Reasons For World War One: Formation Of Alliances (Essay Sample)

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Reasons for world war one
Formation of Alliances
World war one was caused by the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife. He was the Archduke of Austria and his assassination was pegged on the Bosnian revolutionary Gavrilo Princip. Austria decided to go to war with Serbia. But the confrontation between the two so turned into a full-scale war between the nations as Germany had entered into a pact with Austria-Hungary to against Russia while Russia was in an agreement with Serbia. Other alliances included triple entente and Anglo-Russian alliance. Due to these alliances the battle became a battle of nations rather than two conflicting countries (Sondhaus 90).
Imperialism
Industrialisation in the western countries meant there was increased demand for market and sources of raw materials. Most of the nations for instance France and Britain had may colonies in Africa but Germany did not. Germany’s ambition for more colonies in Africa fuelled the rivalry between them and these nations, which eventually resulted in the war (Varriale 105).
Increased Militarism
There was increased investment in the military and consequently the armies of the western countries. Due to the tension that existed at the time a lot of countries were racing to equip their troops in case of emergency of war. The confidence that one nation had a well-equipped army than the other motivated the commencement of the war.
Nationalism
There was increased national pride with none of the Western nations willing to be outdone by their neighbours. This meant the acquisition of more territories and massive investments into the military so as not to lag behind. This tension eventually resulted in the world war one (Sondhaus 45).
Explain the fundamental reasons behind the United States entering World War I in Europe. Discuss whether or not you believe these reasons warranted going to war. Provide a rationale for your response.
The war had degenerated into a war of capitalistic nations against the more communistic countries. The United States, which was a capitalist country, felt the need to contribute in the war so as to help in defeating the communist ideas as propagated by the USSR.
The American government at the time felt that it had to make its contribution to the war because it would ultimately determine international matters that would in one way or another affect it. Again, American had for a long time maintained and practiced the principle of isolation but at this time it felt that with the ...