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Explain the causes of World War I in Europe.
- Historical rivalries of its competing nation-states further sharpened as both Italy and
Germany joined their fragmented territories into two major new powers around 1870.
- A powerful and rapidly industrializing Germany, seeking its "place in the sun," was a
particularly disruptive new element in European political life, especially for the more
established powers, such as Britain, France, and Russia.
- Since the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, a fragile and fluctuating balance of power had
generally maintained the peace among Europe's major countries.
- By the early twentieth century, that balance of power was expressed in two rival
alliances, the Triple Alliance of Germany, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the
Triple Entente of Russia, France, and Britain.
- Those commitments, undertaken in the interests of national security, transformed a
relatively minor incident in the Balkans (southeastern Europe) into a conflagration that
consumed almost all of Europe.
Describe the causes of World War I.
1) Short-term cause of assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 where Austria
does not want to Serbia to leave but Bosnian Serb nationalist assassinate for
independence.
2) Austria declares war on Serbia; Russia declares war on Austria and alliances involved.
3) MAIN; Militarism where era of military competition specifically between Germany and
Britain with naval rivalry (improved weaponry and industrialized, such as submarines,
tanks, machine guns), and military men enjoyed great social prestige.
4) Alliance where Germany refused to renew the nonaggression pact with Russia which
Bismark built; France courts Russia for support to create alliance for revenge and once
assassination occurs, rigid alliance system causes war.
5) Imperialism where nations competed for more colonies and raw materials (partition of
Africa) and Germany and Britain specifically.
6) Nationalism where caused nations to build armies with mass conscription and “us-them”
outlook to drive Austria Hungary from the Balnkans and for pan-Slavic nationalism; rival
nation states and schools, mass media, and military service had convinced Europeans
that their national identities were meaningful.
7) For conservative governments, war used to unite people in face of class and
gender-based conflicts.
8) Britain joined after Germany misguided Schlieffen plan where mobilization was crucial so
attack through neutral Belgium for quick defeat of France.
9) Ottoman Empire, which sided with Germany, became site of intense military actions and
witnessed an Arab revolt against Ottoman Turkish control.
10) Finally, United States, after initially seeking to avoid involvement in European quarrels,
joined war in 1917 when German submarines threatened American shipping.
,Explain the decisions at the Treaty of Versailles.
1) Fourteen Points; Wilson’s peace proposal calling for open diplomacy, a reduction in
armaments, freedom of commerce and trade, the establishment of the League of
Nations, and national self-determination.
2) League of Nations was permanent internal organization designed to protect member
states from aggression and avert future wars,
3) Peace was based on national self-determination, which was notion that peoples
should be able to choose their own national governments through democratic
majority-rule elections and live free from outside interference in nation states with clearly
defined borders.
4) Big Three (US, Britain, and France) controlled conference and Germany,
Austria-Hungary, and Russia were excluded.
5) Britain and France wanted to punish Germany; France wanted territory back and for
fighting on French soil, wanted revenge (Wilson helped balance aggression).
6) German’s African and Asian colonies were given to France, Britain, and Japan and
Germany had to limit army.
7) War guilt clause where Allies declared that Germany was entirely responsible for war
and thus had to pay reparations.
Explain the League of Nations.
- General weaknesses within the organization, such as voting structure that made
resolutions difficult and incomplete representation among world nations.
- Limited by the United States' refusal to join due to opposition from isolationists in
Congress.
Explain the consequences of the decisions at the Treaty of Versailles.
1) Western alliance collapsed as one failure of treaty so no promises.
2) Principle of national self-determination was flawed in practice; new central European
nations were economically weak and politically unstable and series for self-determination
were ignored in Middle East.
3) Broke empires, inspired revolutions, and changed national borders on a world scale.
4) Immense human costs with public memorials to honor the dead.
5) Great Depression especially in Germany; benefits were cut, leaving better veterans
vulnerable to Nazi propagandists who paid homage to sacrificies of the war.
6) Nazis successfully manipulated popular feelings of loss and resentment to undermine
fragile parliamentary governments.
Explain how the Treaty of Versailles affected Germany.
- Germany lost 10% of its land, all its overseas colonies, 12.5% of its population, 16% of
its coal and 48% of its iron industry.
- There were also the humiliating terms, which made Germany accept blame for the war,
limit their armed forces and pay reparations.
,Explain how the Treaty of Versailles affected Poland.
- Poland was given complete independence, control over large areas of land populated by
Germans, and an outlet to the sea.
Explain how the Treaty of Versailles affected Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the Ottoman Empire,
and Arab peoples.
- Forced Germany to give up territory to Belgium, Czechoslovakia and Poland, return
Alsace and Lorraine to France and cede all of its overseas colonies in China, Pacific and
Africa to the Allied nations.
- Hungary lost land to Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Serbia (Yugoslavia).
- Treaty abolished the Ottoman Empire (who joined Central Powers with Germany) and
obliged Turkey to renounce all rights over Arab Asia and North Africa.
Explain the effectiveness of the Congress of Vienna and the Treaty of Versailles.
- Congress of Vienna for 100 years but Treaty of Versailles only for 20 years.
- Congress got a balance of power back to the European countries and brought peace
among nations.
- Treaty of Versailles placed the burden of war guilt entirely on Germany, imposed harsh
reparations payments, and created an increasingly unstable collection of smaller nations.
- Ultimately failed to resolve the underlying issues that caused war to break out in 1914.
Describe the consequences of World War I.
1) Total war where distinctions between soldiers on the battlefield and civilians at home
were blurred.
2) At home, national economies were geared toward the war effort and war socialism
where government involved; ministries mobilized soldiers, established rationing
programs, and provided care for war widows and wounded veterans.
3) Managed highly productive industrial economies and set mandatory production goals
and limits on prices by temporarily abandoning the free-market.
4) Need for workers meant greater power and prestige for labor unions which cooperated
with war governments on workplace rules, wages, and production schedules in return for
real participation in important decisions.
5) Role of women changed; women moved into skilled industrial jobs considered men’s
work (eventually causing feminist movements) and temporarily abandoned struggle for
vote.
6) Russian Revolution and emergence of communism as no longer supporting Czar
Nicholas II and communists (workers and peasants) rise.
7) Anti-imperialism independence movements where Europeans can be defeated.
NOTE: Overall there was a growing influence of central governments (war socialism).
Describe the long-term consequences of World War I.
, 1) Unprecedented casualties, among elite and well-educated groups led to widespread
disillusionment where different from Enlightenment values of progress and began to
doubt that West was superior.
2) Social and cultural changes; women were urged to leave factory work they had taken up
during war and return to their homes, but war had loosened hold of tradition in various
ways.
3) Enormous casualties promoted social mobility, allowing less exalted to move into
positions previously dominated by upper classes.
4) As war ended, suffrage movements revived and women received right to vote in a
number of countries (Britain, United States, Germany, Soviet Union, Hungary, and
Poland) in part perhaps because of sacrifices they had made during conflict.
5) Young middle-class women, known as "flappers," began to flout convention by
appearing at nightclubs, smoking, dancing, drinking hard liquor, cutting their hair short,
wearing revealing clothing, and generally expressing a more open sexuality.
6) Technological innovations, mass production, and pent-up demand after austerities of
wartime fostered a new consumerism, particularly in United States, encouraging those
to buy cars, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, electric irons, gas ovens, and other
newly available products.
7) Radio and movies now became vehicles of popular culture, transmitting American jazz to
Europe and turning Hollywood stars into international celebrities.
Explain how World War I was different from previous wars.
1) Total war where not just military but nations and civilians were now involved with
industrialization (home front); mobilization of each country’s entire population.
2) Decline of generals as leading generals who learned military tactics struggled to
understand trench warfare.
3) Decline of Europe and emergence of US in global affairs where Europe would borrow
money from U.S. banks and significant role in Treaty of Versailles.
4) War socialism and economic planning where government authority expanded; elaborate
economic and political organization of nations.
5) Widespread use of machine guns, air power, submarine operations, poison gas, and
armored vehicles
Describe how World War I transformed international political life.
1) From collapse of German, Russian, and Austro-Hungarian empires emerged
independent Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and other nations, which were based
on principle of "national self-determination," a concept championed by U.S. president
Woodrow Wilson (but also contained dissatisfied ethnic minorities who claimed same
principle.
2) By Treaty of Versailles, which concluded war in 1919, Germany lost its colonial empire
and 15% of its European territory, was required to pay heavy reparations to the winners,
had its military forces severely restricted, and was required to accept sole responsibility
for outbreak of the war.
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