Austria-Hungary themselves had a very interesting history that, due to all the different types of people, cultures, and ethnicities played a role in why World War I happened. After Austria’s defeat in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, emperor Franz Josef had to re-configure the empire. Technically, Josepf was the emperor of Austria and king of Hungary with both countries having a common system of taxation, army, and foreign policy. Internal and constitutional affairs were kept separate, but after the defeat, Hungarians had their own constitution, legislature, and capital. This came to be know as the Dual Monarchy and it encompassed people of many ethic origins and nationalities. Minority nationalities, filled with new found nationalism after
Austria was one of the strongest empires in Europe in early 19th century and most of the small European states had rulers from Hapsburg dynasty so Austria had a lot of influence. Letting Nationalistic feelings to rise anywhere in Europe meant that soon those feelings would rise up in Austria
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1896. He was a threat to the Black Hand Terrorist group, a group of radical Serbian nationalists. They pledged “to destabilize the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire in order to incorporate their Serb population into a greater Serbia” (CITE) However the Archduke’s goals were “strengthening the Austro-Hungarian Empire” (CITE) which was contrary to the Serbs' desires. They feared that if he came into power, he would continue to persecute the Serbs, henceforth the decision to assassinate him.
The people of Austria were rightfully upset in the summer of 1914. Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been shot and killed on June 28th, supposedly by a Serbian, and the Austrian government was livid. Three weeks after the assassination, on July 21st, Austria’s ambassador to Serbia, Baron von Giesl, wrote to foreign minister Leopold von Berchtold expressing that Serbia could no longer be avoided. Serbia had been seen as a threat long before the assassination, but now things seemed to have gotten out of hand. Giesl used his fears and beliefs to form an opinion that, in his opinion, should represent the entity of Austrian officials and influence the country to wage war on Serbia.
In conclusion, Militarism, Imperialism, Nationalism, Alliances, and Assassinations all contributed to cause the World War 1 in 1914. World War 1 was four long and terrible years, which took millions of people lives. In addition, many soldiers died while fighting along the Western and Eastern Fronts. One month after Archduke Franz was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in 1914. The World War 1 wouldn’t had happened with the three main and most important cause which are, militarism, imperialism, and
National interest was a key factor in the explosive beginning of World War One. By looking at the Naval Arms Race, the People’s Revolt in Austria-Hungary and European alliances, it can be shown that national interest was a significant factor in contributing to World War One. The ultra nationalistic views of many countries overruled their ability to act in a just and logical manner. It was in the years following the formation of the Triple Alliance in which the desire and craving for power grew, and created insincere relationships and unrealistic portrayals of other countries intentions.
"He Kept us Out of War" (World War I Quotes). This quote was a democratic slogan stated during the election of 1916 on behalf of President Woodrow Wilson. This slogan makes an attempt to refer to the good leadership qualities and decisions that President Wilson made to keep the United States of America out of the war and that is why he should be elected again to serve as President. Though this made a valid argument to show that Wilson was smart to keep us out of war, many events took place that continued to anger the U.S. which eventually made them declare war on Germany on April 6th, 1917 (World War I). In doing this, they broke their policy of non intervention. The United States held out of the Great War for so long because of economic reasons, their policy of neutrality, and to avoid the morbid trench warfare (America). However, the United Stated eventually entered the war because of Germany sinking several U.S. passenger ships, and the publication of the Zimmerman telegram (World War I).
There were many immediate and underlying or fundamental causes of World War I. The difference between an underlying and immediate cause is that an underlying cause develops over a long period of time and indirectly leads to a specific event, and an immediate cause is a specific short-term event that directly leads to another event or series of events. While the immediate cause of World War I was the assassination of Francis Ferdinand, the archduke of Austria, by a Serbian member of the Black Hand secret society, there were various basic causes of the war. Three of them were nationalism, alliances between European powers, and militarism. Nationalism is a devotion and loyalty to one’s own nation, with a primary emphasis on furthering its interests as opposed to those of other countries.
Austria-Hungary has historically tried to pass blame onto Germany; however, it is evident that the Austro-Hungary government and military needed no convincing to go to war in 1914. From a military standpoint, war was seen as a political and strategic necessity. Similarly, from a political perspective the government prematurely ready for war. Although, Austria was prepared to start a war it’s unclear whether or not Austrian leadership would have deemed military action in Serbia necessary had it not been for the
The Reasons for the Hostility Between Austria-Hungary and Serbia During 1878 and 1914. Between 1878 and 1914, there was generally a lot of hostility in the Balkans. This was mainly due to the weakening Ottoman Empire, this. allowed countries within it to start to fight for independence and the greater powers surrounding it to try and take over parts of it.
After the following events, all the countries were ready for war, they expected it. Things were brewing from all 6 countries (Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia). The two alliances- Triple Entente (Britain, France and Russia, formed in 1907) and the Triple Alliance (Austria-Hungary, Italy and Germany, formed in 1882)-just needed a spark to ignite the war. This spark that possibly became the most likely cause of the start of war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. He was hated by the Bosnian people, because he made it clear that when he became emperor, things would change for his countries benefit and also because of the Balkan Crisis (when Austria Hungary gained control of Bosnia Herzegovina in 1908). Of course everyone was nationalist in those days. Everyone believed that their country was the best, the richest and the most powerful. They believed that they had the biggest empire and each person patriot to one’s country. Obviously did not like being ruled by another country especially a country that’s in the triple alliance. But many small countries did fear Austria-Hungary, because of one man who was powerful and rich.
There are many reasons why World War One occurred in 1914, many are complex and remain controversial which is why the matter has been disputed to this day by historians all over the world. My theory is that a lot of those reasons and the trigger factor all links to one thing; the alliance system. The alliance system is what made countries oppose each other and become rivals making it the most significant factor. It had an impact on who supported who when Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. This was only the spark that started war in Europe; there were long term causes that contributed to the war and were the origins. This answer will explain the causes focusing on how they contributed to World War One and what the important links are between them.
My opinion is that, World War One was caused by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and aggression of European nations. The Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip. This caused a series of events between Austria Hungary and Serbia that would lead to what we know as World War One. Austria Hungary and Serbia had both made alliance agreements with other countries. After the Archdukes death these alliances were enacted. Soon afterward Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia. The Alliances "Allied powers" and "Central powers" were now both to wage war against each other. The Allied powers consisted of France, Britain, and Russia. The Central powers consisted of Germany, Austria Hungary, and Ottoman Empire. Later America would soon join the Allied powers and Italia was part of the central powers but after some of the war agreements had been broken Italia withdrew. This war would bring death, economic loses, and economic growth throughout the war. New technology would be developed not only for war but scientific advances for each country.
There are many contributors and reasons as to how World War 1 had started, but three large factors were militarism, nationalism, and the alliance system. The alliance system was made with two separate groups - the Central powers and the Allied powers. The alliance system is when countries join forces or worked together to achieve a certain goal or for safety reasons. Joining an alliance system was often done in secret and then later revealed to the public at a later time. If Germany never allied with Austria-Hungary, we could have totally avoided that war. When Germany declared war on a specific country, the other countries allied to Germany had to declare war on said country. The alliance system that were formed by Germany and Austria-Hungary was named the “Dual Alliance” and was a promise to declare war on Russia if they ever attacked either country. When countries started practicing militarism, other countries began to get intimidated (like Germany intimidating everyone via militarism.) As Germany kept continuing their
Hello, all, I am Ava Marshall, one of the representatives of the United States. I am here before you to state who the United States believes is responsible for World War 1. The US believes Germany and partly Austria-Hungary is to blame.There are various occasions, which I will soon state, where Germany could have avoided World War 1. There is one main reason Austria-Hungary is to blame for World War 1.
Would the world be different if President Wilson didn’t declare war against Germany? During this time, some Americans were in favor of Wilson committing the United States to the war, but some were not. President Wilson should commit the United States to war because the sinking of the Lusitania, the Zimmerman Telegram and propaganda. This time in history was extremely important because it made a huge impact on the country, it changed the way people lived their lives.