World War I

The M A I N causes:

Militarism

Growing rivalries between European nations towards the end of the 19th century caused countries to invest their new wealth from industries in mobilizing their armies, in order to be prepared for war….

Alliances

….as well as creating alliances with other nations, in order to feel more safe. This resulted in Europe eventually being divided into two major superpower affiliates; the Central Powers and the Entente.

Imperialism

The United Kingdom and France had for years expanded their empires by colonizing weaker nations around the world. This was a great economic advantage, since it gave them control over foreign resources, markets, territories and people. Other European nations recognized the importance of this and wanted to expand their empires too, and their frustrated ambitions led to tensions, Especially between Great Britain and Germany. Germany had a fast growing industry, but few colonies. Their expanding power worried GB.

Nationalism

A nationalist feels the need to be extremely loyal to their country. The serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip shot the Austro-Hungarian archduke Franz Ferdinand to death because he didn't want Serbia to be a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. This event sparked the outbreak of the war.


Zimmerman Telegram
In January, 1917, an event occured which resulted in the United States joining the war. A telegram from Germany's foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, to a German ambassador in Mexico, proposed a Mexican-German alliance, in case a war between the US and Germany would break out. Germany promised that if they would win the war they would return the lost Meaxican territories Texas, New Mexico and Arizona to Mexico. When Woodrow Wilson found out about it he ordered a preparation for war. The news broke out in public on March 1, 1917.