Preview

What Were The Underlying Causes Of World War I

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
732 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Were The Underlying Causes Of World War I
What were the Underlying Causes of World War I
"War...is as much a punishment to the punisher as to the sufferer." ­Thomas Jefferson.
World War I was no different. All throughout Europe, World War I severely punished both powerful and small countries alike. Ten million lives were lost from four long years of World
War 1. This devastating war provoked people to examine the underlying causes of World War I.
With all the European countries’ quest for power, the national pride and desire of freedom of their citizens, Europe was sparked into an outrageous war of agony. Alliances of powerful countries, nationalism, and militarism fueled the four year long World War I.
To begin with, European powers were divided among two powerful alliances ­ the Triple
Alliance, consisting of Germany, Austria­Hungary, and Italy, versus the Triple Entente, comprised of France, Russia, and Great Britain. Both alliances were powerful enough that any conflict between them would have devastating consequences. Both alliances ruled the majority of Europe with a powerful army supporting them. Geographically, the countries in the Triple
Alliance was surrounded by the countries in the Triple Entente, allowing a rapid spread of war.
The alliances divided Europe into two powerful entities in which tension between them eventually led to wars. Even smaller countries would have to take sides with one of these alliances to have some protection. Eventually both weak and powerful countries would have to join war to support one of the alliances. As a result of these two alliances, tensions in Europe started to escalated, starting World War I.
Likewise, nationalism was also a weighty cause of World War I. Leaders used nationalism to their advantage and empowered their

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Network of alliances (connect this to WWI involvement) much of Europe was drawn into war because of the network of alliances…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ww1 Dbq Essay Example

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages

    One key contributor to World War I was the formation of alliances. By 1914 Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy had formed an alliance, called the Triple Alliance and Great Britain, France and Russia had formed another alliance, called the Triple Entente. After the assassination the Archduke of Austria, Austria wants and apology from Serbia, this makes Serbia angry. Russia then promises Serbia help, making an alliance. On July 28 1914, Austria declares war on Austria-Hungary. Russia being alliance with Serbia then declares war on Austria-Hungary. Since Austria-Hungary was part of the Triple Alliance Germany goes and declares war on Russia. France and Great Britain then rush to their ally Russia’s side and declare war with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Because of the alliances a conflict between two countries grew into a war involving between eight European countries.…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The development of the two rival alliance systems which included the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria- Hungary and Italy) and the Triple Entente (France, Russia and Great Britain) escalated into an European war. Furthermore, the two alliance systems could start an European…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    World War 1 Dbq

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Alliance was an important part of the war. It made sure of the country can protect them in the…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dbq Essay

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages

    World War I has a debatable issue about how the war was started. Some believe that each nation started it equally but I believe it was from a different cause. Austria-Hungary’s harsh act against Serbia and Germany’s unneeded declaration of war against Russia and France actually cause World War I. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia to quickly and then Germany declared wars on nations because it was “defending itself” even though it just wanted to gain more territories and use its large military. These rash acts caused the whole world to plummet into the largest war man had ever seen.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How Did Mania Cause Ww1

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages

    World War 1 also known as the Great War started on July 18, 1914 & ended November 11, 1918. WW1 left millions of people killed. WW1 was caused by MANIA. Mania is an acronym for Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism, Imperialism, & Assassination. WW1 eventually led to the Great Depression.…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    - Alliances and history tied many countries together. If one got pulled into the war, others did too. Something like a chain-reaction.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    World War One (WWI) is a war that we all know of. Perhaps because it was the first war in which armies used modern technology such as machine guns and chemical warfare. WWI began in 1914 with the assassination of the archduke of Austria-Hungary, and ended four years later with 10 million soldiers dead and another 20 million wounded. Many people know that WWI began with the assassination of of the archduke of Austria-Hungary, but many don’t know what really caused this epic war, the underlying, or deeper, causes. What were the underlying causes of WWI? The three underlying causes of WWI are: alliances between countries, militarism, and imperialism.…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wwi and Its World Changes

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages

    World War I took place between 1914 and 1918. Although the conflict began in Europe, it roped in countries as far away as the United States and Japan. At the time, the English-speaking world knew it as the “Great War”—the term “World War I” was applied decades later. Historians still actively disagree over the fundamental causes of the war. The period leading up to the war was a complex tangle of diplomacy and political maneuvering—many countries debated over strategies and alliances until nearly the last minute—and the first few weeks of the conflict were similarly chaotic and confusing. However, historians agree nearly unanimously about the war’s consequences: World War I led almost directly to World War II and set the stage for many other important events in the twentieth century.…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    One of the main causes of World War one was the growing force of nationalism. Nationalism is the large numbers of people feeling that people have of being loyal and proud of their country with the belief of that the country is better than other countries.This nationalism created a fierce competition and rivalry between Europe's power.…

    • 56 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In document 2, there is a map of the alliances. The triple alliance is surrounded by the triple entente. This made the triple alliance very uncomfortable, causing them to complain. Then the triple entente started suppling up on military supplies frightening the triple alliance because they would have to fight every corner of their alliance, while the triple entente had a country for every side. In document 4, there is a quote.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    World War 1 Military Weapons

    • 4755 Words
    • 20 Pages

    World War I (1914-1918) involved more countries and caused greater destruction than any other war up to its time. An…

    • 4755 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This also leads to the invention of submarines by the Germans during World War I. Imperialism was also one of many causes of World War I. Imperial competition causes alliances between countries to form. The two main alliances which fought in the war were the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance also known as the Central Powers. Before the start of World War I, countries’ military has been getting stronger. This is what fueled alliances to form due to the paranoia created by neighboring countries strengthening. The Germans have especially gotten stronger due to their massive military and their technological and weaponry advantages.…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were many different alliances formed, but the main two were Great Britain, Russia, France, and independent states- known as the Triple Entente- and Germany, Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Italy -known as the Triple Alliance. Although alliances help in war time, in times before war they were not as beneficial. They even helped cause World War I because it allowed smaller nations in alliances to behave carelessly. One example of this is the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the effects it had. Franz Ferdinand was archduke of Austria-Hungary and was killed by a Serbian scholar.…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    system alliance

    • 802 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Alliance system developed because the past tensions between the major powers, it is believed that these were nationalism, imperialism and militarism which are the push factor for the formation of the Alliances.…

    • 802 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays