Name ______________________________________________________________ Date ______________________

CHAPTER 11 Section 1 (pages 372–380)

TERMS AND NAMES
nationalism A devotion to the

World War I Begins interests and culture of one’s nation

militarism Building up armed forces to
prepare for war
Allies One side in World War I: Great
Britain, France, and Russia, later joined
by the U.S.
BEFORE YOU READ Central Powers One side in World
In the last section, you learned how Presidents Roosevelt War I: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and
the Ottoman Empire
and Wilson used American power around the world.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Young heir
In this section, you will read how war broke out in Europe whose assassination triggered the war
while the United States tried to remain neutral. no man’s land The space between
armies fighting each other
AS YOU READ
trench warfare Fighting between
Use this diagram to take notes. Fill it in with events that fortified ditches
speeded up or slowed down the entrance of the United Lusitania British passenger ship
States into the war. The notes will help you remember the attacked and sunk by Germans
beginnings of World War I. Zimmermann note Message
proposing an alliance between
Germany and Mexico

THE U.S. ENTRANCE INTO WORLD WAR I

What Speeded It Up? What Slowed It Down?

Many Americans sympathized with

the Allies
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Causes of World War I

(pages 372–374) forces. It also meant using them as a tool for negoti-
ating with other countries.
What conditions led to war? The fourth cause was the alliance system. 1.
Four main factors led to the outbreak of World Some countries in Europe had made treaties
War I in Europe. The first was nationalism—the promising to defend each other. These mutual-
belief that the interests of a single country were defense treaties placed European countries in two
more important than cooperation among countries. main groups. The Allies were made up of France, 2.
This led to competition. Great Britain, and Russia. The Central Powers
1. The second cause was imperialism. Countries were made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and 3.
tried to increase the power and influence around the Ottoman Empire.
the world. This led to conflicts among them.
1. Name two causes of World War I.
The third main cause was militarism. Militarism
meant building up armies, navies, and other armed

CHAPTER 11 THE FIRST WORLD WAR 113

 An Assassination Leads to War for peace. Many other Americans simply did not
(page 374) want to send their sons to war.
Many naturalized U.S. citizens still had ties to the
What sparked the war? countries they came from. Many immigrants from
8.
In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassi- Germany, for example, sympathized with Germany.
nated. He had been the heir to the throne of Americans tended to sympathize with Great
Austria-Hungary. His killer was a Serb who wanted Britain and France. They shared a common lan-
to unite all Serbs (including those in Austria- guage and heritage with Britain. They were horri-
4. Hungary) under one government. This touched off fied at Germany’s brutal attack on Belgium. And
an action to punish Serbia. they had strong economic ties with the Allies.
The alliance system pulled one nation after
4. What were three things that influenced Americans’
another into the conflict. If a nation had sworn to feelings about the war?
protect another, it had to declare war on that
nation’s enemies. Germany and Austria-Hungary
were facing France, Great Britain, and Russia. The War Hits Home (pages 378–379)
2. Why did the assassination lead to fighting? How did the war affect Americans?
Ferdinand assassinated in Sarejevo, (in present-day Bosnia).
The war affected American shipping. Great Britain
The Fighting Starts (pages 374–376) set up a blockade along the German coast to keep
goods from getting through. American ships would 9.
Where did the fighting begin? not challenge Britain’s blockade. German U-boats
Germany began by invading Belgium. It planned to attacked ships from all nations. A U-boat sank the
overrun France and then to attack Russia. The British ship Lusitania, killing more than a thousand
British and French could not save Belgium. They people, including 128 Americans.
did, however, manage to stop Germany’s advance. 5. In what ways did the war affect American citizens?
By the spring of 1915, two lines of deep trench- *U-boat = submarine
5. es had developed in France. Germans occupied one
line. The Allies occupied the other line. Between The United States Declares War
the two lines lay “no man’s land.” The soldiers (pages 379–380)
would climb out of their trenches and try to overrun
enemy lines. They did this while facing machine- Why did the U.S. join the war?
gun fire and poison gas. Three incidents brought the United States into the
This bloody trench warfare continued for more war. First, in January 1917, Germany announced it

© McDougal Littell Inc. All rights reserved.

6. than three years. Neither side gained territory, but would sink all ships in British waters on sight whether
more than one million soldiers died. they were hostile or neutral. Second, British agents
3. Why did the fighting take place in France? intercepted the Zimmermann note, a telegram that
proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico
against the United States. Third, the replacement of 10.
Americans Question Neutrality the Russian monarchy with a representative govern-
7.
(page 377) ment allowed American to characterize the war as a
*Not participating in war struggle of democracies against brutal monarchies.
How did Americans feel? On April 6, 1917, at President Wilson’s request,
In the United States, public opinion about the war Congress declared war on Germany.
was strong but divided. Socialists saw the war as an 6. What are the three incidents that led the United
8. imperialist struggle between German and English States to declare war?
businessmen. Pacifists believed that all wars were
bad. They urged the United States to set an example

114 CHAPTER 11 SECTION 1