- #1
- 21,911
- 6,338
I found this while browsing for some information. It seems similar 'causes' persist.
It reminded my of a multiple choice question on a 'stardardized' history test that I took in 11th grade. The question pertained to the 'cause' of World War I, and the mulitiple choices where 1. militarism, 2. nationalism, 3. imperialism, 4. entry of the US. The test answer was 4 - which was so wrong, but that is the answer the teacher would only accept.
A friend took the test a year before me, and he got it wrong because he picked the 'right' answer. We even went to the teacher to argue about it.
So when I took the test, I picked #4 then proceeded to write an essay on the test form as to why the 'official answer' was wrong and the other three answers were correct. When the test was handed back to the class and the teacher went through the answers on the test with the class, the teacher and I got into a big 'discussion' about that particular question. Teacher was not amused. I don't like the dissemination of false information in the classroom. :grumpy:
CAUSES OF THE WAR
Will humanity ever be free of motivation to go to war?
It reminded my of a multiple choice question on a 'stardardized' history test that I took in 11th grade. The question pertained to the 'cause' of World War I, and the mulitiple choices where 1. militarism, 2. nationalism, 3. imperialism, 4. entry of the US. The test answer was 4 - which was so wrong, but that is the answer the teacher would only accept.
A friend took the test a year before me, and he got it wrong because he picked the 'right' answer. We even went to the teacher to argue about it.
So when I took the test, I picked #4 then proceeded to write an essay on the test form as to why the 'official answer' was wrong and the other three answers were correct. When the test was handed back to the class and the teacher went through the answers on the test with the class, the teacher and I got into a big 'discussion' about that particular question. Teacher was not amused. I don't like the dissemination of false information in the classroom. :grumpy:
CAUSES OF THE WAR
http://www.historychannel.com/thcsearch/thc_resourcedetail.do?encyc_id=226139The underlying causes of World War I were the intense nationalism that permeated Europe throughout the 19th and into the 20th century, the political and economic rivalry among nations, and the military buildup that occurred after 1871, when Germany emerged as a great world power.
Nationalism.
The French Revolution and the Napoleonic era had spread throughout most of Europe the idea of political democracy, with the resulting idea that people of the same ethnic origin, language, and political ideals had the right to independent states. The principle of national self-determination, however, was largely ignored by the dynastic and reactionary forces that dominated in the settlement of European affairs at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. In succeeding decades much of the work of the Congress was nullified by the revolutions and strong nationalist movements that swept through Europe. Belgium won its independence from the Netherlands in 1831, the unification of Italy was accomplished in 1861, and that of Germany in 1871. At the close of the century, however, the problem of nationalism was still unresolved in other areas of Europe, resulting in tensions both within the regions involved and between various European nations. One particularly prominent nationalistic movement, Panslavism, figured heavily in the events preceding the war.
Imperialism.
The spirit of nationalism was also manifest in economic conflict. The Industrial Revolution brought about a need for raw materials and an immense increase in the manufactures of several European nations. Development of foreign markets became an imperative. In Africa colonial interests frequently clashed. Several times between 1898 and 1914 the economic rivalry in Africa between France and Great Britain, and between Germany on one side and France and Great Britain on the other, almost precipitated a European war.
Military Expansion.
As a result of such tensions, between 1871 and 1914 the nations of Europe adopted domestic measures and foreign policies that in turn steadily increased the danger of war. Convinced that their interests were threatened, they maintained large standing armies and increased the size of their navies. The Russo-Japanese War (1904–5) proved the efficacy of long-range naval guns, and the British, alarmed by the expansion of the German navy, built HMS Dreadnought, the first in a class of heavily armed battleships that came to dominate the high seas. Advancements in other areas of military technology and organization led to the dominance of general staffs with precisely formulated plans for mobilization and attack, often in situations that could not be reversed once begun.
Statesmen everywhere realized that the tremendous and ever-growing expenditures for armament would in time lead either to national bankruptcy or to war, and they made several efforts for worldwide disarmament, notably at the HAGUE CONFERENCES, (q.v.) of 1899 and 1907. International rivalry was, however, too far advanced to permit any progress toward disarmament at these conferences.
The European nations not only armed themselves for purposes of “self-defense,” but also, in order not to find themselves standing alone if war did break out, sought alliances with other powers. The result was a phenomenon that in itself greatly increased the chances for generalized war: the grouping of the great European powers into two hostile military alliances, the TRIPLE ALLIANCE, (q.v.) of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy and the TRIPLE ENTENTE, (q.v.) of Great Britain, France, and Russia. Shifts within these alliances added to the building sense of crisis.
Crises Foreshadowing the War
(1905–14). With Europe divided into two hostile camps, any disturbance of the existing political or military situation in Europe, Africa, or elsewhere provoked an international incident. Between 1905 and 1914 several international crises and two local wars occurred, all of which threatened to bring about a general European war. The first crisis occurred over Morocco, where Germany intervened in 1905–6 to support Moroccan independence against French encroachment. France threatened war against Germany, but the crisis was finally settled by an international conference at Algeciras, Spain, in 1906. Another crisis took place in the Balkans in 1908 over the annexation by Austria-Hungary of Bosnia and Hercegovina. Because one form of Panslavism was a Pan-Serbian or Greater Serbia movement in Serbia, which had as one of its objects the acquisition by Serbia of the southern part of Bosnia, the Serbs threatened war against Austria. War was avoided only because Serbia could not fight without Russian support, and Russia at the time was unprepared for war. A third crisis, again in Morocco, occurred in 1911 when the German government sent a warship to Agadir in protest against French efforts to secure supremacy in Morocco. After threats of war on both sides, the matter was adjusted by a conference at Agadir. Taking advantage of the preoccupation of the Great Powers with the Moroccan question, Italy declared war on Turkey in 1911, hoping to annex the Tripoli region of northern Africa. Because Germany’s policy of Drang nach Osten (“drive toward the East”) obliged it to cultivate friendship with Turkey, the Italian attack had the effect of weakening the Triple Alliance and encouraging its enemies. The Balkan Wars of 1912–13 resulted in an increased desire on the part of Serbia to obtain the parts of Austria-Hungary inhabited by Slavic peoples, strengthened Austro-Hungarian suspicion of Serbia, and left Bulgaria and Turkey, both defeated in the wars, with a desire for revenge. Germany, disappointed because Turkey had been deprived of its European territory by the Balkan Wars, increased the size of its army. France responded by increasing peacetime military service from two to three years. Following the example of these nations, all the others of Europe in 1913 and 1914 spent huge sums for military preparedness.
Will humanity ever be free of motivation to go to war?
Last edited by a moderator: