1. Guided Reading Activity Answers
THE Road to World War I
Guided Reading Activity Answers

2. imperialism
We have already studied Imperialism as a foreign policy – when a stronger, more powerful nation takes over a weaker nation either militarily or economically. But did you know imperialism (and colonialism, as well) led to fierce competition between powerful nations? European powers often found themselves desiring the conquest of the same places – and this led to wars! Closer to home, you might consider the United States’ war with Spain, which took place exclusively in Spain’s colonies: Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico, not in the United States or Spain.

3. Imperialism caused competitions for military strength: Militarism!

4. Nationalism
Nationalism is just pride in one’s nation or ethnic group. It might be compared to patriotism in a way. But when groups of people who do not have a political country of their own to rule start to demand their own country, it can lead to major conflicts. Revolutions, even! Austria-Hungary faced just this problem in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

5. The Austro-Hungarian Empire
The Austro-Hungarian empire suffered because of too much nationalism. In the empire, there were Austrians, Magyars, Bosnians, Serbians, Rumanians, Croats, and a host of other ethnic and national groups who wanted self-government, or their own national governments.

6. Military alliances
Military Alliances were defensive agreements created between nations in which a nation pledged to defend all of the others in the group in the event that they were attacked by an outsider.

7. Military alliances
Not only did military alliances cause smaller wars to erupt into much larger conflicts rapidly, but also, they led to confusion. Nations became involved with wars which often had little to do with their own national security or interests.

8. The m.A.I.N. Causes of World War I
MILITARISM
ALLIANCE SYSTEMS
IMPERIALISM
NATIONALISM

9. The Triple Alliance The three nations in the Triple Alliance were:
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Italy
NOTE: Italy had promised to protect Germany only against French invasion, and did not join the war effort against England and Russia.

10. The Triple entente
The Triple Entente – entente is a French word meaning “agreement” – consisted of these three nations:
France
Great Britain
Russia

11. THE Spark that set off The great war
The Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated during a parade in Sarajevo. The murderer, Gavrilo Princip, was a member of a Serbian Nationalist organization called The Black Hand. Austria-Hungary blamed all of Serbia for the murders, and took revenge. Franz’s dying words to his wife Sophie: “You must live for the children.”

12. Europe at war, 1914 1. Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia.
2. Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary. (Secret Alliance with Serbia.)
3. Germany declared war on Russia. (Triple Alliance)
4. France declared war on Germany. (Triple Entente)
5. England declared war on Germany. (Triple Entente)
6. Italy – divided – begins to fight France but then quits the war – only to later support the Allies...

13. Stalemate on the Western Front
This is an unoccupied territory known as “no man’s land”. Both sides fought back and forth over this same land.

14. Trench warfare Fighting on opposing lines from a dugout ditch

15. Murderous weapons of WW I
The U-Boat
(German Submarine)
The Zeppelin

16. Murderous Weapons of WW I
Biplanes
Tanks

17. Chlorine gas
Chlorine gas and other forms of poison gas were first used by the Germans at the Battle of Ypres in France. The weapon was perhaps the most feared of the entire war, because of the gruesome and painful deaths caused by the chemicals – soldiers who inhaled the poison gas would suffer chemical burns of the lungs, then slowly drown as their lungs filled up with mucus and fluids.

18. Gas Masks
Horses were used during World War I in many capacities, and were still relied upon heavily by cavalry units, supply carriers and ambulance services. They dragged heavy guns into position, moved men and equipment, and literally saved lives. Hence, they needed to be protected, too!

19. The machine gun

20. President Woodrow Wilson
President Wilson asked Americans to stay neutral in mind as well as in action. By following a “strict and impartial neutrality,” Americans would be able to stay out of the war and remain unified. Many Americans feared that the millions of German-American immigrants in our country could prove disloyal.

21. World War I: American Neutrality
Anti-German Propaganda:
Freedom of the Seas:

22. propaganda
Propaganda was produced in the United States by an organization known as the Committee on Public Information. Joseph Creel was the leader of the group. Propaganda, in general, is information designed to make people feel passionately about a cause – often using incomplete, exaggerated, or dubious information.

23. Businessmen and bankers tended to prefer trade and loans to the Allies.
American Businessmen attempted to trade with both sides during World War I from 1914 to 1917, but most chose to trade with the allies. British blockades and German U-boats, however, took a toll on US Trade.

24. The German Blockade of England
Using their U-boats, Germany established a blockade around all of England to prevent trade between the US and England. They sank any trade vessels they could. English naval vessels, in turn, prevented any trade between the United States and Germany.

25. The Sinking of the Lusitania: May 7, 1915 off the coast of Ireland

26. American propaganda makers used the sinking of the Lusitania to encourage the war Effort.

27. Wilson maintains U.S. Neutrality
“He Kept Us Out of War.”

28. The Zimmermann Telegram
In the Zimmermann Telegram, German Secretary of State Arthur Zimmermann suggested that Mexico should attack the United States. His hope was that if the US was occupied at home by a domestic war, they could not enter the war with Germany. In return, Zimmerman promised, they would help Mexico win back the land it had ceded to the United States – New Mexico, Texas and Arizona.

29. German unrestricted submarine warfare
As World War I progressed, Germany decided to use its U-boats (submarines) to try to stop ships carrying supplies to Great Britain. In 1915, Germany declared that it would attack without warning any enemy ships operating in the waters around Great Britain.

30. World War I: “To Make the World safe for democracy”
Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against the Central Powers in April of 1917, immediately after the Tsar had been overthrown and replaced by the democratically elected Duma. Wilson gave the United States several reasons to fight in World War I:
World War I would be a war for “Freedom of the Seas.”
World War I would be “A War To End all War.”
World War I would be “A War to Make the World Safe for Democracy.”
Since Russia was now democratic as well, all of the Allies – Great Britain, France, Russia, and now the United States – were democratic governments.