World War I Begins

Chapter 19-1

1. What are the four main causes of World War I? Give an example for each as to why it was a cause.
Militarism-all the European countries were building up their armies and navies, and it became a competition. Also weapons were becoming more advanced, causing more destruction.

Alliance System-if one country declared war on another country, the countries in alliance with that one has to back it up and declare war also. This creates a domino effect and soon many countries are fighting against each other.

Imperialism-the race to gain overseas colonies, countries competed for them

Nationalism-ethnic groups banded together and demanded their own independent nations, this was a problem because sometimes the ruler of the nation is a different ethnic group than most of the people living in the nation.

2. How did the June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand become the spark for WWI?
Since the man who assassinated the Archduke was Serbian, it gave Austria-Hungary a reason to declare war against Serbia instead of doing it randomly. After Austria-Hungary declared war, many countries were pulled into the fighting because they were involved in alliances with these countries, and had to back them up in war.

3. What happened within the first few months of fighting?
Millions of people were being killed and the war wasn't heading in any particular direction. In some cases both sides had machine guns, and there were many casualties on both sides. This made many battles pretty even.

4. Generally, why did the United States want to stay out of the war?
Many Americans believed that they didn't need to be involved because the war didn't threaten American lives or property.

5. Specifically, Why did the following groups of Americans tend to oppose U.S. participation in the war? Naturalized citizens; socialists; pacifists; parents.

-Naturalized citizens followed the war closely because they had ties to the countries they had emigrated from.

-Socialists opposed U.S. participation in the war because they thought it was a capitalist and imperialist struggle between Germany and England to control markets and colonies in various countries.

-Pacifists believed that war was evil and that the United States should set an example of peace to the rest of the world.

-Parents didn't want their sons to experience the horrors of war.

6. How did Germany respond to the British naval blockade of Germany’s ports? What was the U.S. response?
American ships carrying goods for Germany refused to challanged the blockade. Germany found it increasingly difficult to import things for their crops. Germany responded to the British blockade with a counter blockade by U-boats. This means that any British or allied ship found in the water around Britain would be sunk. Americans became outraged with Germany and the public opinion of America turned against Germany and the Central powers.

7. What forced the United States into the war?

German U-Boats had sunk many American and British submarines and ships and killed many Americans.

America as a World Power

Read America as a World Power (pps. 565 - 571) Answer the following questions and post them to your blog. They are due Wed., Nov. 16 by 3:30 p.m.

1. What role did President Roosevelt play in ending the Russo-Japanese War?
Japanese officials asked Roosevelt to mediate peace negotiations and he agreed. The Japanese wanted a russian island along with a large sum of money from Russia. Roosevelt helped work out this conflict. Japan got half of the island, and gave up on the money.

2. What events led to the building of the Panama Canal? What happened regarding Columbia? (Be specific)
A canal would greatly reduce travel time by providing a short cut between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In The Hay-Pouncefote treaty of 1901, Britain gave the U.S. the right to build a canal through central america. In the late 1800's the French tried to build a canal in Panama but gave up after 10 years. The U.S. bought the French's route for $40 million. The U.S. had to get permission from Colombia, which was ruling Panama at the time. Panama rebelled and declared its independence from Colombia in 1903. The U.S. and panama signed a treaty which said that the U.S. would pay Panama $10 million plus and annual rent of $250,000 for the Canal Zone.

3. What did the Roosevelt Corollary state?

The Roosevelt Corollary was an extension of the Monroe Doctrine and stated that the U.S. claimed the right to protect its economic interests by means of military intervention in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere's nations.

4. How did Taft use Dollar Diplomacy to enforce the Roosevelt Colollary on Nicaragua? (Be specfic)
Dollar Diplomacy means to exert influence over other countries. When a rebellion in Nicaragua left them near bankruptcy, Taft arranged for American bankers to loan Nicaragua enough money to pay off its debts. The bankers were given the right to recover their money by collecting Nicaragua's customs duties. The U.S. bankers also gained control of Nicaragua's state owned railroad system and its national bank. Nicaraguan citizens revolted and U.S. marines were sent.

5. Why did Woodrow Wilson invade Mexico?

Wilson added a moral component to the Monroe Doctrine. According to his missionary diplomacy, the U.S. had a moral responsibility to deny recognition to any Latin American govt. it viewed as oppressive, undemocratic, or hostile to U.S. interests. This pressured nations in the Western Hemisphere to establish democratic govts.

Mexico was ruled by a military dictator. In 1911, Mexican peasants and workers overthrew the military dictator. The leader of the rebellion promised democratic reforms but he was unable to satisfy the conflicting demands of landowners, peasants, factory workers and the urban middle class. Then a general took over and he was murdered. Wilson refused to recognize the governments and he called it a "government of butchers."

Wilson started looking for an opportunity to intervene in Mexico. When a small group of American soldiers were arrested, Wilson used the incident as an excuse to intervene. He ordered U.S. marines to occupy a Mexican port.

6. What were three major foriegn policy goals achieved by the United States in the early 20th century. Be sure to provide an example or two of each.

1)The US expanded its access to foreign markets in order to ensure the continued growth of the domestic economy (Philippines, Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico)

2)The US built a modern navy to protects its interests abroad (navy could back open door notes in china)

3)The US exercised its international police power to ensure dominance in Latin America (Columbia, Nicaragua, Mexico)

Imperialism's Bitter Fruit

Questions for Epilogue: Imperialism’s Bitter Fruit (pages 32-37)

1. a. After the Spanish were forced out of the Philippines, why did fighting break out between American and Filipino forces?  

An American soldier fired on a Filipino patrol that refused to halt.  Within hours, fighting had spread around Manila.

b. How was this a different kind of warfare for American forces?
U.S. soldiers faced a quick striking guerilla movement.  The rules of war that were followed by Western nations were ignored and both sides tortured and executed prisoners and other horrible things.

2. Why were many African-Americans strong critics of the war against Filipino nationalists?
The African-Americans were critical of racist views that the military had of the Filipinos.  The African-Americans in the Philippines were harassed by the Filipino nationalists.

3. Explain two reasons why the United States lost some of its enthusiasm for imperialism in the early 1900s.

a.There were legal complications that came with the new territories.  The U.S. had to decide the legal status of the Filipinos under the constitution.  

b.Many American soldiers were dying.  The United States were just trying to gain more land and power, and then there were revolts in the countries they were taking over.  In suppressing these revolts, many soldiers were killed.


4. What were the positive effects of American occupation in Puerto Rico and Cuba?
American technology contributed to rapid development on the islands.  Roads and telegraph lines were built, finances were recognized, schools were opened and sanitation was improved.

5. After the Spanish-American War, the United States insisted that Cuba only receive independence after agreeing to several limitations set forth in the Platt Amendment. Four restrictions on Cuban independence set forth in the Platt Amendment were:

a.The U.S. had the right to oversee the Cuban economy


b.The U.S. had the right to exercise veto power over Cuban foreign policy 


c.The U.S. had the right to intervene whenever necessary "for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty."


d.The U.S. was allowed to build a naval base on the southeastern tip of the island at Guantanamo Bay

Was the United States justified in making these demands? Explain your reasoning.
I think that the U.S. was justified in making these demands since they won the Spanish-American War and Cuba was theirs.  They could have totally took over Cuba, but they decided to give it independence on a few conditions.  On the other hand, the U.S. didn't want to give Cuba total independence, they wanted to make sure they got something out of it.  I think the conditions were just because they did not demand much, and they were trying to help the Cubans, along with helping themselves.  

6. Do you believe the United States was imperialist? Why or why not?

I think that the United States was imperialist because they were taking over other countries.  Even though they didn't take over Cuba entirely, they had partial control over it.