Underlying Causes Of World War 1 Essay

What Was the Underlying Cause of World War 1? On the surface, World War 1 may seem like it started due to the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, who was pregnant at the time. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as this gruesome conflict was the result of many other, less obvious, factors that caused tensions to rise until conflict could not be avoided. The war lasted from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918; being fought in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. One in eight of those who served their respective nations died, totaling nearly 900,0000 casualties by the end of the fighting. There were many underlying causes of World War 1, but the three main reasons were imperialism, militarism, and …show more content…
Militarism is a strong military spirit or policy. Due to militarism, countries put more energy and resources towards strengthening and increasing the size of their armed forces . According to www.funfront.net, “Militarism denoted a rise in military expenditure, an increase in military and naval forces, more influence of the military men upon the policies of the civilian government, and a preference for force as a solution to problems. Militarism was one of the main causes of the First World War.” This evidence supports that militarism influenced World War 1 starting. Lastly, nationalism was another main reason for World War 1. All the men involved in the war were very passionate and extremely devoted to their causes. According to Alpha History, “No nationalist movement had a greater impact in the outbreak of war than Slavic groups in the Balkans. It was this pan-Slavic nationalism that inspired the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in June 1914, an event that led directly to the outbreak of World War 1.” If it weren't for nationalism to inspire the assassination of Archduke Franz, World War 1 may never have