As nationalism increased among the European powers during the Age of Imperialism, the rush to establish empires inevitably brought these powers into conflict as they competed with one another for global supremacy. The result was World War I, the largest and deadliest conflict that Europe had ever seen. As the war waged in Europe, Russia was undergoing a revolution. After the Communists took control of the government in 1917, Russia exited the war altogether, just as the United States was entering it.
The victorious powers, France, the United States, Italy, and Great Britain, would not let the Germans, who lost, take part in the peace process at the end of the war. Each of the victors had their own agenda for the peace talks. The resulting Treaty of Versailles placed significant blame on Germany, made them pay money to the victors, set up the mandate system, and established the League of Nations. Unfortunately, the heavy war reparations placed on Germany contributed to the worldwide depression which resulted in charismatic dictators rising to power in Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union.
Pre-Assessment
Key Vocabulary
To view the definitions for these key vocabulary terms, visit the course glossary.
Adolf Hitler | Fourteen Points | Nazi Party |
alliance | Great Purge | neutrality |
Allied powers | Hideki Tojo | New Economic Policy |
anti-Semitism | Hirohito | Nicholas II |
Archduke Ferdinand | imperialism | reparations |
Benito Mussolini | inflation | self-determination |
Bolshevik Revolution | Joseph Stalin | Stock Market Crash of 1929 |
Central powers | Kaiser Wilhelm II | tariff |
collectivization | League of Nations | Treaty of Versailles |
communism | mandate system | trench warfare |
depression | militarism | Tsar |
fascism | National Socialism (Nazism) | Vladimir Lenin |
Five Year Plan | nationalism | Woodrow Wilson |