World War 1 Essay Example

It was July 28, 1914, the beginning of World war 1. Another name that World War 1 is known as is The Great War. What started this? How did it get so out of hand? Was it because of nationalism? Alliances? Imperialism? The events/history of World War 1 were different for many different countries, but especially for the U.S. The U.S entered the war in 1917. What are the reasons they joined? Could the U.S possibly be the reason the Allies won the war?

The beginning of this World War 1 just started out with Serbia against Austria- Hungary. One reason this was began was because in document 2 it shows an article saying, “SERB STUDENT ASSASSINATES ARCHDUKE AND HIS DUCHESS.” This is saying that the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Austria-Hungary declared war on July 29, 1914 on Serbia. After that Germany declares war on Russia and France on August 1 and August 3, 1914. This led Britain to declare war on Germany and on the same day Germany invaded neutral Belgium on August 4,1914. As shown in document 1 showing soldiers representing countries of the war as The Allies and the Central Powers with their alliances. Another reason World War 1 started was because of Imperialism. Nations fought for trade and territory. This is how World War 1 started.

The President of the United States at the time, President Wilson did not want to get involved in World War 1. He wanted peace without war. Eventually, President Wilson decided to join. The United States did not join for a long time because they did not want to be in coheres with Russia, a tyrant country. Russia pulled out of the war and made peace with Germany because a group in Russia called the Bolsheviks seized control of Russia. One of the reasons The US joined the war was because of the Lusitania Ship. In document 5 it shows a New York times Newspaper which talked about The Lusitania ship was sunk by a German submarine and it killed 128 Americans and 1,260 people in total. This enraged many Americans and wanted to join the war ever since that attack. Another reason the United States joined the war was because of the Zimmerman telegram. As shown on document 6 the telegram the US intercepted on February 24,1917 talks about how Germany wants to make an alliance with Mexico to keep the United States out of the war and give Mexico the chance to conquer US lands. On April 2, 1917 President Wilson finally asks Congress to declare war against the Central Powers. 

On November 11, 1918 World War 1 finally ended. Germany leaders had realized that their cause was lost. In that they asked for an Armistice. Specifically, France and Britain wanted a harsh settlement, but President Wilson wanted a peaceful settlement. In doing so he proposed a peace plan based off International cooperation. The Armistice terms were harsh on Germany. For example, one of the demands were to cancel its peace treaty with Russia and Pull back its troop on the Western Front. Due to the settlement Germany became a republic. This was the end of World War 1.