Deck 42: World War I and Its Disputed Settlement

Question 1

Would you assign one particular cause for the outbreak of World War I greater significance than others? Why or why not? Explain.

Answer 1

Answer not provided.

Question 2

How did Woodrow Wilson's idealistic principles carry into the final Paris Treaties ending World War I? What sentiments did the treaties actually reflect? Describe and evaluate the changes that occurred.

Answer 2

Answer not provided.

Question 3

When Germany announced in 1907 that it intended to build a world-class navy,

A) Kaiser William II tried to assure the other powers that Germany was intent on keeping the peace rather than breaking it.
B) Bismarck spoke out against the plans, but only because he was still upset over his dismissal.
C) the British press began to call upon the European powers to rein in the German military.
D) the French decided it was time to join with Russia in preparation for the coming conflict.
E) Britain took the news as a warning to seek out alliances that would provide some protection in the event that Germany succeeded.

Answer 3

Britain took the news as a warning to seek out alliances that would provide some protection in the event that Germany succeeded.

Question 4

World War I had several long-term causes, including

A) a growing sense of nationalism throughout Europe.
B) the frenzied imperialism that had dominated Europe's thoughts for the past few decades.
C) the growing fear that if one of the European nations did not demonstrate its strength relative to the others, the United States would join the imperialistic jockeying.
D) both a and b
E) both a and c

Question 5

Germany's original plan to end the war quickly was frustrated by French resistance in August 1914 at

A) the Somme.
B) the Meuse.
C) the Marne.
D) Verdun.
E) Ypres.

Question 6

The Alpine Front during World War I involved only

A) Germany and France.
B) Austria-Hungary and Italy.
C) Austria-Hungary and Serbia.
D) Bulgaria and Serbia.
E) Russia and Serbia.

Question 7

Describe the breakdown of the Bismarckian diplomatic system in Europe, and explain how "entangling" alliances set the stage for war.

Question 8

In the spring of 1917, the course of the war was changed by

A) German submarines breaking British blockades.
B) Turkey's collapse and the U.S. entry into the war.
C) Russia's collapse and the U.S. entry into the war.
D) the use of the machine gun in trench warfare.
E) Germany's movement to isolate the British from their other allies.

Question 9

The Triple Alliance (1882), as negotiated by Bismarck, was composed of

A) Italy, Germany, and Austria.
B) Germany, Austria, and Russia.
C) France, England, and Russia.
D) Austria, Turkey, and Germany.
E) Germany, Austria, and Japan.

Question 10

When Kaiser William allowed a treaty of friendship with Russia to lapse, he

A) ignited World War I.
B) caused Bismarck's resignation.
C) gained strong support from Austria.
D) antagonized Britain.
E) drove Russia into an alliance with France.

Question 11

An entente is best defined as a(n)

A) binding promise.
B) announcement.
C) formal treaty.
D) understanding.
E) disagreement.

Question 12

The German-Austrian allies were known as the

A) Central Powers.
B) Axis Powers.
C) Western Powers.
D) Eastern Powers.
E) Allied Powers.

Question 13

Determined to maintain security for the new Germany, Bismarck

A) sought alliances with both France and Britain, since those two countries were the strongest.
B) attempted to forge alliances with both Russia and Germany's nearer neighbor, Austria-Hungary.
C) sought an alliance with Britain against France, its traditional enemy.
D) forged an alliance with Russia, though he could not persuade Russia to join with any other countries.
E) played Britain and France against each other by stirring up conditions in Africa and Asia, where the two countries had colonies.

Question 14

In 1907, Germany provoked Britain by

A) entering into an alliance with Austria.
B) announcing that it planned to put together a world-class navy.
C) taking the region of Alsace-Lorraine from France.
D) reinstating the Triple Alliance.
E) taking sides with the Dutch against Britain in the Boer War.

Question 15

Explain how conditions combined to make the First World War the bloodiest conflict experienced up to that time. Describe the inadequacies of military strategy.

Question 16

The most compelling cause of U.S. involvement in World War I was

A) the Archduke's assassination.
B) unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany.
C) the slaughter at Verdun.
D) German violation of Belgian neutrality.
E) the sinking of the Lusitania .

Question 17

What is meant by the assertion that, psychologically speaking, the world has never recovered from the 1914-1918 war?

Question 18

What was meant by the term "Total War"? In what manner and to what degree did global war transform society?

Question 19

Describe the positive and negative aspects of the Paris Treaties. In the final analysis, was the negotiated settlement "workable"? Why or why not?

Question 20

The military experts across Europe had come to some rather solid conclusions concerning any conflict that might erupt, and their governments proceeded accordingly. Which of these conclusions turned out to be wrong?

A) The offense will have a big advantage over the defense.
B) The war will be won within a few weeks.
C) Thanks to improved transportation and communication networks, the country that seizes the initiative most quickly will have a tremendous advantage.
D) The new technology that has given us heavier cannons and the ability to use much larger armies will favor whichever country takes control in the early days of fighting.
E) Each of these conclusions proved to be incorrect.

Question 21

When one examines the psychic consequences of World War I, both on active participants and on citizens on the home front, the most prevalent feelings seem to have been

A) disgust and anger.
B) confusion and depression.
C) all-consuming fear.
D) disillusionment and a sense of betrayal.
E) confusion and anger.

Question 22

Which group had the most cause to be satisfied with the war's results?

A) Africans and Asians under colonial rule
B) feminists
C) internationalists
D) German nationalists
E) American isolationists

Question 23

The least likely societal consequence of the first World War was

A) increased social mobility.
B) renewed faith in authority.
C) a rise in alcohol consumption.
D) rejection of the ideal of inevitable progress.
E) relaxation in relationships between the sexes.

Question 24

As part of the Peace Treaties, the two "lost provinces" of ____________________ and ____________________ were restored to France.

Question 25

Paragraph 231 of the Versailles Treaty dealt with

A) punishment of the defeated.
B) territorial changes.
C) responsibility for starting the war.
D) reparations.
E) the League of Nations.

Question 26

The chief shortcoming of the Paris Treaties lay in their

A) leniency toward the Central Powers.
B) failure to accept the political realities of post-war Europe.
C) failure to provide a mechanism for repaying war debts.'
D) desire to maintain colonial imperialism.
E) paternalistic treatment of newly created countries.

Question 27

Rationing food, the government controlling the economy, encouraging women to enter the work force, holding patriotic parades, sending veterans on speaking tours: all of these were designed to

A) keep the populace at home supportive of the war effort.
B) encourage the general public to purchase war bonds.
C) show the enemy that your country deserved to win more than theirs did.
D) distract the general public from the fact that so many young men were dying every day.
E) turn the civil population into a productive machine to fight the enemy.

Question 28

The Fourteen Points did not include

A) disarmament.
B) an international peacekeeping body.
C) a war guilt clause.
D) self-determination for countries.
E) freedom of the seas.

Question 29

During World War I, social changes included women's insistence on

A) returning to their traditional roles.
B) gaining access to mechanical birth control.
C) serving in the military.
D) receiving equal pay for equal work.
E) wearing pants in public.

Question 30

The eventual amount assessed of Germany for wartime losses was

A) $33 billion.
B) $23 million.
C) $10 billion.
D) $100 million.
E) $25 million.

Question 31

A major cause for the U.S. Senate's rejection of the Paris Treaties was

A) the issue of reparations.
B) the war guilt clause.
C) the lack of provision for freedom of the seas
D) the occupation of the Saar.
E) the League of Nations.

Question 32

In the estimation of John M. Keynes, the Paris Treaties would best be described as

A) constructive.
B) lenient.
C) destructive.
D) practical.
E) harsh.

Question 33

World War I put an end, for many people to the belief that

A) countries could learn to get along without wars.
B) science and progress would make for a war-free world.
C) parliamentary government by definition meant progress.
D) war always had clear victors.
E) All of these beliefs were shattered.

Question 34

The ____________________ ____________________ was President Wilson's blueprint for a lasting peace and a new world order.

Question 35

The people who most felt betrayed by the outcome of World War I were

A) defense workers.
B) women.
C) military leaders.
D) political leaders.
E) veterans.

Question 36

When the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, the royal Romanov family was

A) spirited out of the country by supporters.
B) placed under house arrest for several months before being deported.
C) seized, tried, and put to death for treason, all in a matter of days.
D) kept under house arrest and eventually murdered.
E) exiled to Siberia, where they died.

Question 37

"Peace without victors" most closely conveys the attitude of

A) Orlando.
B) Clemenceau.
C) Lloyd-George.
D) Wilson.
E) Lenin.

Question 38

Czarina Alexandra was all but one of the following:

A) A firm-willed and energetic woman
B) An opponent of parliamentary government
C) A politically reactionary character
D) A regal princess who fulfilled the role of czarina admirably
E) A reluctant and timid player in Russian governmental affairs

Question 39

The immediate cause of World War I was Archduke Francis Ferdinand's assassination at ____________________.

Question 40

The major weakness of the League of Nations was that

A) the United States never joined the organization.
B) the League had no means to enforce protections written into the treaties.
C) borders assigned to countries across Europe made no sense.
D) Germany was refused admission, thus fueling further hatred.
E) members of the League often were at odds with each other because of religious and ethnic differences.

Question 41

The Alpine front of the war involved only the countries of ____________________ and ____________________.

Question 42

The European leaders who turned against Wilson in Paris and pushed for tougher treaties were ____________________ of Britain, ____________________ of France, and ____________________ of Italy.

Question 43

The events in ____________________ during 1917 ignited hopes (and fears) of a Marxist worldwide revolution.

Question 44

"Total war" meant full mobilization of the ____________________ ____________________.

Question 45

The Paris peace negotiations were conducted ____________________ ____________________, despite Wilson's earlier promises.

Question 46

The ____________________ question revolved around the issue of forcing ____________________ to pay for damages inflicted during the course of the war.

Question 47

British economist John Maynard Keynes deemed the Versailles Treaty a\an ____________________ ____________________.