The Role of Francis Ferdinand's Assassination in Contributing to the Start of World War I

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World War I was a reaction to the world experiencing plenty of change in such a small amount of time. Major events have been attributed to the World War I, such as German Unification, Imperialism and The Creation of Peacetime Alliance systems, but the ultimate reason for the war was the assassination of Francis Ferdinand on June 28, 1914. According to notes taken on the Civil war, Francis Ferdinand was heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne, and he was killed by a Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip. After the assassination of Francis Ferdinand, the feud between Siberia and Austria-Hungary grew out of control.

The people of Austria-Hungary were upset with the Siberian people after the assassination of Francis Ferdinand. Although Austria could not prove Siberia planned the assassination of Francis Ferdinand, they publically accused the Siberian government for his death. According to the Author of The Causes of World War I: A Narrative, The Austrian government knew they could depend on Germany if they were to ever to go to war, so in the weeks that followed the assassination, Austria, allied with Germany, and insisted on punishing Serbia. The Austrian government failed at an attempt to peacefully resolve their dispute by sending Serbia an ultimatum, but Siberia was not willing to meet all of their demands. The feud between Siberia and Austria-Hungary would change the way foreign countries settled disputes forever.

World War I was inevitable because neither Austria-Hungary nor Siberia was willing to come to a mutual agreement regarding the resolution of their disagreement in a peaceful way. The dispute between Serbia and Austria-Hungary went beyond a government level because the assassination of Francis Ferdinand was pe...

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...ns of livelihood.” The war was ruining the economy around the world because supplies were being depleted and commerce could not be conducted properly. The only way that the world could survive was to end the war.

The Treaty of Versailles, 1919 was signed into law, which ended the war with Germany. Unfortunately, Germany was held both morally and financially responsible for the war and had to pay France thirty-three billion dollars for the civilian losses and damage they caused. World War I was an unnecessary war that could have been prevented with proper communication and negotiation techniques. Although Germany was an ally with the Austria-Hungarian government, they should have known this war was personal for them. Thousands of military troops around the world lost their lives because one country wanted to get vengeance for their leader’s death.

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