1. The Beginning of World War I

2. Road to War
There was a sequence of six major events that occurred in that led to a rapid outbreak of war:
1. Sarajevo, June 28: A Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand- heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne- and his wife

3. Road to War
2. Vienna, July 23: Austrian govt. issues an ultimatum threatening war against Serbia; invades Serbia 4 days later
3. St. Petersburg, July 31: Russia (an ally of Serbia) orders its army to mobilize against Austria

4. Road to War
4. Berlin, August 1: Germany (an ally of Austria) declares war against Russia
5. Berlin, August 3: Germany declares war against France (an ally of Russia); invades neutral Belgium because it’s the fastest route to Paris

5. Road to War
6. London, August 4: Great Britain (an ally of France) declares war against Germany
The assassination of the archduke sparked the war, but the underlying causes were:
Nationalism
Imperialism
Militarism
Combination of public and secret alliances
One of the few major global tragedies

6. Road to War
President Wilson attempted to keep the U.S. neutral, persuaded Americans not to take a side
Wilson found it almost impossible to protect U.S. trading rights and stay neutral
Allied Powers- Great Britain, France, Russia
Central Powers- Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empires of Turkey)
The U.S. moved through a wide range of roles throughout the course of the war:
neutralwaging a war for peacevictorious world poweralienated/isolationist nation

7. Neutrality
The trouble for the U.S. arose from the nations at war seizing any ships trading with the enemy (just like in the War of 1812)
Great Britain declared a naval blockade around Germany and seized any ships attempting to run it
Wilson protested this as a violation of a neutral nation’s right to freedom of the seas

8. Submarine Warfare
Germany’s one hope for challenging the British navy was a new naval weapon- the U-Boat
A submarine
Germany announced a blockade of its own (the “war zone”) around the British Isles
Warned any ship risked being sunk by German submarines

9. Lusitania Crisis
May 7, German torpedoes hit and sank a British passenger liner, the Lusitania
Killed 128 Americans
Wilson warned Germany it would be held to “strict accountability” if it continued sinking unarmed ships
William Jennings Bryan objected Wilson’s message as too war-like
Resigned from the cabinet

10. The Sussex Pledge
After another sinking that killed two Americans in August 1915, Germany agreed to U.S. demands and promised they would not sink unarmed ships without fair warning first
Kept their word until March German torpedo sunk an unarmed merchant ship, the Sussex
Injured several Americans
Wilson threatened to cut off diplomatic ties with Germany (a pre-cursor to war); Germany did not want to risk U.S. entry into the war
Replied with the Sussex Pledge- promised not to sink merchant or passenger ships without giving due warning

11. Economic Links
Even though the U.S. was officially neutral, our economy became closely linked with the Allied nations
Before the war, the U.S. was in a recession in 1914
The economy rebounded in part because of orders for war supplies from the British and French
In theory, we could have shipped supplies to Germany as well, but British blockades prevented such trade

12. Economic Links
Wilson did not favor the Allies, but he more or less tolerated the British blockades versus the German’s use of submarine warfare
: U.S. quadrupled its trade with the Allies and almost stopped trading entirely with Germany
U.S. also gave billions in loans (from bankers such as J.P. Morgan) to help sustain the Allied war effort

13. Public Opinion Most Americans also favored the Allies
Perceived Germany as cruel bullies led by a mean autocrat, Kaiser Wilhelm
The sinking of the Lusitania reinforced negative views of Germany

14. Ethnic Influences
1914- immigrants made up over 30% of the U.S. population
Their backgrounds/ancestries reflected who they supported
Germans identified with the struggles of their “homeland”
Irish Americans hated Britain because of its oppressive rule of Ireland
When Italy joined the Allies in 1915, Italians began cheering on the Allies
Most native-born Americans wanted the Allies to win
Long-standing relations with French since the Revolution and most Americans sympathized with France and Great Britain because they were democratic countries

15. British War Propaganda
Britain was in control of much of the war news that reached the U.S. from Europe
British govt. fully recognized the opportunity it had to persuade the U.S.
Made sure the press was supplied with stories of Germans committing serious atrocities in Belgium and the territories they occupied

16. ?
What were the six major steps that led to the outbreak of war in Europe? (BRIEFLY summarize)
Who were the Allies? The Central Powers?
What challenges did the U.S. face from Germany in trying to stay neutral?
How was the U.S. economy linked to the Allies?
How did public opinion and war propaganda influence U.S. support for the Allies?