Reasons for World War I

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.

Militarism in the nations was shown through its military spending (as shown in document 4). Militarism was also shown through military recruitment posters (shown in document 6) which encouraged enlistment. I believe this was the most important cause of WWI because Germany had an industrialized nation and military.

From 1890 to 1914, there was a drastic increase in the amount of money nations began to spend on their navy and army advancements. In fact, as the war began to approach, Germany raised the amount they spent towards armaments from 30 million to 120 million pounds and the Triple Entente raised their total money spent to 225 million pounds in 1914 (Document C). The presence of more armaments created an environment ready for war. Their existence meant that the countries are more likely to use them, which only discouraged time to cool off. Additionally, as one country built up their armies more, the others felt they had to do the same which increased tensions. Britain who increased its colonial empire to the largest in the world since the Romans’, caused an arms race where the nations were competing only to have more armaments than the others. Being an island, they began spending more money on their navy, needing to defend its waters. On the opposing side, Germany did not want to get their own feet tramped by any foreign power, fearing to become the anvil rather than the hammer. Bernhard von Bülow, the German Chancellor, said the only way to “keep ourselves at the fore if we realize that there is no welfare for us without power, without a strong army and a strong fleet” (Document D). Using the idea of survival of the fittest, individual countries became stronger in the fear of being destroyed by the aggressors. Clearly, having arms was a

Another main cause of World War I was Militarism. For each country there was a big increase in military and naval forces. For each country there was a big increase in military and navel forces. The policies and government created a big influence on the military men and because of this, force was a alternative as solutions to problems. This is what made militarism one of the main causes of World War I. There was a rise in military influence on policy making after 1907, in countries such as Germany and Russia. During this period of time the German Army was known as a “state within a state”. Everybody in the government such as the parliament and politicians were required to follow the General staff. The war atmosphere was endangered. It was because of the secret alliances and that triggered a armaments race among all the powers. During 1900-1914 the race became very serious and the international situation became much worse then ever before. During these years there was a rise in army and navel estimates. There was so much military rivalry within countries competing for the

In 1919, Treaty of Versailles was made after the World War I. Germany and Austria-Hungary was blamed for the Great War and was imposed financial debts and territorial dismemberment on them. Germans could not afford the huge debts and during the 1920s the Great Depression which started in the USA impacted the economies of the whole world. There was high unemployment and the prices of daily necessities were high. The German government was distrusted. People chose to believe a man Adolf Hitler with his extreme ideas, and Racism that promised to make Germany stand up again. After Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, he had secretly built up a military and

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.

Before World War 1 began, other countries were preparing just in case. The assassination of Archduke of Austria was the spark that lit the powder keg, gun powder. This killing was given by a Serbian nationalist group called the Black Hand, so that they could regain their freedom from Austria-Hungary. There was supposed to be a balance of power, where no country could dominate the rest, however, this did not work out as expected.The war lasted from about 1914 to 1918. World War 1 was fought in European countries and throughout the world. Three of the numerous reasons for World War 1 was militarism, imperialism, and the alliance system was set up.

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.

There are many debates on what caused World War One, but there are five reasons in which many arguers can agree where major contributors. These reasons included alliances, imperialism, nationalism, crisis, and militarism. These all played a major role in the cause of world war one, but the cause I believe to be the most important is militarism.

So, Germany made a decision, as too much of the world had been claimed they must fight to gain countries, in order to build their much desired Empire. This lead to the war as it created rivalry between Britain and Germany, who were both powerful Empires in their own right. This meant in the case of a war between nations, such as the one which followed, these domains would be on opposing sides and would have a good motive to want to belittle the others status, Empire, National forces and wealth.

World War 1 was a very bloody war that lasted from 1914 to 1918 composed of power battles between the world’s greatest economic powers. It was made of two allies against each other. Once alliance was the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. The other was, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. These alliances expanded throughout the war as new countries and nations joined. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand sparked the war. Six assassins sent with help from Serbia assassinated Franz Ferdinand, the heir to Austria-Hungarian throne, causing Austria-Hungary to declare war, after Serbia declined an ultimatum. The three most important causes of World War 1 was militarism, nationalism, and alliances.

The massive population growth in the European countries, mainly in Austria-Hungary, was a contributor to the war. First of all, the population growth led to very distinct classes. The poor were extremely poor, and the rich were very wealthy. This put power in the upper class, in which the poor did not have. As a result of this, there was no middle class. Also, the extreme poverty led to riots and strikes for equality and rights.

Militarism was one of the key major factors of the war. Soon after Britain created their battleship, Germany revealed their 60 ships from a man named Alfred Von Tirpitz . A naval battle arose between the two and their relationship weakened immensely. Both Germany and Britain wanted to have the better army, and taking up naval weapons was the beginning of the hate and jealousy each country had for one another. Germany’s past ideology that they should not anger Britain because Britain was dangerous was an ideology that was now put aside. Part of being a powerful empire meant having strong, effective military willing to go to battle at any time for their people. In a book written by Ruth Henig titled The Origins of the First World War, Henig says, “The Kaiser and

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.