The Origins of World War I

World War One was a global war that forever changed society. The war showed the long term effects of nationalism, imperialism, and militarism can lead to a world disaster. The origins of the world war were started over the assassination of the king of Austria-Hungary in the “July Crises”, yet it was the alliance system, coupled with the militarism and nationalist tendencies that made the war spread outside the boundaries of just 2 countries.

In my report I will describe in detail the various causes of the war. In addition I will discuss which nation I believe was most responsible for the outbreak of the war based on what they did in the events leading up to it. World War One was originally called the Great War and people thought this war would be the war to end all wars. In fact just the opposite occurred as a senseless world war was fought that should have been avoided only to happen again in World War 2.

In the 19th century the single most influential factor was nationalism which spread across Europe. Nationalism is a love for one’s country which united countries and made them stronger. The effects of nationalism united Italy in 1860 and Germany in 1871. These two countries soon became dominant forces in Europe. Nationalism also created strong rivalries and tensions between neighboring countries.

The unification of countries like Germany and Italy as well as past European Wars between European countries formed new political boundaries. This put people of different nationalities under the same government which caused tension and fighting.
The force of nationalism also led to imperialism which was another important cause of World War One. Nationalists felt that they had the right to conquer other countries weaker than they because they were a superior race. This idea was shown in the poem, “White Man’s Burden” by Cecil Rhodes. Europeans felt that it was their duty to spread their culture and ideas all over the world.

Imperialism is the domination of one country over another country or group of people. Imperialism has been around for several centuries and created tensions and competition between nations. Imperialism was used by most Europeans in order to become the dominant forces and world powers. In the old age of imperialism between 1500 and 1800, England, France, and later Germany all focused their efforts on exploration for the purpose of conquering lands outside their borders in the America’s, parts of Asia and Africa.