Around 1914 tension between
European countries started to become noticeable and seemed to pose a problem.
During the civil war the German Kingdom of Prussia urged to bring the German
nations together creating a German Empire. They were ultimately successful, and
at a fast rate they industrialized, and soon became one of the most powerful
nations in the world. This new empire greatly changed European Politics
creating even more tension within the continent. Prussia had attacked France
and gained their territory along the German border. This specific attack is
what sparked the forming of alliances between countries. For its own protection
Germany signed an alliance with both Italy and Austria-Hungary which was later
known as a triple alliance. The French and Russians also chose to ally with
each other.
Germany quickly grew
with the forming of a large Navy; other countries began to feel threatened by
this vast amount of armed forces. In June of 1914 a terrorist attack made by an
assassin in a Serbian nationalist group “Black Hand” killed the heir to the
Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. This assault
triggered alliances, and made the war more apparent to the United States.
Britain had long ago decided to support the weaker countries, while America,
for two years, had remained neutral. When the Unites States of America at the
hand of President Woodrow Wilson, had finally decided to declare war on Germany
on April 2, 1917, they chose to side with Great Britain. This was the beginning
of America’s role in World War I.
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