World War 1 Dbq

World War One was a catastrophic event that involved almost all of the major powers of the twentieth century. When looking at the causes of this major world event one might believe that the sole cause of the war was the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary (The DBQ Project, Background Essay). There is reason to believe that the causes of the war had a more lasting effect and were more broader subjects than the assassination of just one man. World War One also called The Great War had four main underlying causes, imperialism, nationalism, alliance systems, and a want for war.

Many nations were looking for a reason to start or get involved in a war. Every country constantly wanted to show off their power and strength (The DBQ Project, Documents 1 and 2). Each wanted the …show more content…
The members of these alliances had to be ready to stand with and back up the countries that they are allied with. The two main alliances at the time were the triple alliance and the triple entente. The triple alliance consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy; while France, Great Britain, and Russia made up the triple entente. When Austria-Hungary and Serbia went to war the members of these alliances were forced into the war as well. This is how the the war became a global conflict.
World War One began because of the underlying and linking ideas of imperialism, nationalism, and alliances. All three of these led countries to want to go to war. When stronger nations take over weaker nations, the overtaken then want their independence because of the spreading ideas of nationalism. Nationalism also creates pride that leads to nations wanting to constantly be the best. Some countries band together in alliances as a way to know that other countries will be there to back them up. With these ideas in mind it is easy for one to see why so many nations were involved in this Great