Sarah Hukill P1 3-20-14 WW1 FRQ World War One was propagandized as the “war to end all wars” to rally together fellow citizens into enlisting. However, it did not live up to its claim and many who survived the war were nearly unaware of why they had actually joined the war, besides to fight for their mother-country. Among the causes of WWI was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was the nephew of the emperor of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, each country’s obligation to each other in alliance which contributed to the fast escalation of a world war, the propaganda used to spread nationalism and militarism, and the imperialism that had previously caused many European countries to have already established an aggression towards one another. Nationalism had grown among the people in Serbia and the rest of Europe like a flame, leading to a small group of zealots who sought to restore greater Serbia to its former glory. They intended to do this by the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, since he was an important figure of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire ,but instead they had received more than they bargained for.
Germany had known that it was losing so it decided the best way to combat losing the arms race was to declare war. In conclusion, there were many factors involved in the casing of World War One, but there were 3 very influential causes. Nationalism, which was extreme if not borderline insane pride in your country. Alliances that had stirred up countries into thinking they were not safe. being that this was 1914 and countries were still developing and some were weaker than others, it was very likely you could be invaded which is why alliances scared some countries into a hostile state.
Nationalism causes other nations to become suspicious, and it also leads to a war that could easily be resolved other ways. The system of alliances was another underlying cause, as it made the war a world war by bringing all of Europe into it. WW1 began because of militarism, nationalism, and the system of alliances. The presence of militarism, an ideology that claims that the military is the most important aspect of a society, before and during the war led to jealousy and hard feelings, thus escalating the war far before it needed to be. Although this was not the primary cause, it was still an extremely important factor in the playing out of WW1.
Among the other problems of the alliance system were the expectations of the countries that had plunged into war. The dangerous effect of the formation of th... ... middle of paper ... ...tion of the Archduke clearly demonstrate that nationalism was an explosive force which finally exploded into war following Sarajevo in 1914, thus a major cause of WWI. In conclusion, tt can be said that the alliance system contributed to the growing tensions of the proceeding period. The alliance system had its flaws; it was unable to resolve unnecessary tension, long-term problems that occurred after the dismissal of Bismarck and expectations of its allies when a country launched into war. Nonetheless, the system’s influence on the cause of the war was only to a certain extent because there were other vital reasons as well, such as domestic factors, imperial rivalry, the arms race and nationalism.
This was only the spark that started war in Europe; there were long term causes that contributed to the war and were the origins. This answer will explain the causes focusing on how they contributed to World War One and what the important links are between them. The Alliances not only contributed to war breaking out; it made the war last longer and become on a much larger scale; major political disputes would inevitably cause a large conflict. The alliances caused suspicion, fear, and tension among nations. The two camps were the Triple Entente (Britain, France and Russia) and the Triple Alliance (Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary).
Basically, Austria-Hungary wanted Serbia to punish the people responsible for the assassination and Serbia refused, so Austria-Hungary declared war on them. Since Serbia was an ally to Allied powers and Austria-Hungary was an ally to the Central Powers, this single event set off a chain reaction that resulted in all the countries associated with these major powers being involved in the conflict. A single country going into battle can drag the rest of its allies with it, and with so many alliances a small event can spread into a full scale fight, such as the World Wars. Nationalism was anothe... ... middle of paper ... ...ntrol what. This led to competition to try to control the most foreign colonies, and in turn, sustain their economy.
One could see alliances escalating the the amount of countries in the war, an extreme amount of nationalism, and tensions over colonies and technological advances. All of these ultimately led to commencement of World War I. First, and possibly one of the most crucial of all the reasons, was alliances. The Great War started off slowly, but it started a chain reaction that slowly brought most of Europe into it. The two sides in this war were the Allied forces which consisted of Britain, Russia, the United States, and a few more while the other side was the Central Powers which had Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey.
They did this hastily, comprehensively and most importantly, aggressively. The "Weltpolotik" of Germany meant consolidation and increase of power. They wanted an empire, and to achieve this they needed economic stability and subsequently milita... ... middle of paper ... ... united Germany, then there would not have been the desire which plagued them and Europe, and ultimately started war. However, it would be unfair not to recognise the other factors. Nationalism significantly altered the political structure of Europe; the unstable Balkans were both unknown and feared; and probably all the leaders of all the major powers have some blame for the war.
As the alliance system divided Europe into opposing groups, each nation began to increase spending on its military. This set a belligerent mood in Europe as each nation was prepared to fight a war. A German officer once said "in time of peace, prepare for war," and that is exactly what European nations did, eventually leading to the Great War. Without a doubt, the one underlying cause of the three described above that was most responsible for World War I was the system of alliances.
“With the growing spirit of Nationalism, Slav subjects were becoming more and more difficult to govern.” This was caused because of the Slavs desperate desire to become an individual state. Francis Ferdinand, the Austro-Hungarian heir was murdered by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand terrorist organization in 1914. Francis Ferdinand’s murder took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia. “The assassination set off a rapid chain of events, as Austria-Hungary immediately blame... ... middle of paper ... ...l countries acquire into heated rivalries with one another. Economic desire was also a key factor into the rising of World War I.