AMSCO 7.2 Causes of World War I Notes

AMSCO 7.2 Causes of World War I Notes

📍Topic 7.2 Causes of World War I

📖 AMSCO p.461 - p.465

Main Idea

Key Timeline

Image Courtesy of Vibhi

Things to Know

• World War I is also known as the Great War.

Militarism

• The European powers believed that by having a stronger military, it showcases the amount of power the country contains, and the countries wanted to show off. 💪🏼
• For example, Great Britain and Germany would often invest in their military.
• Mass production of supplies was made possible by the Industrial Revolution.

Alliances

• Secret alliances 🤫 had festered up when Europe had been expanding for power. This is one of the reasons why the war expanded so quickly!
• Triple Entente was made up of Britain, France, and Russia
  • All three countries viewed Germany as a rival, and their alliance was easily formed.
    • Britain: Wanted colonies in Africa, however, Germany beat them to it.
    • France: Lost Alsace-Lorraine, an area with lots of industrial profit and iron, to Germany.
  • Once Italy, Japan, China, the United States, and several other countries joined the Triple Entente, it was renamed the Allies.
• Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy had formed the Triple Alliance, and their enemies were the Triple Entente.
  • NOTE: Italy was neutral until 1915 (after the war started)
  • When the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined, the Triple Alliance was renamed to the Central Powers.
• The neutral countries: Spain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Albania, did not take any side.

Imperialism

• European nations found power through the amount of colonies they owned during this time period, and eventually, European powers had conquered most of the world.
• This means that they had to fight over colonies, which created a divide in the European nation.

Nationalism

• People in more ethnically diverse kingdoms, such as the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian lands, had trouble finding true nationalism because of the mix of ethnic groups.
  • Because they wanted pride within their own ethnic groups, their self-determination had increased.

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

• The Black Hand, which was an organization whose goal was to remove Austro-Hungarian people from the Balkans, had a member named Gavrilo Princip who had assassinated the heir of Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This led to the start of World War I.
• Remember this as the immediate cause of the war!

Terms to Remember