Causes Of World War I

The overall cause of World War I is very debatable; however most historians agree that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife was the most immediate cause. This assassination led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. When Russia began to mobilize due to its alliance with Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia. Finally, Great Britain entered the war against Germany a couple days later and then was against Austria-Hungary. The drivers of these players in the war are based on have basis from some of these factors many historians agree upon: Mutual defense agreements, Imperialism Militarism and Nationalism. Contributions to WWI
Firstly, many countries created mutual defense contracts that would …show more content…
The thought of anti-militarists was that this promoted possible war, not thwart it. In 1914, all the major super powers increased their military presence; Germany had greatly built up their military, more so than the others during this time. Also, advances in military equipment through lessons learned in the Crimean War became …show more content…
This treaty was very uneven in its proposal. For example, it imposed many sanctions against Germany in which was unrealistic to follow. While many countries participated, the US, Great Britain, France, and Italy were the largest. The League of Nations was created as a result, in which there was an international round table that would resolve disputes. President Wilson was part of forming this league as he believed this would ensure peace amongst the countries. Furthermore, he wanted to create an outline that helped ensure his goal. Part of this was forming the “Fourteen Points”. The Fourteen Points wanted democracy through the world, free-trade through reduction of barriers, disarmament, reduce economic and nationalist sentiment that led to war, and utilization of the League of Nations. (Keene, Cornell, & O 'Donnell, 2013) This idealism was passed forward for the US for many years to come. Not all politicians in the US agreed and there was much dissention amongst various cultural groups. The US chooses not to become part of the League of Nations. Ultimately, due to the unfair Treaty and the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations, it was setting up the world for a more deadly battle down the road, which ultimately led to events in the coming World War II. (Lynch,