Directions: For each of the following causes, briefly summarize in your own words what
that cause was and how it led to the outbreak of war.
Militarism is when countries built strong armies and navies to defend their
own countries and their colonies. As the world entered the 20th century, a
weapons race had begun. By 1914, Germany had the greatest increase in military.
Great Britain and Germany both greatly increased their navies in this time
period. This increase in militarism helped push the countries involved to war.
An alliance occurs when two or more nations agree to cooperate together
and protect each other in case of war. When Austria-Hungary declared war on
Serbia, Russia got involved to defend Serbia. Germany saw the Russia got
involved so Germany declared war on Russia. France was then drawn in against
Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium
pulling Britain into war. Then Japan entered the war. Later, Italy and the United
States would enter on the side of the allies.
Imperialism is when a larger country expands their “territory” by
taking over poorer or weaker countries that have important resources.
Before World War 1, European countries fought over Africa and parts of
Asia. Europeans were interested in these area because of the immense
amount of natural resources. The increasing competition and desire for
greater empires led to an increase in conflict that helped push the world
into World War I.
Nationalism is the belief that your country or culture is greater than all
others. European countries were constantly trying to prove their superiority and
their power.
The immediate cause of World War I was the assassination of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. In June 1914, a Serbian nationalist
assassinated him and his wife. This was in protest to Austria-Hungary having
control of this region. This assassination led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on
Serbia. When Russia sided with Serbia because of their alliance Germany declared
war on Russia. The war began to involve all countries in these alliance systems.