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A series of wars in the Balkans strained relationships between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.
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By 1914, Europe split into two alliance systems. The Triple Entente of France, Russia, and Great Britain, and the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy(soon to be replaced by the Ottoman Empire).
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Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed by Gavrilo Princip, a young revolutionary assassin from Bosnia, was linked to the Serbian army.
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After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Austria declared war on Serbia. This sparked all of the alliances to slowly begin to fight other nations.
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The US declared war on Germany for many different reasons: the sinking of the Lusitania, the Zimmerman Telegraph, and British propaganda.
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In 1918, Russia signs seperate peace with Germany, which was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
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In November, 1918, Germany and the Allied Powers signed an armistice to end the war. The actual war didn't end until the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28th, 1919.
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Since Germany lost the war, they were treated terribly. Germany was forced to pay $31.5 million for war damages, lost land, and their millitary. Germany's debt was finally paid off in October, 2010.
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The European economy was left in ruins and the US emerged as the dominant world power.
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Once the war was over, and the soldiers came home, they brought home viruses from the trenches. The pandemic killed around 22-30 million people worldwide.
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Most nations were deep in debt after the war, which affected the international economy.
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American factories were supplying most of the world's manufactured goods, and American workers were making more money than they used to.
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Americans were borrowing and spending too much, and people were getting credit. People were also making careless investments.
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Factories and farms wer producing faster than they could sell, which made their prices go down.
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The Stock Market Crash of 1929 was the worst crash in the history of the US, and signaled the years of struggle to bring the economy back up.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt issued many executive orders that instituted the New Deal---a variety of programs designed to create relief, reform, and recovery for the US.
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The act provided benefits to retirees and the unemployed, promoted public building projects, and created more jobs.
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Hitler was slowly taking over other nations in Europe: Czechoslovakia, Austria, Rhineland, and Poland.
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The league of nations was a good idea, but there were some flaws in the plan. Not all countries joined the League, the League had no power, the League had no army, and they were unable to act quickly.
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Britain and France declared war on Germany following Germany's invasion of Poland.
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Hitler launched the invasion of Poland using Blitzkreig(lightning war) and used planes, tanks, and infantry to suprise the enemy and quickly conquer land.
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France signed an armistice with Germany, allowing German occupation of Northern France and the coast.
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Hitler launched Operation Babarossa, consisting of an army of 4 million men spread out along a 2,000-mile front in three offenses.
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The attack on Pearl Harbor brought the US into the war, which ended the Great Depression, and kick-started the economy.
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Social Security, a program that continues to this day, was introduced by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the midst of the Great Depression.
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After the stock market crash in 1929, it took 27 years to reach pre-crash levels.
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Germany surrenderd unconditionally after Allies troops invaded Normandy in 1944, and started to push Hitler's troops back.
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At the Potsdam Conference, Germany was divided into four military occupation zones---France in the southwest, Britain in the northwest, the United States in the south, and the Soviet Union in the east.
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Emperor Hirohito surrenders after multiple nuclear attacks in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan signed a formal surrender on September 2 in Tokyo Bay.
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After two World Wars, the world finally decided to create the United Nations to help promote world peace and equality.
