WWI Essential Questions Period 1

Emma Johnston, Emmi Anderson, Jaelle Vaughan

1. Explain the causes and consequences of World War I.
- Throughout the 19th century many rival powers of Europe began to form
alliances. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy all formed what was known
as the Triple Alliance. France, Russia, and Great Britain formed the Triple
Entente. Tensions began to grow between the different alliances, making
each of them less politically stable. Nationalism also became a big cause
of World War 1 because countries began to get greedy and not negotiate
with each other, causing more conflict and war. With World War 1 came
many effects or consequences. The war had shifted the economic balance
of the world, Europe for example was left in debt after the war and the
U.S. was now the leading industrial power in the world. Borders had also
changed completely as well as the conflicts from the Treaty of Versailles
were unresolved, which would end up leading to World War 2.

2. Explain how governments used a variety of methods to conduct war.

- In order to succeed, governments used several different methods and
tactics to conduct the war. Governments used tactics such as total war
and propaganda to convince citizens of the necessity of war and bring in
men to fight in the war. Governments also used different technology to
conduct the war and aid their soldiers, technology such as machine guns,
poison gas, and submarines. These pieces of technology allowed
governments to lead in areas of the war. As the war went on, governments
used soldiers from the lands they colonized and used them as soldiers,
allowing for more powerful armies.

3. Explain how internal and external factors contributed to change in various

states after 1900.

-The west dominated the global political order while both land based and
maritime empires gave way to new states by the centuries end. The fall of the
Ottoman, Russian, and Qing empires lead to the communist revolution in
Russian. In the eye of a political crisis the Mexican Revolution arose as many
other states around the world would challenge the existing political and social
order.