Imperialism and World War I

A Collaborative Introduction

Who

Imperialism: Great Britain, Germany, Russia, France, United States,

Belgium, Italy...African and Asian territories (colonized)

World War I: Great Britain, Germany, Russia, France, United States,

Belgium, Italy, Austria/Hungarian Empire, Ottoman empire...African

and Asian colonies

WHO WAS IN THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE

(CENTRAL POWERS) AND WHO WAS IN

THE TRIPLE ENTENTE (ALLIED

POWERS)?

HOW DID THE ALLIANCE SYSTEM CREATE

CONDITIONS FOR A WAR?

Alliance System Triple Alliance

Triple Entente

(Central Powers)

(Allied Powers)

What Imperialism is the domination by one country of the political, economic, or

cultural life of another country or region.

World War I

The conflict between the Industrialized/Imperialist

empires of Europe. It was the first "modern" war using

new technologies (machine gun, submarines,

airplanes, tanks) and mass produced weapons and

ammunitions. It was characterized by trench warfare,

gas attacks and tens of millions of casualties.

WHERE

While WWI was mostly fought in Europe (see next slide)...

it involved peoples from around the world thus the title

World War.

Imperialism World War I

World War I ...European Theatre of War http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tv5gBa9DQs

From July 28th, 1914 until November 11th, 1918, the United Kingdom (including

Canada, Australia, other Commonwealth countries, and the Dominion of

Newfoundland), France, the Russian Empire, the United States, Italy, Japan,

Belgium, Greece, and other countries were at war with the German Empire, the

Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

The main fighting took place near the borders of Belgium, France, and Germany (the Western Front) and Germany, Poland, and Russia (the Eastern Front), along with naval battles in the North Atlantic.

WHEN

World War I erupted following the assassination of

Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria in Serbia in

August of 1914...it ended on the eleventh hour of the

eleventh day of the eleventh month 1919. The Peace

treaties treaties signed bringing the official end ot the

war dragged on into the 1920's

WHY and HOW: Causes of Imperialism

Nationalism

Military Superiority the power, strength, or numbers of armed

forces of a country viewed as an advantage over another country

Industrialization

Moral Superiority is the belief or attitude that one's position and

actions are justified by having higher moral values than one's political,

religious or moral opponent

Economic Competition

WHY and HOW: Causes of World War I

Nationalism a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all

others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or

Militarism

Industrialization the large-scale introduction of manufacturing which results in the

mass production of goods

Moral Superiority

Competition Between Imperialist Nations ... the colonization of Africa

and Asia completed European domination of the world...they then turned on each other.

Alliance System

Microsoft Lync IM or texting collaboration

Cause and Effect Activity

With your partner(s) create a cause and effect

relationship between each of the common

causes of Imperialism and World War I.

Example: A result of the strengthened

NATIONALISM in the Imperialist nations was

the willingness to go to war to prove their

superiority with other Imperialist countries

leading up to World War I.

Cause and Effect Relationships Imperialism and WWI

Nationalism

Militarism

Industrialisation

Cause and Effect Relationships Imperialism and WWI

Moral Superiority

Competition

Wisdom: Results...Russian collapse and Communist Revolution

The outbreak of war in 1914 fueled national pride and united Russians. Armies dashed to battle with enthusiasm.

World War I quickly strained Russian resources. Factories could not turn out enough supplies. The

transportation system broke down, delivering only a trickle of crucial materials to the front. By 1915, many

soldiers had no rifles and no ammunition. Badly equipped and poorly led, they died in staggering numbers. In

1915 alone, Russian casualties reached two million

By March 1917, disasters on the battlefield, combined with food and fuel shortages on the home front, brought the

monarchy to collapse.. Finally, on the advice of military and political leaders, the tsar abdicated.

Conditions were ripe for the Bolsheviks (Communists) Led by Nikolai Lenin to make their move. In November

1917, squads of Red Guards—armed factory workers—joined mutinous sailors from the Russian fleet in

attacking the provisional government. In just a matter of days, Lenin’s forces overthrew the provisional

government without a struggle.

Lenin died in 1924. His death set off a power struggle among Communist leaders. The chief contenders were

Trotsky and Joseph Stalin.

Eventually, Stalin isolated Trotsky within the party and stripped him of party membership. Trotsky fled the

country in 1929, but continued to criticize Stalin. In 1940, a Stalinist agent murdered Trotsky in Mexico.

Wisdom: Results...Post WWI Economic and Political

Crises

The catastrophe of World War I shattered the sense of optimism

that had grown in the West since the Enlightenment. Despair

gripped survivors on both sides as they added up the staggering

costs of the war. It seemed as though a whole generation of young

men had been lost on the battlefields. In reaction, the society and

culture of Europe, the United States, and many other parts of

the world experienced rapid changes.

People saw their world spinning out of control. Economic

crisis,(inflation, devaluation of currency) failures of democratic

governments resulted in the rise of Totalitarian systems of

Government.