There are many factors and chain of events that sparked World War l, also known as the Great War which began in August 1914, but the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist was the trigger that started the war. Tension among European countries for international order and balance of power had been underlying for decades with political, territorial, and economic conflicts contributing to the outbreak of the war, particularly among Germany, France, Great Britain, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. Imperialism, nationalism, militarism and system of alliances set in to motion the chain of events leading to the Great War (Keene, Cornell, & O’Donnell, 2013).
With the rise of industrialism, European countries needed to acquire additional land to support new markets in order to increase their power and wealth. These European nations competed with one another in order to protect their positions, and obtain more …show more content…
However, Germany began a submarine campaign, threatening America’s commercial shipping, as well as making threats to attack ships entering the war zone waters around Britain. After the sinking of passenger ships the Lusitania and the Sussex, President Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany citing Germany’s “violation of its pledge to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, as well as its attempts to entice Mexico into an alliance against the United States” (Office of the Historian, n.d.). When the Zimmerman telegram was intercepted, which promised Mexico assistance in recovering Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona territories in exchange for alliance with Germany, President Wilson declared war in order to protect our nation’s democracy and promote
With the rise of industrialism, European countries needed to acquire additional land to support new markets in order to increase their power and wealth. These European nations competed with one another in order to protect their positions, and obtain more …show more content…
However, Germany began a submarine campaign, threatening America’s commercial shipping, as well as making threats to attack ships entering the war zone waters around Britain. After the sinking of passenger ships the Lusitania and the Sussex, President Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany citing Germany’s “violation of its pledge to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, as well as its attempts to entice Mexico into an alliance against the United States” (Office of the Historian, n.d.). When the Zimmerman telegram was intercepted, which promised Mexico assistance in recovering Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona territories in exchange for alliance with Germany, President Wilson declared war in order to protect our nation’s democracy and promote