What Was the Underlying Cause of World War 1 World War 1 was a war that was filled with death and massacre all around. World War 1 has been labelled as the Great War due to it's absolute destruction and chaos. Countries such as Germany, Austria Hungary, Britain, France and others all took part in this war that started in 1914 and ended in 1918. There is widespread wonder on what started the war and caused it to go on as long as it did. The main thing that countries and nations want is power and control and that's why Imperialism is the main cause of World War 1. In Document D it says that Germany does not want to get crushed by all the other countries next to them because the other countries are doing so well and have more power than them. Germany wants to become the hammer and crush the other countries and gain severe power and land while not wanting to the anvil and get crushed and lose power and land. In Document E it shows in a cartoon that Britain is the most powerful continent by far. The cartoon shows that Britain is like an octopus because they are spread everywhere along the seas which …show more content…
The main Alliances of World War 1 were the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. Since the countries all had a hatred for one another almost anything minor that the opposing country did could be used against them as a propaganda piece to slur and make them look horrible. In Document A it shows a map of the sides during World War 1 and how close the countries where to one another. In Document B there is a cartoon that depicts the countries all pointing fingers at each other and blaming one another for the death of the “Peace of Europe”. In the cartoon the countries who are pointing at each other are never seen pointing at the countries who they are in an alliance with. The Alliances between countries do have a role in why the war started or did not end as
There are four factors which could be held accountable for World War I; militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism. Militarism is the expansion of armies and navies, alliances refer to the webs of pacts and agreements that countries made with each other, imperialism is the taking over of other countries, and nationalism is the promoting of one’s own country and propaganda against either other countries or countries which were opposition of your allies. All of these four factors were partially responsible for causing the war. Militarism could be blamed for causing the war, because the growing competition between the European powers meant that countries were desperate to show their dominance, and this was best done through military investing. Furthermore, increasing military spending meant that countries wanted to use their armies, and this idea is backed up by the ”use it or lose it” mindset. Alliances were formed to protect one another against possible future attacks, but ended up further increasing the tensions between the European powers as alliances were formed against other alliances. Imperialism meant that countries were already fighting over territory, and though it was far away from where these countries actually were, it severely increased the risk of war as the tensions between countries increased. Nationalism increased hostility as the propaganda war began and continued. Each country was frantically trying to prove that they were superior to all other countries, and in this process they often ended up making negative propaganda slandering other countries and their leaders. Nonetheless, it was the Triple Alliance of 1882 that started the string of events that would inevitably lead to war. Even though none of the f...
“As a result of the world war and of a peace whose imperfections and risks are no longer denied by anyone, are we not even further away from the great aspirations and hopes for peace and fraternity than we were decades ago?” (Hjalmar Branting). After the industrial revolution, countries were in a rush to prove themselves. Each country built up its militaries in hopes of creating peace, but all their effort crashed to ruins when the heir to the Austrian-hungarian throne was assassinated. War broke out over the assassination of this man, and due to the complex web of alliances they had weaved, no country could escape it. The powers of Europe set their own trap, and it had been activated. Looking back on history, there were three main determining factors that caused World War I; one outshone the
The American people thought they had captured the idea of “the shot heard around the world” when the first shot was fired in the American Revolution. The idea was then redefined when Gavrilo Princip shot and killed the Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, and his wife. This one shot of violence began a “war to end all wars.” However, what were the hidden reasons that started World War I. How could two small countries petty affairs start a war so large that in the end countries from every civilized continent would take part? Through the different alliances, acts of imperialism, -- the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies (Dictionary.com), militarism, -- the principle or policy of maintaining a large military establishment (Dictionary.com), and nationalism, -- the policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one's own nation, viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations (Dictionary.com), these many countries had set a stage for a cataclysmic end.
During the 1910’s decade, a famous and well known war began to take place. This war is World War I, also known as the Great War. Although the war had been going on since 1914, the United States didn’t officially enter the war until April 6, 1917. But before all of that, there were some details that led up to all this commotion. During this decade there were two presidents, William Howard Taft (1909-1913), and Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921). 1910’s was a decade of tension throughout the world. In America, the decade began with an intense election between Democrat Woodrow Wilson, Republican Taft, Progressive Roosevelt, and the Socialist Eugene Debs. Since the Republican voters split between Taft and Roosevelt, Wilson won 42 percent of the
The beginning of WWI was marked by the execution of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, and ended with the signing of the November Crime in 1919. The emergence of WWII, less than twenty years later, was surprising because most of the European nations were still recovering from WWI. Joachim Fest, a German historian, states “ The first phase of the postwar era was characterized by both of revolution and anti-civilizational resentments” ( Fest 403). Fest explains that the years following WWI were extremely challenging economically and socially, considering the struggles Germany faced during this time. The underlying causes of WWI were imperialism, nationalism, and alliance systems, all of which were the same causes of WWII. Together with the other
The world created after the Great War, and especially during the Great Depression, was one of economic depression and political instability. People were looking for radical solutions to these radical problems, and many began to believe that the answer could be found in ideology. During the interwar years, nationalism was still extremely prevalent throughout the world as colonies sought independence, successor states struggled to establish legitimate governments, mandates were created, and Zionism moved into the Middle East. North America’s goal was the spread of democracy, but many people held the capitalist economy associated with democracy responsible for the Great Depression. In the relatively strong countries, governments eventually stepped in to provide relief for their citizens, shifting many democratic governments decidedly toward socialism. In the weaker countries, however, the military took
There were a couple things that lead to the shift of the American position regarding the our entrance into World War 1. Some things that made America want to join the war were the Zimmerman Telegraph and the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. Over time you can see how the Americas views or President Wilson's views changed about us entering the War. Using politics and conflicts as a theme we will see who has the power and what the roles of the people were.
President Wilson addressed congress in 1917 to seek declaration of war against Germany in order to make "the world safe for democracy". Although, Wilson's words indicate that democracy was a crucial factor for American entry into War World I, the notion of American ideals of democracy were challenged by American women's demand to vote.
The alliances before World War One are the main reason World War One even started. This can be concluded when the events of the war are analyzed. World War One started as a dispute between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, but then many other European super powers got involved. Whether that was intentional or not no one can argue that the alliances are not the main reason behind this uncontrolled escalation of the war. Some historians call World War One the domino war because of how super powers (one by one) got involved in the war. As I said before the first to fight were Serbia and Austria-Hungary, followed by Russia, Germany, France, and then Britain. Although there are other factors on why World War One escalated from a small fight, the alliances outweigh all of them. Why did many super powers sign those alliances? Was the war already predicted? Did the war escalate uncontrollably or intentionally? All those questions startled many historians and truth seekers for decades but hopefully, in this research paper, all those questions will be answered and some light will illuminate the truth.
World war one was the war that changed how warfare is looked upon. The citizens of a country pre world war one looked at a war in positive manner. The soldiers who volunteered themselves expected a walk in the park with their closest pals. The soldiers were persuaded by propaganda posters and sometimes even celebrities. As peaceful as the war was made out to be little did the men know that they were to encounter grotesque trench conditions which will evidently take their lives before the opposing soldiers do. The outcome of this war has brought a major change to how people view war and their government.
The Great War , or as it is known now, World War One was a global conflict fought between the Allied Powers ; Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States along will other smaller nations and the Central Powers ; Germany, Austria – Hungary, Turkey/Ottoman Empire and other small nations from 1914 to 1918. World War One began from a series of tumultuous events, that in turn affected the balance of alliances that had been made between countries at that time in the world.
World War One was greatly influenced by many factors, and in many ways. National interest ignited the mistrust and insecurities within nations, which in turn led to the creation of strong alliances and immense military forces. The growing suspicion Britain had of Germany only heightened the wariness and uncertainty of nations. The means, by which individual nations dealt with the issues within themselves, and outside of their boundaries, in the years preceding World War One, were irrational and improperly thought through. Nations fell into a strong ultra nationalistic point of view, and acted in a way which expressed interest in themselves only.
World War 1 was called “The Great War”, “The war to end all wars”, and “The first modern war”. It had many causes and a few repercussions and I will describe them in detail.
Imperialism also had an impact on WW1. Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power (or empire) and influence through military force or other means. Imperialism caused WW1 because most European nations were engaged in empire building and the majority of Africa and Asia were occupied by Europe, this caused tension when the German Empire was in Africa (1887) as Great Britain became concerned. Austria-Hungary also wanted to expand their empire in
Near the start of the twentieth century, the first world began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. World War I was the war known for the killing of people both on and off the battlefield, as well as trench warfare. Because of these two reasons, the war was the result of millions of deaths from both the Central and Allied powers. This was taken into consideration when the Treaty of Versailles was drawn up. Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was required to pay reparations which costed them billions of dollars. The treaty also placed a limit on the German military, as they were only allowed to have 100,000 soldiers, 6 battleships, and no air force or U-boats. At the End of the War, it was when the Weimer Republic