The Eve Of World War I

Essential Questions:2.What did the map of Europe look like before the war broke out?3.What nations were allies?4.Why was the Balkans a place of interest?5.How did the alliance system lead to a global war?

The Eve of World War I

American Foreign Policy At the outbreak of World War I in

1914, the United States remained neutral

Most Americans sympathized with the British and French Still many opposed intervention

Why neutrality? The U.S. sold supplies to both sides

of the conflict Americans felt no desire to get

involved in a “European” issue

In 1917, the U.S. joined the Allies, turning the tide against the Central Powers

The Balkans Region in Europe that controls the

direct land routes between Europe and South West Asia

Balkan war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia was considered inevitable

Austria-Hungary’s influence decreased

Serbia grew in power, where anti-Austrian sentiment was the strongest

Also, the Pan-Slavic movement grew

Pan-Slavism Movement in the mid 19th

century aimed at unity of all the Slavic peoples Slavic peoples are an ethnic

and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples

Main focus was in the Balkans

Slavs had been ruled and oppressed for centuries by the three great empires, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Venice

The Alliances At first it was believed the

war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia would be brief

However, it rapidly escalated into something that was beyond the expectations of most European leaders, diplomats, and civilians

This was largely due to the Alliances of Europe

World War IPre-war

Boundaries