Causes of World War I Underlying and Immediate Causes

UNIT 2 WORLD WAR I

Causes of World War I – Underlying and Immediate Causes

Causes - Underlying or Explanation Long Term Causes imperialism  European nations - Great Powers - established colonies to create empires . the policy of one  they exploited the land and resources nation acquiring  they wanted raw materials and markets for their manufactured goods another country or region  European empires aggressively pursued colonies in Africa  Germany in conflict with Britain and France  Russia, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman empires wanted to control Balkans (refer to Figure 2-3 p.27) militarism  Great Powers developed strong military to protect colonies . a nation’s policy of  Britain had the largest navy and Germany wanted to match it maintaining armed  Britain built the Dreadnought and Germany built it as well (refer to forces ready for war Figure 2-2 p.27)  France concerned about German military strength  arms race increased tension alliances  rivalries between Great Powers resulted in alliances . agreement among to support and protect one another nations toward a  Triple Alliance - Germany and Austria-Hungary common goal vs Triple Entente - France, Britain, Russia  Great Powers hoped alliances would reduce the threat of war  alliances made it easier for a country to be drawn into war nationalism  Great Powers’ nationalism fueled imperialism . pride and patriotism  intense nationalism existed in Balkans as Austria-Hungary contained in one’s nation Slavs who wanted independence  Serbs in Bosnia wanted independence from Austria  Serbia wanted control of Bosnia and unite Slavs to from Greater Serbia

Causes - Immediate or Explanation Short Term Causes . Assassination of Archduke . assassination in Sarajevo, Bosnia by Serbian Gavrilo Princip of the Franz Black Hand triggered a chain reaction that started the war Ferdinand . Schlieffen Plan  August 2 Germany invades neutral Belgium as part of the Schlieffen Plan for attacking France

Source: Causes of the First World War - Counterpoints p.26-30

Europe Prior to World War I

Causes of World War Which cause was most responsible for World War I?

 imperialism

 militarism

 alliances

 nationalism

 Schlieffen Plan

 assassination of Archduke Ferdinand

Criteria for Selecting Significant Facts Significant Causes

 the event may not have occurred if the cause was not present  the direction or intensity of the event would be altered  the influence on the event is obvious

Cause Reasons/Evidence