The MAIN Causes of World War I
SLMS/10
M stands for Militarism…
Background
•Militarism is the build-up of
armaments and the glorification of the military. This became common in European
countries in the years before
World War I.
•Part of the reason for European nations’
focus on the military was the quest for
power and the scramble for colonies. In order to achieve both, a powerful military
was necessary.
•Other nations began to feel that the best
defense was a good offense. Newly emerging nations posed a threat to the established order of things. Many nations began
to build up their militaries in order to keep
up and in order to protect themselves.
•Unfortunately, the rampant and unchecked
build up of armaments continued for decades leading up to World War I.
•The French had lost the Franco-Prussian
War in 1871 to Prussia. This victory allowed Prussia to unify the Germanic states
into a single country called Germany.
•The Germans wanted to prove that they
belonged with the other big European powers as a major force in history. They began
to scramble for colonies — trying to make
up for the fact that they unified late.
•They were very militaristic — the military,
after all, had helped unify Germany, and it remained a primary
force in the German psyche. The
feeling was that a militarily
strong nation generally got what
it wanted. The aggressive nature
of the new German nation felt
threatening to all nations in Europe.
Statistics
•Between 1870 & 1914, military spending
in Europe increased 300%.
•Between 1900 & 1914, Germany tripled its
spending on warships, making
it the 2nd strongest naval
power in Europe.
•Britain
Britain responded by
increasing its naval spending.
•Russia
Russia doubled the spending on its army
between 1900 & 1914.
•France
France also increased its spending on the
military, and extended time of military
service from 2 to 3 years, thus,
significantly increasing the overall size of
its army.
Prelude to war?
•How did militarism lead to war?
•First, it contributed to the growing fear
and paranoia that was gripping nations.
•Second, it intensified a growing sense of
distrust that nations had about each other.
Many felt that weapons were being produced in order to intimidate neighboring
nations.
•Third, it produced a
sense of competition that led to constant and
deadly escalation in the production of weapons and warships.
•Finally, it was possible that even a small
conflict could erupt into a large scale war.
If you have weapons, odds are, you’re going
to use them if you have the opportunity.
Global History
World War I: Causes — Militarism
1. Define: Militarism —
Name _____________________________________
7. How did growing German militarism impact other nations of Europe?
2. What were reasons for the military build
up? (at least 2… )
8. Military expense in Europe…
Area
Expense
Europe
3. What was the result of the FrancoPrussian war?
Germany
Britain
4. Why did Germany feel the need to prove
itself?
Russia
France
9. How did militarism lead to war?
a.
5. How did Germany go about proving itself?
b.
6. Why was Germany so militaristic? (at
least 2 reasons… )
c.
d.