1. The Causes of World War I

2. Unit 4: a quick overview 3.5 weeks (from today to the end of December) Topics: WWI in Europe – two days of world history The US in WWI Why did the US join? Was the US ever truly neutral? President Wilson’s postwar diplomacy One essay, one quiz, one DBQ At least one really gross photo of trench foot

3. Four main long-term causes of World War I Militarism – countries are (too) ready for war Alliance system – countries make treaties agreeing to defend each other Imperialism – countries are competing over territory in Africa and Asia Nationalism Countries believe they’re superior Minority ethnic groups want independence Plus one short-term cause: the assassination of Franz Ferdinand See what I did there?!

4. In your (brand new!) coursepack: Read “The Causes of WWI,” p. 2 For each of the four causes, in your notebook: 1-2 sentences defining the cause (“what is militarism?”) 1-2 sentences explaining how the cause contributed to the outbreak of war If you finish early, start HW 4.1 (“The Weapons of WWI”)

5. Militarism Increasing military spending up to 1914 Countries built up militaries in anticipation of fighting each other in combination

6. Alliances Triple Alliance (formed 1882): Germany, Austria- Hungary, Italy Triple Entente (formed 1907): UK, France, Russia

7. 1850s-1914: intense competition for colonies among European powers How does this lead to war? Competition for colonies  tension between European powers Maintaining colonies requires a strong military Once war breaks out, imperialism makes WWI a truly global war Imperialism

8. Nationalism European nations believed they were extremely strong Within European empires, ethnic groups wanted independence Here’s Serbia And here are some other Serbs Russia is sympathetic to the Serbs

9. The Outbreak of WWI Austria-Hungary included many ethnic Serbs who wanted to join the nation of Serbia June 28, 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria- Hungary assassinated by a Serbian nationalist July 28: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia July 31: Russia mobilizes its army to defend Serbia August 1: Germany declares war on Russia August 3: Germany declares war on France August 4: Germany declares war on Belgium August 4: Britain declares war in Germany