WWI
The start
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The start of WWI was basically caused by the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand (picture on the left). Franz Ferdinand was the archduke of Austria-Hungary from 1875-1914. Franz was assassinated on June 28, 1914. He was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian with ties to a secret military group called the black hand. This event pushed the major European powers towards war. Imperialism is also a cause of WWI. Imperialism is when a powerful nation takes states outside of their borders and turns them into a colonies. Some European nations had empires in the 19th century. Out of all these empires the British was the largest. During this time period it was a big race to colonize the remaining places that could become colonies. Most of the colonization occurred in Africa. The race for empire ran rivalry between countries, this caused a couple diplomatic issues. The fall of the Ottoman empire also attracted all of the European powers. All of the European powers wanted territory, power, and access to the Balkans.
The Home front
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The home front is all the people living in a country that at war. When WWI started the people of Britain and throughout Europe celebrated. Everyone thought that the war would be over by Christmas of 1914. Many young and old men answered the call to arms. All men wanted to show their patriotism. The British government asked for 100,000 volunteers to join the war. In one month they received 750,000. Propaganda posters were everywhere to convince people to join the fight. All those who did not join were treated as cowards, they were even refused services and kicked out of stores Everyone thought that it was going to be a quick victory over Germany. After the Battle of Marne had occurred it came clear that the war was far over. Once people started to see what was happening the reality of the situation set in. The British government tried to hide all the deaths but failed. They tried to send back the wounded back late at night, this did nothing to hide the horrific truth of WWI from the public. Because of the war the home front saw a great change, a ration of gas, food, and resources started. There was a inflation on food and poorer families could not afford to eat. For the first time in a war the civilians were being targeted as well. Zeppelin attacks had happened and they were targeting the civilians of London. There was also a huge demand for munitions, so the factories worked around the clock to make sure that there was never a shortage. Because of this it was more likely for accidents to happen. Ultimately a total of 1,500 civilians were killed in Britain during the war.
The women of wwI
Back on the home front the women of European countries were also helping the war effort. In France the women had a big part in industry and agriculture. During WWI it also was the start of a women's political rights. Women in America also sent relief packages to suffering people in Europe. During the war women entered the workforce and did many jobs. One of these jobs was being a nurse, thousands of women worked as nurses. On the home front they worked in factories and in the government. Women also started to serve in the navy and marines. WWI advanced a lot of things for women. Because of their work during the war they began to receive more support for women's suffrage, also, it helped pass the 19th amendment. During the war the department of labor created the women in industry service.
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