What Was The Underlying Cause Of World War I Essay

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World War I was one of the first biggest war of the 20th century. The argument of who started World War I has been discussed and blamed ever since the war started. There are those who believed that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the cause of World War I, but the assassination was not the only reason that causes World War I. After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Because Russia has a special ethnic tie with Serbia, Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary. Later, countries from The Triple Alliance and The Triple Entente got involved. What is the M.A.I.N reason that cause World War I? There were at least three underlying causes of World War I; militarism, imperialism , and the most fundamental cause of all, alliances. …show more content…

According to the graph, “Growth in Armaments, 1890-1814,” Adapted from “The London Times History of the World,” Edited by Richard Overy, 1999. In 1890, Germany and Austria-Hungary spend about £42 million on military, and about £150 million in 1914. Germany and Austria-Hungary tripled the military spending over the course of 24 years. This evidence supports the claim that militarism was an underlying cause of World War I because from 1890 to 1914, the spending on military increases by every country in the Balkans. From the text, “The Hammer or the Anvil,” a speech given by Bernhard Von Bülow, “But we’ll only be able to keep ourselves at the fore if we realize that there is no welfare for us without power, without a strong army and a strong fleet.” This evidence shows that German is worried about being taken over. German need to invest more in spending on military. When every country has a large army, there is bound to be a

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