Unit 5-2 Causes and Effects of WWI

Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism

MAIN causes of WWI

Triple Entente

A military alliance between Great Britain, France, and Russia in the years preceding World War I.

Triple Alliance

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

Kaiser Wilhelm II

was the Kaiser of Germany at the time of the First World War reigning from 1888-1918. He pushed for a more aggressive foreign policy by means of colonies and a strong navy to compete with Britain. His actions added to the growing tensions in pre-1914 Europe.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo, started World War I.

Armenian Genocide

Assault carried out by mainly Turkish military forces against the Christian Armenian population in 1915 over fears they were supporting Russia; over a million Armenians perished and thousands fled to Russia and the Middle East.

Allies

Britain, France, and Russia- Later joined by Italy

Central Powers of WWI

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire

Western Front

A line of trenches and fortifications in World War I that stretched without a break from Switzerland to the North Sea. Scene of most of the fighting between Germany, on the one hand, and France and Britain, on the other.

U-boats

German submarines used in World War I

Total War

A conflict in which the participating countries devote all their resources to the war effort

Women in the workforce

Men were over seas as soldiers, so one million women joined the workforce to replace men's jobs, plus another eight million switched to higher paying industrial job

19th Amendment (1920)

Ratified on August 18, 1920, prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. The amendment was the culmination of the women's suffrage movement in the U.S.

Propaganda

Ideas spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause.

Zimmerman Telegram

A telegram Germany Sent to Mexico to convince Mexico to attack the U.S.

Self-determination

Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

League of Nations

an international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations

Woodrow Wilson

28th president of the United States, known for World War I leadership, Treaty of Versailles, sought 14 points post-war plan, League of Nations (but failed to win U.S. ratification), won Nobel Peace Prize

Treaty of Versailles

the treaty imposed on Germany by the Allied powers in 1920 after the end of World War I which demanded exorbitant reparations from the Germans

February Revolution 1917

Workers and soldiers overthrew Czar Nicholas II, and set up the provisional government

October Revolution of 1917

The Bolsheviks seized power by force in a second revolution in 1917. Once in power, they changed Russia to a Communist nation.

Russian Civil War (1918-1921)

Millions died in the struggle between the Reds (pro-Communist forces) and Whites (an amalgam of non-Communists); the Reds won, largely because of the organizational skills of Leon Trotsky.

Vladimir Lenin

Russian founder of the Bolsheviks and leader of the Russian Revolution and first head of the USSR (1870-1924).

Joseph Stalin

Bolshevik revolutionary, head of the Soviet Communists after 1924, and dictator of the Soviet Union from 1928 to 1953. He led the Soviet Union with an iron fist, using Five-Year Plans to increase industrial production and terror to crush opposition

Mandate System

Allocation of former German colonies and Ottoman possessions to the victorious powers after World War I; to be administered under League of Nations supervision.

New Economic Policy (NEP)

Lenin's 1921 policy to re-establish limited economic freedom in an attempt to rebuild agriculture and industry in the face of economic disintegration

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Turkish nationalist leader who became the first president of modern Turkey in the 1920's and set about to modernize and Westernize Turkey, including making it more secular

Zionism

A nationalist movement for the re-establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, emerging in the late 19th century.

Balfour Declaration

A statement issued in 1917 by the British government expressing support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. It also stated that this should not prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.

Trench Warfare

A combat strategy used extensively during World War I, characterized by troops fighting from deep ditches to protect themselves from enemy fire and artillery. This method resulted in stalemates and significant casualties.