World War I

Please Do Now:

1. Why do some people decide to join gangs?
2. Why do other people decide not to join gangs?
3. What are both groups looking for?

Today, students will:

1. Discuss the ultimate causes of World War I
2. Discuss the proximate causes of World War I

Tonight’s homework is MIDTERM ESSAY DUE MAY 30:

Visit the following website: www.firstworldwar.com and use ONLY the primary and secondary sources on this website to answer ONE of the following questions in an essay of 800-1200 words.

1. At the close of the war, the victors declared Germany to be the primary agressor and forced the country to pay steep reparations.  To what extent was German agression to blame for the start of World War I?
2. The Western Front today is the most famous front from World War I.  To what extent was it the most important front in the Allied War effort?
3. Americans like to think that they are responsible for the Allied victory in World War I.  To what extent did American arms decide the final outcome of the war?
4. Socialist critics emphasized the divergent interests between the rich and poor in the course of the war.  To what extent did the outlook of national leaders differ from the views of ordinary soldiers?

You may RESEARCH these questions in groups, but you must WRITE your essays individually.  In your essay, you most QUOTE from at least 10 different PRIMARY SOURCES, and REFERENCE at least 3 SECONDARY SOURCES from within the website.  You may NOT consult other sources in your research for this paper, other than the textbook.

All quotes and references are to be completed in PARANTHETICAL format.  Simply put the url from the exact place you found your information in parentheses after the quote or reference.  More on this later.