World War I

World War I 2/5/13

At the turn off the twentieth century, Europe seemed to enjoy a period of peace and progress. Every country was at ease with each other and problems were solved immediately. Then ideas like Nationalism began to strike harder than ever as every country felt they can be better. Especially Germany who was improving at such a rapid rate it scared most of Europe. The Balkans was also an explosion waiting to happen. It was mostly a domino effect in Europe as every Country was on the defense and building up their military waiting at any little moment to respond. The four main causes of all the commotion at turn of the century was mainly because Nationalism, Militarism, Alliances, and Imperialism. All of these ideas gave the countries different policies and ways of doing things that later on led to the cause of World War I.

One cause of World War I is Militarism. This is when country's built up their militaries to improve their country's power. It seemed like most countries were practicing this in either in a response to other countries or for their own self-satisfaction. Each country suddenly started putting more money into the Military and to building it up the best.(Doc.1)This is when tension rose among the countries as they were on the defense and ready for anything. A perfect example of this is when Germany was building up its navy. Their navy was furiously improving and this posed a threat to England. Germany of course had a clear quest in what it was trying to accomplish. This put strife in Britain and France's heart and they dreaded each move Germany made(Doc.7). They were trying to become the most powerful country in Europe. It almost became a race between European nations. Some nicknames assigned to this occurrence was the "Naval Arms Race" and "The Race of the Seas". Even though it was a race, few other European countries posed threats. Alliances also broke out of this as every country was now on the defense. They formed alliances for protection and power. The main two groups fighting the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance were mainly just a string of alliances (Doc.2). An example of this is Austria-Hungary‘s partnership with Germany. This was mainly because Austria-Hungary wasn't what it used to be and they needed more protection in case anything breaks out. Germany promised them military assistance and the green light that if they go to war they are going to be right behind them. This striked fear into Europe as Germany has now officially displayed their urge for war. Austria-Hungary had tension with Serbia so when a Serbian spy assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. This was the spark that Austria needed to ignite the war. When this happened this set off decades of tension between the Austro-Hungarians and Serbians. The Austro-Hungarians gave Serbia a warning document that stated the procedures the Serbians must take to prevent war. When the Serbians refused parts of the document the Austro-Hungarians automatically declared war with them. The war dragged Russia and Germany in through alliances, then later on Britain and France through similar causes.

Other causes of World War I were Imperialism and Nationalism.