The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal.pptx by

World War I

What was the conflict?
 World War One had been a fuse waiting to explode; the spark was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. Ferdinand's death at the hands of the Black Hand, a Serbian insurgency group, started series of events that culminated in the world's first world war.
Austria-Hungary's reaction to the death of their not so beloved heir was three weeks in coming.  Arguing that the Serbian government was implicated in the machinations of the Black Hand , the Austro-Hungarians opted to take the opportunity to stamp its authority upon the Serbians, destroying the nationalist movement there and brutally reinforcing Austria-Hungary's influence.

The country decreed an ultimatum to Serbia which, in the extent of its demand that the assassins be brought to justice effectively nullified Serbia's sovereignty. Austria-Hungary's expectation was that Serbia would reject terms of the ultimatum, thereby giving them a pretext for launching a war against them.
However, Serbia had long had  ties with Russia, an altogether different proposition for Austria-Hungary.  While not really expecting that Russia would be drawn into the dispute to any great extent other than through words of diplomatic protest, the Austro-Hungarian government sought assurances from her ally, Germany, that the country would come to their aid if necessary.
Who were the parties involved?
The Triple Alliance:

Austria-Hungary

Germany

Italy

The Triple Entente

Russia

France

Britain

For an authentic video that shows you Franz Ferdinand arriving at the Sarajevo Town Hall

http://www.firstworldwar.com/video/ferdinand.htm

William Howard Taft

    I was born as William Howard Taft, a scion of a long-prominent family,  in Cincinnati on September 15, 1857. My father, Alphonso Taft, had a distinguished career in law and foreign service. Alphonso Taft was a state judge from 1865-72, U.S. Secretary of War in 1876 (a position his son would later hold), U.S. Attorney General from 1876-77, Minister to Austria-Hungary from 1882-1884, and Minister to Russia from 1884-1885.
      Then, at age 30, I served as judge on the Superior Court in Cincinnati for three years, before being appointed Solicitor General of the United States in 1890.Continuing my rather meteoric rise in the legal profession, I was appointed by President Benjamin Harrison as a judge of the newly created Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, at age 34. I served on that court from 1892-1900. My hard work would eventually lead me to become President after Roosevelt, though it was a rather uneventful term.
       I was widely praised for my work in the Philippines, in sponsoring land reform, road building, and honest and efficient government. In the Philippines, I demonstrated that my talent as an administrator was equal to his prowess as a jurist. As Chief of the Supreme Court I was concerned about the delay and inefficiency in the federal court system. My first task was to secure the passage of The Judges Act in 1922. The act was the first major reform of the federal judiciary since 1789. It gave the Chief Justice more power over the federal courts-I used it to reduce delay and streamline operations.
       Most legal scholars rate me as a good, if conservative, Chief Justice. I would usually side with "property rights" over labor and government power over civil rights. These views were generally shared by my colleagues on the court at the time, with the notable exceptions of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., and Louis D. Brandeis, who often dissented.
Link To video: http://www.history.com/topics/william-howard-taft/speeches#william-howard-taft-on-healthy-agriculture
Primary Sources:  http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/presidents/taft/memory.html