World War I began largely as a conflict between imperialist nations seeking to expand their influence, access to raw materials and trade to fuel their industrial desires.  The major European powers in the years before World War I were Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the Austrian Empire.  These nations took part in a series of minor conflicts in the Balkans and Morocco that would escalate tensions in Europe.  These tensions precipitated the death of one man that would trigger a truly cataclysmic war.

The assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand brought about the beginning of military movement by the Austrians.  The Germans too began to mobilize.  These mobilizations caused Tsar Nicolas II to prepare for war based on the threat presented by Austrian troop movement close to their shared border.  The Germans had a plan to avoid a two front war with the French and the Russians, The Schlieffen Plan.  The British entered the war when the Germans violated the neutrality of Belgium.  German movement was stopped and the infamous Western Front was created.

The United States did not enter World War I until 1917.  During the first three years of the war, the United States had struggled to maintain neutrality, though continued to openly trade with the belligerent nations.  Yet, the trade ties to Great Britain eventually determined that the United States would enter the war on the side of the Allied nations.  The arrival of US troops and equipment proved invaluable to its allies.  The troops arrived about the time that German reinforcements arrived from the Russian front that had closed due to the Russian Revolution and the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.  The infusion of new troops allowed the stalemate on the Western Front to continue. World War I ended in the punitive Treaty of Versailles.  This treaty may well have laid the groundwork for World War II.  The involvement of the United States in World War I led not only to its involvement in the next world war, but thrust the United States onto the world scene as a leader and world power.  Despite having never joined the League of Nations the United States exerted influence in its creation and future world affairs; this involvement is still readily seen today.