LESSON 19 - World War 1
Objectives:
Identify and describe the factors that led to the outbreak of World War I Describe the terms Nationalism, Imperialism, Militarism, Alliance Describe the causes and effects of World War I on the United States of America
The Battle Lines are Drawn
Four factors contributed to the outbreak of World War I in Europe:
Nationalism: anger grew as nations pursued only their own interests. Imperialism: rivalries increased as nations competed for power around the world. Militarism: the nations developed strong, proud armed forces to back up their growing empires. Alliances: a series of treaties grouped the nations of Europe into two armed camps.
World War 1 broke out in 1914 when a Serbian killed the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. Russia then defended Serbia against Austria-Hungary when they reacted to the assassination. Germany supported Austria-Hungary by declaring war on France, who at that time was Russia's ally. Soon after, Great Britain, who was France's ally, retaliated by declaring war on Germany. Armies opposed each other across a system of trenches across Europe. Many, many soldiers gave their lives in this war, but neither side gained territory. At this time, the United States refused to align themselves with either side.
Because America had strong economic ties with Great Britain and France, and because stories of the German atrocities became known, Americans began supporting the Allied
World War I was a tragic episode in European history. As with most wars, there were some causes that led to this event. A few of these causes were militarism, alliances, and imperialism. The first spark of the war was on June 28, 1914 when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian nationalist group called the Black Hand. The Austrian leaders demanded an apology from Serbia, they got upset and Russia said they would help Serbia. With no apology and the threat of Russia, on June 28 Austria-Hungary declared war on them; Russia in return declared war on Austria-Hungary. Germany declared war on Russia, France on both Germany and Austria-Hungary. Finally Britain had joined France and Russia, then all of Europe was at war.
World War I, also known as the first World War, or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe the began on the 28th of July 1914 and lasted until the 11th of November 1918. World War I was a war that was fought between two sides with a few of the World’s greatest Nations of that time. The two sides were Triple Entente which included Britain, France, and Russia, and the Triple Alliance which was consisted of the countries Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. World War I left a mark on history as we know it, what could have possibly led to that war?, What were the underlying causes of World War I?. The major causes of “The Great War” or WWI consist of four long-term causes and one short-term cause. The common acronym that’s used for the four long-term causes to help students remember the causes of WWI is M.A.I.N; the acronym stands for Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism,and the short-term cause The Assassination of the ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo on the 28th of June 1914. To put all of this in a simpler way the five major causes of WWI was Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism, and the assassination of the ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand. Each of topics played a significant role in the reasons why WWI would begin.
As soldiers went away to war, waving at their family and friends goodbye hoping to see them on Christmas Day, instead were blown across a field, torso and head 50 feet apart. World War One, or the “War to End all Wars”, started when a Serbian terrorist assassinated ArchDuke of Austria Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, on June 28, 1914, which led to disputes and chain reactions of declarations of war between countries. Although this event was said to light the fuse, the big wires that were attached to the bomb consisted of alliances, militarism, and imperialism.
There were many underlying causes that could have been used to lead up to World War I. World War I had many turning points throughout the war. The war took over a huge piece of land and water for each country involved in the war. There were four main causes that have been believed to be the cause of World War I.
There was a lot of reasons World War 1 commenced imperialism, assassination, nationalism, alliances, and militarism are a few of WW1’s causes. On June 28th, 1914 archduke of Austria-Hungary and his wife were on their way home from an event when their driver took a wrong turn and Blackhand member Gavrilo Princip just happened to be in the alleyway where they stopped to turn around. Gavrilo Princip quickly pulled out his gun and shot both Archduke and his wife. This Assassination caused Serbia and Austria-Hungary to declare war which lead to WW1. Militarism is the belief or desire of a government of people that I country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests. Militarism denoted a rise in military expenditure, an increase in military and naval forces, more influence of the military men upon the policies of the civilian government, and a preference for force as a solution to problems. This caused the war because it built up nations armies and when you have a huge army that's good you use it. Imperialism is a policy of extending another country‘s power and influence through colonization, and use of military force to create empires they exploited weaker countries. This policy of one nation dominating other countries or regions caused the war because countries wanted to be huge empires like Great Britain. There were many causes of World War 1 but the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand,
World War 1 was triggered through the German nation wanting to expand their territory. The German nation was in direct competition with France and Britain who held larger areas of land and would later become Germany’s direct enemy. Conflict and tension between Austria, Hungry and an attack on Serbia with continued fighting in the Balkans was also a contributing factor to World War. 1. Politically WW1 lead to many new geographical changes on the globe countries gained and lost territories, socially there were 10 million soldiers dead, 20 million wounded and 40 million killed by Spanish influenza.
When the WWI erupted in Europe in 1914, President Wilson decided not to take part into the war and declared America’s neutrality. As the nation of immigrants, it would have been difficult to pick sides, especially that a lot of immigrants originated either England or Germany and Austria. This would have created separation between Americans. U.S.’s decided to continue trading as before with both Britain and France and also with their opponent, Germany, which was in America’s best interest (U.S. History, 2016). But, due to the British blockade strategy to German supply from the US, the trade with Germany was impossible. As a result, the US continued to provide war supplies to Britain and France but decreased the trade with Germany, which aggravated Germany, which prompted a German submarine to sink the US ship Lusitania. The United States decided to enter the war after two and a half years of isolationism, as Allies with Britain and France.
At the beginning of World War I, the United States of America’s motives for the war was to remain neutral. Neutrality was a decision favored by most Americans during the time. World War I boosted the American economy because the Allies needed ammunition and Americans as their trade partners were to produce it, this will later affect Germany’s decision to continue their strategy of unrestricted submarine warfare on ships.
For more than four years, World War One (WW1) was a conflict that caused a destruction to land and many family members who have lost their lives. Over sixteen million civilians were killed and ten million men died during the war. WW1 broke out because of the four main causes; Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism and Nationalism. Militarism was a crucial aspect that caused WW1 to break out because countries such as France and Germany had created a huge army to prepare for war. The Alliances was a fundamental long-term factor that led to the outbreak of WW1 as countries also decided to align with other countries so they could help each other if one goes to war. Imperialism was another vital factor that caused WW1 to erupt as many countries scrambled for territories that were not taken which began the tension of countries trying to expand their empire. Lastly, Nationalism was a very important reason in causing WW1 as European countries felt that they were more superior than the rest of the countries.
There are five main causes of World War One. These first of these is militarism. This means the high presence of the armed forces in a country or a high increase of armed forces that results in tension between countries. The second is the alliance system which are agreements between countries that if they should go to war the rest of the alliance must follow, creating tension between different alliances. The third cause is nationalism which is the patriotic value that your country is superior and the nationalistic obligation felt to defend it. The fourth cause is imperialism, in which a country gains land and therefore creates tension between countries competing for the spread of their nation. The final cause of World War One was the assassination
World War I is known today as one of America’s worst wars in history, due to the facts because it was the First World War and well over eight million people died. World War I was between the countries of Germany, United States, Russia, France, and among many others. There are many causes of World War I, both immediate and underlying causes. Immediate causes meaning a specific short-term occurrence that is directly related to the event and essentially what created the event. The immediate cause of World War I is the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife on June 28th, 1914. They were both assassinated by a Serbian nationalist of the Black Hand at Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital (Poon). To continue, there are also underlying causes. Underlying causes means that that it develops over a period of time and indirectly leads up to an event. Underlying causes of World War I include nationalism, imperialism, and militarism. Along with the events that specifically led the United States to even become a part of the war in the first place.
World War 1 began due to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Serbia nationalist. This caused Austria to declare war against Serbia on July 28th, 1914. The assassination of Austria's heir to throne wasn't the main reason why they decided to declare war on Serbia. Austria and Serbia had been recently having problems over treaties and demands Austria was making. Russia decided to mobilize an army for Serbia, this took many weeks to actually happen.
Before World War 1 began there were many conflicts between many countries, these conflicts are what eventually led to the war. Nationalism lead to World War 1 for reasons people believed they needed to fight for their country, many people who weren’t fighting wanted to support their soldiers, and many soldiers felt as if they couldn’t back out of the war. Militarism was a cause because each country was building up their weapons and ammunition, as well as building up their armies. Finally Kaiser Wilhelm II was a cause because he had a very strong hate towards Britain, he was a very aggressive leader and he wanted Germany to be the number one country. Nationalism, militarism and Kaiser Wilhelm II were the three main causes of World War 1.
This question has formed part of the historiography of the causes of the First World War, a historical debate that has endured ever since the conflict ended. It periodically resurfaces with new theories being advanced such as the Fischer thesis, usually on account of the release of previously unseen documents or because of a shift in the political climate. It has emerged to the fore once again because this year is the centennial of the war’s outbreak and there are plans to commemorate it nationally across the UK.
While we are always reminded of the negative effects of war, it is not everyday that we learn to understand the deeper factors of war that can turn a small conflict into an international outbreak. World War I was said to have been sparked by the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand but there are various deeper reasons that contributed to the commencement of the Great War. These factors include militarism, imperialism and the alliance systems.