World War 1 Dbq Essay

Prior to World War I, Britain was the most imperialistic country in the world. The British Empire occupied more than a quarter of the world, which spread over five continents and France controlled most of Africa. Because of this control the rivalry with Germany and Italy had increased, they decided they wanted a colonial empire also.

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.

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

France, conquered the majority of the continent. This is best seen in document F. The population

During the start of the 20th century, Europe was in a good place. It controlled many empires and colonies, and technology was advancing at a rapid pace after the Industrial Revolution (1840-1870). However this peace did not last; 1914 started a brutal four year war known as WWI. The immediate cause of this war is known to be the assassination of the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, in June of 1914. However, there are many more elementary causes of this complicated war. Some of the main underlying causes of WWI was the strong militarism and imperialism felt in the European countries, and the alliances put in place to uphold these powerful militaries and colonies.

Document 1 is a chart showing “the increasing amounts of money spent on armaments from 1870 through 1914.” In the chart it is shown that Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were spending an increased amount of money on weapons. With better weapons, countries are more prepared and even eager to fight. In addition with so many built up militaries, European countries are now nervous and built up their own military. These nervous countries may anticipate an attack from another country and would be more ready to attack in order to “defend” themselves in situations that are not very serious.

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

Following the conclusion of the First World War, America began to flourish, especially through changes in technology, morality, and civil rights. Accompanying these developments came widespread discontent. Some argued with the old adage, “'If it ain't broke, don't fix it,”, while others insisted that constant advancements would lead to a better future for all. Best put by Donald Rea Hanson, to pick out reason for America’s prosperity “...would be difficult, if not impossible” (Doc C).

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s Europe was becoming a tinder box for a possible great war. Every country was extremely determined on spreading their empires. Additionally they began to form alliances, France with England and Germany with Austria-Hungry. Then on June 28th 1914 a Bosnian-Serb nationalist assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife practically igniting Europe and the world into a massive war. This assassination was viewed as an act of war and Russia came in to assist their ally Serbia. Germany naturally had to declare war on Russia to help Austria-Hungry. France and England then joined in to assist Russia.

World War II happened because of a multitude of things because of the way they dealt with Germany. The start of the war had many things contributing to it. Because of the faulty League of Nations as well as appeasement in European countries, World War II took a turn for the worst, making it the biggest, most deadly, and most impactful war in history. The League of Nations was one thing that contributed to the start of World War II.

World War I was also known as the Great War, or the War to End All Wars. This war took place from 1914 to 1918. World War I was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28th, 1914, although a war was inevitable due to the tensions between European countries. The three main causes of World War I were nationalism, militarism, and alliances. Nationalism initiated war because citizens felt that it was their duty to defend their country’s honor.

Have you ever planned something to protect against a problem but it backfired? The intended use became a major reason that the situation went horribly wrong. For instance, say you do homework early so you don’t stress out later. When you go through it right away, you accidentally missed important directions. After you finish the project, you feel accomplished until find out that you did it wrong. Now you have even less time than if you just procrastinated before, and you don’t know how to fix your original project or start all over. That’s pretty much what happened to cause World War I. Alliances and treaties, nationalism, and quick reactions led to a series of events that started World War I.

Expressing how militarism played a huge role in the war, he says that they won’t have power without a strong army and fleet. This proves that having those strong forces was the most important or else the country lacked power. In the end, Militarism can be seen as the central cause of

Militarism preferred force as a solution to problems, which was one of many things that led to World War I. Nations mobilized their military to show support for their alliances and as a method of inflicting fear to their enemies. This led to development of more military equipment and increase in the number of troops. When one nation improved their military, the other nations felt they needed to build a better one. Eventually alliances were formed between nations to ensure that no country became stronger and powerful than the others.