1. Chapter 11 Section1 World War I Begins World War I
Causes of World War I (WWI)
1-nationalism—a devotion to the interests and culture of one’s nation
-competition for ethnic dominance made countries resent each other
2-imperialism—countries were competing for raw materials and economic markets
-Germany, France, and Britain were competing for colonies
3-militarism—the development of armed forces and their use as a tool of diplomacy
-Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the U.S. began a naval arms race
4-alliance system—two major defense alliances in Europe

2. -The Allies (The Triple Entente)-------------------- France, Britain, and Russia
versus
-The Central Powers (The Triple Alliance)------ Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy

3. -the spark that ignited WWI was the assassination of Austrian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie by a Serbian named Gavrilo Princip
-what was supposed to be a short war between Austria-Hungary against Serbia blossomed into something that would change the world forever
-Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia,
Germany then declared war on Russia
Germany then declared war on France, Germany then invaded Belgium
Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary
…………The Great War had begun!!!

4. -new weapons made it impossible for either side to win a quick victory
-machine gun, poison gas, airplanes, and submarines were part of the new arsenal
-back in the U.S., President Woodrow Wilson tried to follow a traditional policy of neutrality
-no matter what President Wilson tried, it could not keep the U.S. out of the conflict

5. Reasons for U.S. Intervention in WWI
1-closer ties with Allies
-American’s shared a long similar history with Britain
-Britain and France shared the same democratic political system
2-German actions and Allied Propaganda
-American’s were shocked by Germany’s invasion of a neutral Belgium
-the Zimmerman Note—a secret message from the German gov’t promising
Mexico territories if they acted against the U.S. (it was printed in U.S. newspapers)
3-unrestricted submarine warfare
-a British blockade kept foreign food and arms from reaching Germany
-Germany’s navy consisted mainly of Unterseeboots (U-boats or submarines)
-in 1915, a German U-boat sank the Lusitania, killing 1,198 of which 128 were American’s
-Germany promised to end the unrestricted warfare (they promised prior warnings)
-by 1917, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare