Essay On The Causes Of The Great War

The Great War, most commonly known as World War I, was the first global blood bath war that shook humanity into a new age of terror. There were multiple causes for the outbreak of World War I however, it mainly consisted of military conflicts between the powerful nations in Europe. Germany was the center of attention and one the main nations that attacked Europe. They were also the country that was blamed for the most destruction and suffered the most lost. In 1919, the end of World War I was marked by the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty entailed in “Article 231 of the treaty [that] Germany accepted full responsibility for the loss and damage caused the Allies as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies’” (Page963) In order to make sure that Germany and the Treaty was carried out, the victorious powers formed the League of Nations. The League of Nations objective was to maintain peace but due to weakness and absence of power but due to the weakness and the absence of powerful leaders lead to failure of the League and the outbreak of World War II. The League of Nations’ purpose was to help maintain the peace in the world and prevent future wars from breaking out. Some sought the Treaty of Versailles to be a “[reflection] and determination of Great Britain and France to punish Germany for its role in unleashing the conflict… Many German were outraged in April 1919 when they learned the treaty that Germany had been forced to accept.”(page956 The League served as security for any nation that would disturb the peace. Germany saw that as a way for them to be constantly watched. Germany lost most of its power in Europe by first losing its colonies including Poland. Never the less, they also lost their air force, warships, and submarines. If they wish to sail on waters, they could not as there was limited access to their waterways by the blockade made by Britain. On top of that, they were paying a large sum for war cost too. (Page 963) These were more than enough reasons for Germany to plan something big against the League of Nations. However, due to certain weakness the League fell quickly. The League …show more content…
However, like Superman once stated “with great power comes great responsibilities”, some of those "responsibilities" the United States did not want. The United States participated in World War I but much less than the European countries as America was isolated on another continent. The United States Senates greatly opposed the United States to join the league of nations “fearing that the treaty would commit the nation into the entanglements of Europe.” (Page 961) Even though a U.S former president, Woodrow Wilson, originally established the idea of the League of Nations, the U.S ultimately did not join. Germany was rejected from joining the League from the beginning. Another major power, the Soviet Union, was excluded from joining the because of their communist ideals. “The absence of the United States and the Soviet Union from the League doomed it to failure." (page 966) The League of Nations was unable to stop the expansion of Germany slowly leading into World War