how did world war one start and why did the U.S. get involved?
819935
It started when archduke Ferdinand was assassinated by a anarchist.  The US joined in when the Germans sank the Lusitania.
47443
World War I, also known as the First World War and (before 1939) the Great War, the War of the Nations, War to End All Wars was a world conflict lasting from August 1914 to the final Armistice (cessation of hostilities) on November 11, 1918. The label World War I or First World War did not come into general use until after the outbreak of World War II in 1939, and until then it was commonly known as the Great War or the World War. The war was fought by the Allied Powers on one side, and the Central Powers on the other, resulting in eventual victory for the Allies. No previous conflict had mobilized so many soldiers or involved so many in the field of battle. By its end, the war had become the bloodiest war in recorded history, though this record was soon to be superseded by World War II.\n\nAmongst Western countries, World War I became infamous for trench warfare along the Western Front, involving a system of opposing trenches (separated by a "No Man's Land") running from the North Sea to the border of Switzerland. More than 9 million soldiers died on the various battlefields, and nearly that many more in the participating countries' home fronts on account of food shortages and genocide committed under the cover of various civil wars and internal conflicts. In World War I, only some 5% of the casualties (directly caused by the war) were civilian - in World War II, this figure approached 50%.\n\nUltimately, World War I created a decisive break with the old world order that had emerged after the Napoleonic Wars, as modified by the mid-19th century national revolutions, the processes of European national unification and European colonialism. Three European land empires were shattered and subsequently dismembered to varying degrees: the German, the Austro-Hungarian and the Russian. In the Balkans and the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire experienced the same fate. Three European imperial dynasties, represented by the Hohenzollern, the Hapsburg and the Romanov families in Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia respectively, also fell during the war.\n\nWorld War I witnessed the first advent of Communism as a means of government in Russia. The following decades would see the transformation of the old Russian Empire into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a global superpower. In the east, the demise of the Ottoman Empire paved the way for a modern democratic successor state, Turkey, in the core region of Anatolia, in addition to a number of successor states and territories throughout the Middle East. In Central Europe, the new states of Czechoslovakia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Yugoslavia were born and Austria, Hungary and Poland were re-created. Shortly after the war, in 1923, Fascists came to power in Italy; in 1933, 15 years after the war, Nazism took over Germany. Problems unresolved or created by the war would be highly important factors in the outbreak, within 20 years, of World War II.\n\n\n\nCauses:\n\nOn June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb student. The Archduke was there to assert imperial authority over a disputed province. Princip was supported by pan-Serbian nationalists, with links to the Serbian military. Though this assassination is usually considered the immediate trigger for the war, its origins can be traced back to the complex web of alliances and counterbalances that developed between the various European powers after 1871.\n\n\nReasons and responsibilities\nThe reasons for the outbreak of World War I are a complicated issue; there are many factors which intertwine. Some examples are:\n\nFervent and uncompromising nationalism \nUnresolved previous disputes \nThe intricate system of alliances \nConvoluted and fragmented governance \nDelays and misunderstandings in diplomatic communications \nThe arms races of the previous decades. \nRigidity in military planning
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Causes of WWI\n\nAlliance System\n-Bismarck wanted to isolate France and protect Germany politically and militarily from Austria\noAlliances were seen as a political deterrent to prevent the militarization of growing tensions between European powers\n-Growing tensions between European powers by 1911\noFrance bitter about Alsace Lorraine territories\noFranco-Prussian War\nDecline of Ottoman Empire\nRise of Nationalism\n•In Balkan Peninsula\noImperialism\nGermany envious of Britain for their growing territories\noCoastal territories\nIndian Ocean\noResources\nFuel for airplanes, etc.\noEconomic tensions\nTariffs grow\nProtectionism\noParanoia from imperialism\nBlocs (1912-1914)\n-Triple Entente\noFrance—anti Germany\noEngland—want to check power of Germany and balance of power in Africa\noRussia—conflicts with Austria from Nationalist movements, Russia helped Balkan Serbia against Austria, Serbia and Russia have common Slovak heritage, closer ties\n-Triple Alliance\noGermany\noAustria-Hungary\noItaly—felt cheated out of territory at Berlin Conference (anti England), against Russians b/c anti-communist, and tension with France\n-Downside: one country against another—pulls in EVERYONE\nBalkan Wars \n-War #1\noSerbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, and other small provinces aided by Russia and Greece oppose Ottomans\noOttomans defeated\n-War #2\noSerbs, Bulgarians in particular squabble over spoils of war and land borders—distracted \noAustria can annex Bosnia and Herzegovina\nSerbia sees this as a loss of their own territory, breach of contract, act of aggression\nFranz Joseph sends Archduke Franz Ferdinand to Sarajevo to “review the books”\noBlack Hand\nTerrorist plot to assassinate archduke\nGavrillo Prinkep jumps out and assassinates archduke\noAustria gives Serbia ultimatum\nAustria wants to control Serbia or else\nAustria annexes Serbia\nRussia replies for Serbia, the annexation of Serbia would be seen as an act of war against Russians\nKaiser Vilhelm\nBlank check, Austrians get all the money they need for war from Germans against Russia\noAustria declares war on Serbia, Russia declares war on Austria, Germany helps Austria/declares war on Russia, France declares war on Germany\noEngland holds back for a while, have caveat\nWWI\n-August 1914\nWestern Front\n-Von Schlifen Plan/Blitz of Germany\noTake over France after starting Berlin, sweep through Belgium, then eastern front\noTakes Russia at least 3 weeks to mobilize\nTelegrams\nPeasant villages\nTransportation\nUniforms\nWeapons \noParis is key to France—go through north sea\no“Let last mine on right brush the column with his sea”\nolong string of German soldiers in control of everything from English channel to German border\noproblems\nBelgians retaliate unexpectedly, defend country\nAppeal to Germans to respect neutrality—then appeal to British for support, agree to help\nGermans assume that British will not help, try to stall them\n•Blockades, blow up bridges, etc.\n-French troops also moving toward Belgian border quickly to hold off Germans, sent them in taxi cabs—frantic move to halt German advance\n-stalemate forms on western front between September 1914 and Christmas/December of 1915\nostalemate exists between 1915-1918\noFirst Battle of Marne\noBelgians and French slow down Germans\noTrench warfare \nIntended to be interim solution until they move ppl to the eastern border\nBecome permanent\n100 miles in either direction—stalemate/moo point\nno one wins territory\n-1818—Armistice Line drawn as temporary solution before Treaty of Versailles \nEastern Front\n-Ottoman Turks\n-Battle of Tannenburg\n-Russians advance in to Austrian territories and Germany, pushed back by Austrians, then Germans respectively (Sep. 1914-1915)\n-Many casualties\n-Italy brought in—switches sides to Triple Entente\n-Bulgaria allies with Austria, Germany\n-Balkans brought into
281877
Wow, just ignore the previous post. Someone has their wars mixed up.\n\nThe United States was neutral during WWI because they felt that this was a European conflict, and none of their business. What drew us into the war was a German U-boat attack on a US ship.
85077
Germany was attacking US commercial ships taking materiel to the Allies (Britain, France, etc.). The US declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917.
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Just read this:  http://www.firstworldwar.com/origins/causes.htm\n\nThe war started out as a dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia over the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but escalated as other countries entered the melee.\n\nHistory can fault Germany because they lost.
263410
The end of the Cold War and the break up of the Soviet Union would be the first event, however this event came over a period of years and with many players.  However to get to this event you would have to acknowledge the fact that the U.S. became a Superpower by our involvement in both World Wars.
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World War 1 fought 1914 to 1918.\nDem.President Thomas Woodrow Wilson in office 1913 to 1921.
609113
Wow, that's an indepth question to ask.\n\nFor starters, World War I completely reshaped the map of Europe and parts of the Near and Middle East.  The Austrio-Hungarian Empire was divided into Czechoslovakia, Hngary, Yugoslavia, and Austria; parts were also given over to Romania and to Italy.  The Ottoman Empire was divided into British and French Mandates, forming Iraq, Palestine, and Jordan for the British and Syria and Lebanon for the French, as well as the independant state of Turkey.  The Russian Empire was separated into Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.  The German (Prussian) Empire was divided as well, with part of their territories going to create the Polish Corridor, giving Poland access to the North Sea, an allotment was also made to Czechoslovakia, Blegium, and, of course, the German independant state.\n\nSome of the statistical information concerning World War I is as follows:\n\n-10 million soldiers dead\n-6.6 million civilians dead\n-21 million wounded\n-8 million MIA (Missing In Action) or POW (Prisoners of War)\n-Cost of War appx. $180 billion\n-Other Costs in Relation ~ $150 billion\n\nThere was also a mass movement of displaced people as their homes were utterly destroyed in the wake of the war.\n\nIn terms of politics, the ultimate loss of Russian troops allowed for the successful usurpation of the government by the Communist party.  Since Europe's economy was trashed, the United States became the dominant power in the world financially and wound up being the largest lending agent for the restoration of Europe.  France, bitter at their ultimate defeat, wanted Germany to be punished for its role in the war, which successfully undermined Woodrow Wilson's attempts to settle the Versailles treaty without instilling a sense of anger in the Germans unsuccessful.  Germany was forbidden to have a standing military, and felt betrayed by its high command (Jews, Liberals, Socialists), and combined with the effects of high unemployment created a perfect breeding ground for Hitler and the Nazi party to emerge later.  Italy did not get all that it asked for -- a mutilated victory -- which opened the door for Facism and Musilini.  Britain, with the creation of the Mandates in the Middle East, made a grab for the oil industry.  The Bourgeoisie class was elevated, which mostly eliminated the power of the Aristocracy, which, combined with a deteriorated economy, weakened the strength of Imperial Colonialism and set the stage for the dismantling colonial states held by European states all over the world.\n\nThe full repercussions of World War I would not be felt until World War II with the rise of Nazi Germany and Facist Italy.  The end of the war left countless dead and/or missing and/or displaced, German divided between western powers and those of Russia, who had taken over most of the countries that would later become the USSR.  This set the stage for the Cold War, which would last until the early ninties after the fall of the Berlin Wall.  The Holocaust left over six million Jews dead and the remainder displaced.  As a result, many Jews migrated to Palestine, which soon after became Isreal, a nation backed by the west and resented by Muslims everywhere, thus creating tensions between the Middle East and the Western nations.  The advent of the first atomic bomb would also set off a long series of discussions on the US's use of nuclear technology against Japan.  The United Nations also formed as a result of World War II; their first conferences were held in San Francisco (mostly so the NSA could tap the other delegates' phone lines and listen in on other conversations being held).  The Cold War resulted in the Arms Race, and the decision of the US government to simply out-spend the Russians and drive their economy into the ground, slowly deteriorating the basis for their system of government.  Really, we have not seen all the final effects of World War II, though some of the major politica
400914
its complicated.\nUK and US were allies. US helped with industry, which it sailed to UK. germany sunk some ships with US citizen eg the lusitania.\nmostly beacuse a lot of it allies, canada, australia, UK etc were fighting and US interests rested more with them than with Germany
975223
Unofficially, the US was involved with WWII from the beginning, by sending supplies to the Allies.\nOfficially, in 1941.
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World War I\n\nWEB LINKS\n\nPRIMARY SOURCE DOCUMENTS.\n\nFantastic Resources.\n\nhttp://www.historyteacher.net/APEuroCourse/WebLinks/WebLinks-WorldWar1.htm\n\nWorld War I\n\nhttp://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWusaG.htm\n\nAlthough the USA had strong ties with Britain, Wilson was concerned about the large number of people in the country who had been born in Germany and Austria. Other influential political leaders argued strongly in favour of the USA maintaining its isolationist policy. This included the pacifist pressure group, the American Union Against Militarism.\n\nhttp://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWW.htm\n\nhttp://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook38.html\n\nRead and listen to stories of the War from the people who lived it. Explore diaries, letters, scrapbooks, newspaper cuttings, photos and keepsakes.\n\nhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/\n\nhttp://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/\n\nhttp://www.wfa-usa.org/new/links.cfm\n\nAn Internet History of The Great War\n\nhttp://www.worldwar1.com/\n\nGood luck\n\nKevin, Liverpool, England.
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The answer to this is complex and depends on whose history you read. However, the European side of WWII was caused solely by Adolf Hitler's quest for power.  He used tactics such as the Dolchstoss Legend, which stemmed from the "stab in the back" sentiments of the Treaty of Versailles, to gain power.  These tactics gained him wide support from Germans who were still bitter from their loss of WWI.  It also rallied anti-semitism because this legend, in part, blammed the Jews for the loss.  Initially Great Britain and France followed a policy of appeasement towards Hitler, allowing him to take over former German lands such as Czechoslovokia.  However, Hitler kept wanting more. WWII started after Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939.  Great Britain and France, allies of Poland, declared war two days later. \n\nOf course, if you look at WWII from the point of view of Asia, the war started much earlier.  According to China, the war started when Japan invaded them and the infamous Rape of Nanking occurred.  \n\nThe US became involved initially with the Cash and Carry policy developed in 1939.  The US, still struggling with the economic depression, used this to remain neutral but to fuel the need for industrial jobs.  After a while, though, Great Britain and France could no longer afford to pay the US for goods and the US enacted the Lend-Lease program in 1941.  This program allowed for much the same, but the Allies were not paying for the goods immediately.  Therefore, it could be argued that since the US only provided goods to Allied forces, we were involved in the war since 1939. \n\nHowever, most pinpoint US involvement as occuring shortly after  December 7, 1941 (the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese).    Nazi Germany declared war on the United States on December 11, with Hitler wanting to declare war on US before we could declare war on anyone. The United States was fuming at the Japanese, but the president decided to focus more on the European front first, making that top priority.
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U.S. entered WW2 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Almost immediately after the attack, the congress almost unanimously declared war on Japan. (only one person was against the war).  \n\nWhen U.S. declared war on Japan, Germany declared war on U.S. So, U.S. unanimously declared war on Germany. \n\nA) Italy and Japan were allied with Germany\n\nRussia was also allied with Germany but Hitler broke the Hitler-Stalin Pact and attacked Russia. Russia joined the Allied forces afterwards.\n\nPoland was never allied with Germany.\n\nAustria and Hungary were allied with Germany in WW1.
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After WWI, the Allies decided that they were going to punish Germany for causing WWI.  The fact that Germany was no more at fault than France or England was not an issue.  Germany was severely punished, and the result was the rise of Hitler, which consequently lead to WWII.\n\nAfter WWII, the US wanted to avoid another war, and they had learned the hard way that keeping the loser down was not a good idea.  Rebuilding Japan (and Germany) was the best way to ensure future security and hopefully cooperation between the two nations.
777708
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt  wanted to help the allies as a neutral nation.  After Sunday,7 December 1941 Pearl Harbor attack by Japan;the next day the Germans declared war against the US . America legally and officially declared war on Thursday,11 December 1941.  Europe would get help first and then Japan was second.\n\n\n\nGood night y'all.
350086
In the first World War, which began in 1914 America didn't join until 1917. It joined right at the end, when France was getting beaten on by the Germans and helped win though it's expected because America's troops were fresh and new.French troops had been fighting endlessly in their territory for 3 years already. \nIn WWII, America joined since the beginning in the fight against the fascism of Germany,Italy,& Japan which later included the Soviet Union as well until it was betrayed by Germany.It didn't really take a great part in it itself until Pearl Harbor, where Japan attacked us.