
Background By 1914, Europe was ripe
for war
There were several forms of “ammunition” that had been developing for years
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand = the “trigger”
Assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand June 1914
Archduke Franz Ferdinand visited the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo
While visiting, the archduke was shot by Gavrilo Princip Serbian nationalist
Member of the Black Hand organization
The assassination sparked “The Great War”
Forms of “Ammunition”
Nationalism
Extreme pride, devotion and love that people feel for their country or culture
Led to competition for power among countries
The Balkans – home to a lot of nationalism The Ottoman Empire, which had ruled the Balkans for
hundreds of years was starting to fall apart during the 1800s
The Austro-Hungarian Empire saw this as an opportunity to expand and began to push themselves and their power into the region
Many Slavic peoples there, such as the Serbs, did not like the control of these outsiders
Forms of “Ammunition”
Imperialism
Growing nationalism also led nations to compete for oversees colonies
Colonies provided markets and rich natural resources
Forms of “Ammunition”
Militarism
The world soon also saw the rise of militarism
In 1900 Germany began to build a navy that could help them compete for colonies
They also enlarged their army, supplying it’s troops with the latest weapons
Aware of Germany’s growing supply of weapons, Great Britain, France and Russia worried about Germany’s intensions
Each country began to build its own military in order to defend itself should war break out
Forms of “Ammunition”Alliances
For protection, some nations formed alliances or partnerships
believed to created a balance of power
Germany formed an alliance with Austria-Hungry and Italy
This alliance = The Triple Alliance
Fearful of Germany’s growing power, France, Russia and Great Britain formed an alliance
This alliance = The Triple Entente
Why America Joined the Triple Entente
Propaganda
A form of communication that tries to influence an audience toward a cause or position
It is bias
It is presented in order to gain an emotional instead of a rational response from its audience
Britain had a lot of effective propaganda and they used it to persuade America toward their side
Many of the American people also cared about their “mother country”
Why America Joined the Triple Entente
Economic Ties
During the beginning of the war, Britain had established a trade blockade against Germany
This made US trade with the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungry, Italy) limited and trade with the Entente (Great Britain, France, Russia) more dominant
Because America traded more with the Triple Entente, they had more of an investment in their success during/after the war
Why America Joined the Triple EntenteSubmarine Issue
Germany saw the submarine as a useful weapon against the British blockade and announced that it would begin sinking British, French and Russian ships in war zones
1915-Germany sunk the Lusitania (a British passenger ship) without warning, which happened to have neutral Americans on board President Woodrow Wilson responded by having notes sent
to Germany demanding that they stop attacking unarmed and neutral ships
However, Germany kept sinking ships
1915-Arabic attacked (British passenger ship)
1916-Sussex attacked (French passenger ship
Germany’s unrestricted warfare seriously tested American neutrality
Why America Joined the Triple Entente
Zimmermann Telegram It was a message sent by
German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann to the German minister in Mexico
The message suggested that if America and Germany went to war, Mexico should fight against the US in order to receive its lost territory of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona
This led President Wilson to declare war against Germany and its allies
Why America Joined the Triple Entente
Revolution in Russia
Overthrow of the czars or monarchs of Russia eventually leads the US to joining the war on the side of the Entente
Why? Because now the US would be fighting among all
democratic countries (Russia formed a temporary Republic after the overthrow of the czars)
This would strengthen its ultimate goal of making the world safe for democracy