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World War 1 Causes DBQ
One of the horrible battles in the history of the world comprises the World War I (WWI).
Many countries including the United States of America, Germany, Great Britain, Russia and
other players were involved in the war that occurred in Europe. Nevertheless, the cause of the
war is unknown. Thus, the issue regarding the reasons behind WWI remains unanswered.
Alliance organizations, militarism, and imperialism were the leading causes of WWI.
WWI materialized as a great example of a battle begun for numerous reasons both simple
and multifaceted. The war happened between 1914 and 1918 and it led to the death of over
seventeen million people including 100,000 soldiers from America. A Series of events led to the
war. However, the real causes of the war are deep and form part of a gradual discussion. The
reasons provided in this article are the main ones and are the main causes of the war. However,
one immediate occurrence ignited these causes, which was Archduke Franz Ferdinand
assassination in 1914 by a Serbian nationalist in Bosnia that belonged to the Austria-Hungary
alliance. The assassination caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia, which attracted
other alliances and players and caused WWI.

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Among the underlying origins of the WWI was Alliance organizations. Across Europe,
different countries engaged in mutual defense pacts that later compelled them to the war
(Mccutcheon 315). Different countries were allied to different alliance systems as the European
Alliance map indicates (313). For instance, Germany was allied to Austria-Hungary alliance. The
agreements that each country signed ensured that the alliance countries would defend it in the
event of an attack. Alliances such as Austria-Hungary and Germany; Serbia and Russia;
Belgium, Britain and France; Russia and France as well as Britain and Japan existed before the
war (McCutcheon 315). Russia was involved in the war to defend Serbia when Austria-Hungary
wanted to attack Serbia. Then Germany professed war on Russia. In turn, France went in as an
enemy of Austria-Hungary and Germany. German attacked France by having Belgium pull
Britain into the war, which compelled Japan to enter into the battle. Then, the U.S and Italy
joined the allies in the war, which is the way Alliance organizations caused WWI.
Militarism was another cause of WWI. During the 20th century, different countries
competed in terms of arms (Overy 317). Germany, for instance, increased its expenditure on
military improvement in preparation for war, which made it one of the countries with a high
number of military accumulations. During this period, many other countries updated their troops
to keep up with others. Germany and Great Britain had notable navies during this time (German
Propaganda Cartoons 321). Besides, military institutions started to affect public policy greatly,
particularly in Russia and Germany. An improved army made Germany anxious to use its troops
because it was confident of winning any war. In turn, this confidence compelled Germany to
make the first attack when war was declared. Thus, an increase in militarism was a major factor
that pushed different countries into the war.

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Imperialism was another source of WWI (Von Bulow 319). Different European countries
contested for Africa as well as some Asian territories in order to bring extra territories and raw
materials in their control expand their empires (Nicolson 323). The need to rush and conquer
those areas to colonize them led to competition among European countries. In turn, this resulted
in confrontations that forced these countries to fight each other, which caused WWI.
In conclusion, while Germany appeared to be the origin of WWI, many other underlying
origins caused the war. They include Alliance organizations that extended across Europe;
military glorification among European countries; the need to expand empires with imperialism
among rival countries as well as nationalistic ideas among countries. The killing of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand triggered these causes mentioned above. Compared to earlier periods, WWI
experienced warfare transformation in which technology was applied to weapons and a soldier
was removed from close battle. The war changed the way battles are fought.

Works Cited

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The DBQ Project. What Was the Underlying Cause of World War I. 2012. Document.
Von Bullow, Bernhard. 1899. Audio Recording.
European Alliances. 1914. Map.
German Propaganda Cartoons,. The British Octopus. 2017. Cartoon. Poster collection.
Mccutcheon, John. The Crime Of The Ages: Who Did It?. Chicago Tribune: N.p., 1914. Print.
Nicolson, Colin. The First World War. England: Pearson Education Limited, 2009. Print.
Overy, Richard. Growth in Amarments. 1999.