Transcript AN EERIE WARNING - Townsend Harris High School

Aim: Could World War I have
been prevented?
Vocabulary: militarism, nationalism, Pan-Slavism, imperialism,
Arms race, Social Darwinism, Triple Alliance, Central Powers,
Triple Entente, Allies, “powder keg of Europe,” “blank check”
A BRIGHT FUTURE?
“(If women get the right to
vote then)Yes, the women
will do it (end wars). They
don’t feel as men do about
war. They are the mothers
of the race. Men think of
the economic results,
women think of the grief
and pain.”
Aletta Jacobs
Connections to Today
Alettajacobs.org
AN EERIE WARNING
“I shall not live to see the
Great War…but you will
see it,
And it will start in the
east.”
Otto von Bismarck
Q: Why do you think that even decades earlier
Otto von Bismarck was able to predict that a
World War would break out in Europe?
Q: We will be discussing the long and short term causes of
World War I. How would you distinguish between a long
term cause and a short term cause?
CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I
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MILITARISM
• SOCIAL DARWINISM- “survival of the fittest.”
“(War was a) biological necessity of the first
importance,” according to German militarist
Friedrich von Bernhardi.
• ARMS RACE- Britain and Germany built
powerful navies
Connections to Today
TOY SOLDIERS
French Infantry
Line 1900
upnaway.com
FORMATION OF ALLIANCES
THE CENTRAL POWERS- After it defeated
France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870),
Germany formed an alliance with AustriaHungary and Russia in 1881. The next year
Germany formed an alliance with AustriaHungary and Italy (The Triple Alliance).
After Bismarck resigned, Kaiser William II
preserved the Triple Alliance but allowed its
treaty with Russia to lapse. Russia was free
to find new allies.
THE ALLIES
In 1894 France and Russia signed an
alliance. Then in 1904 France and Britain
signed an “entente cordiale.” It was a
friendly understanding, but not binding like
a treaty. Britain signed a similar agreement
with Russia three years later. This alliance
became known as the Allies when the War
broke out.
NATIONALISM
• Alsace and Lorraine- France was bitter about
losing them to Germany during the FrancoPrussian War.
• Pan-Slavism- Russia felt it had a duty to lead and
defend all Slavs (including Serbia) against any
threat.
• The Balkans- The Ottoman Empire and Austria
Hungary were concerned about growing
nationalism in the Balkans.
What the Ottoman Empire Lost
• Hungary (1699)- to the Austrians
• Greece (ind. 1829) Greeks resented Ottoman
occupation. French, British, and Russian naval
forces defeated the Ottomans, resulting in Greek
independence
• Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro (ind. 1878)-to
the Russians (lost war, Berlin Conference)
• Bulgaria- 1908 Young Turks overthrew the sultan
in Turkey, Bulgarians took advantage and claimed
independence. The Ottomans were too weak to
respond.
• Albania- (ind. 1913)Young Turks revolt weakened
Ottomans, Balkan countries fought for
independence. Nearly all of the Balkans were
independent in 1913.
Encarta
IMPERIALISM (and other
economic rivalries)
• Britain felt threatened by Germany’s rapid
industrialization
• Germany did not believe the other world
powers gave her enough respect
• Germany did not want France to impose a
protectorate status on Morocco
Imperialism and the Balance of Power
Erols.com
I GET NO RESPECT!
yahoosearch
“All the long years of
my reign, my
colleagues, the
monarchs of Europe,
have paid no attention
to what I have to say.
Soon, with my great
navy to endorse my
words, they will be
more respectful.”
Kaiser William II
firstworldwar.com
Connections
TROUBLE IN THE BALKANS
• Archduke Francis Ferdinand planned a June 28,
1914 to visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia.
• The secret serbian group known as the Black Hand
(also called Unity or Death) was outraged and
plotted to kill the Archduke. The primary goal of
the Black Hand was to unite all South Slavs into a
single nation.
• June 28 was the day that Serbia had been
conquered by the Ottomans in 1389 and Serbia
freed herself from the Turks on that day in 1912.
Bosnia, home to many Serbs, remained under
Austro-Hungarian control.
Connections
Archduke Francis Ferdinand
& his family
worldwar1.com
June 1914- Archduke Francis Ferdinand
and his wife Sophie leave Sarajevo for
the last time.
Worldwar1.com
THE ASSASSINATION OF ARCHDUKE FRANCIS
FERDINAND AND HIS WIFE, SOFIE
Borijove Jevtic, one of the conspirators gave this eyewitness
account
As the car came abreast he stepped forward from the curb, drew his
automatic pistol from his coat and fired two shots. The first struck the wife
of the Archduke, the Archduchess Sofia, in the abdomen. She was an
expectant mother. She died instantly.
The second bullet struck the Archduke close to the heart.
He uttered only one word, 'Sofia' -- a call to his stricken wife. Then his
head fell back and he collapsed. He died almost instantly.
The officers seized Princip. They beat him over the head with the flat of
their swords. They knocked him down, they kicked him, scraped the skin
from his neck with the edges of their swords, tortured him, all but killed
him."
eyewitnesstohistory.com
THE ASSASSIN
Gavrilo Princip was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. The
19 year old escaped the death penalty because he was not yet
21. He died in prison from tuberculosis in 1918.
eyewitnesstohistory.com
THE CHAIN REACTION
• Austria sent Serbia an ultimatum: End all antiAustrian activities and punish all involved in the
assassination of the Archduke.
• Serbia refuses to agree to all terms of the
ultimatum.
• July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary declares war on
Serbia, with the encouragement of Germany who
offered a “blank check.”
• Negotiations with Austria-Hungary failed;
Russia mobilized its forces.
• Germany declared war on Russia.
• Russia sought France as an ally, France
offered a similar “blank check.”
• Germany demanded France remain neutral,
France refuses.
• Germany declared war on France.
• Under the Schlieffen Plan, Germany had to
quickly defeat France to avoid a two-front war.
Then Germany could fight Russia.
• To ensure a quick victory the Plan called for
German troops to march through neutral Belgium.
• Britain and other nations had previously signed a
treaty to protect Belgium’s neutrality. Outraged by
this violation, Britain declared war on Germany.
THE OUTBREAK OF WAR
June 28
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne
of Austro-Hungarian empire, in Sarajevo, Bosnia
July 28
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
July 29 - December 9
Austria-Hungary repeatedly invades Serbia but is repeatedly
repulsed
August 1
Outbreak of war
Germany declares war on Russia
August 3
Germany declares war on France
August 4
Germany invades neutral Belgium
August 4
Britain declares war on Germany
firstworldwar.com
Q: Do you think World War I have been prevented? How? If not,
then why not?