The Causes of World War I

Essay by britmtxJunior High, 9th grade June 2006

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The First World War had many causes, but the main reason of the Great War was the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife by a Serbian nationalist on the morning of June 28, 1914, while traveling in a motorcade through Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Archduke was chosen as a target because Serbians feared that after his ascension to the throne, he would continue the persecution of Serbs living within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Serbian terrorist organization, the Black Hand, had trained a small group

Besides the main reason to World War I, there were other reaons. The First of the three was Miltarism. Militarism is the act of building up armies for threats against other countries - taking over new territory - and protection from other countries who decide to invade. In the 1900's, the two strongest countries the risk, then alliances can become a deadly weapon.

It is clear that the alliance systems played an enormous role in causing the onset of the First World War.

The three other main causes was Nationalism, System of alliances, and Imperialism. Nationalism is when a person loves their country rather than love of their native region. Imperialism is the ambition of a powerful nation to dominate the political, economic, and cultural affairs of another nation or region.

The impact of the First World War is still with us. In many respects the events of modern Europe are a direct result of what happened in 1914 -1919. While the Great War demonstrated flaws in the government system and provided future generations with the ability to learn, understand and prevent mistakes, the outcome of such a conflict is never important because there are no real winners in war.