World War I began July 28, 1914 and ended November 11, 1918. The United States at the beginning of this war declared neutrality not wanting to get involved, however on April 6, 1917 the United States did enter into the war. The two sides of the war were the Central Powers (The Triple Alliance) versus the Allies (The Triple Entente). In the beginning of the Great War, the Central Powers were: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Initially the Allies were: France, Britain, and Russia. As the war progressed the Ottoman Empire joined the Central powers, Italy left the Central powers and joined the Allies, Russia dropped out of the war due to the Russian Revolution, and later on the United States joined the Allies. The majority of this war was fought in the trenches (Trench Warfare), they would dig into the ground and make hallway like holes in the ground. The two sides would bombard each other with heavy artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. The U.S. entered the War late in the game but coming in fresh to a War that had been going on for three years was a major advantage and bringing with them the Industrial and economic backing of the United States made the difference for the Allied Forces. World War I ended up being a major catalyst for Civil Rights and Women's rights it also did much to unify business and government. Another benefit to World War I is that it pulled us out of a depression and put the U.S. on the road to prosperity. A negative externality of the war was that after it had ended, the post war negotiations focused more on punishment rather than the unification of Europe. Harsh punishments made on Germany lead to resentments which later manifested into the election.