World War 1 Dbq

What Was the Underlying Cause of World War 1?

What was the underlying cause of World War 1? In the late 19th century leaders of Europe believed that by creating a balance of power, which means no one can over dominate each other, they could eliminate the thought of war happening.But Otto von Bismarck disliked the idea of having the same amount of power as Russia and France. Von Bismarck decided to create an alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy. After trying to reassure Russia and England, in 1890, France, Russia, and Great Britain formed their own entente, or agreement. With all the tension in and between countries, some ethnic groups in the Balkans revolted. This region was known as a “powder keg”. All it needed was a spark to set it off,

which was provided with the help of a Serbian nationalist group called the “Black Hand”. They wanted independence from their mother country, Austria-Hungary. Their solution? Assassinate the Archduke of Austria. After the assassination of the Archduke, the Black hand was hoping for something to trigger a rebellion in the region against Austria. This trigger went out of control in the Balkans. One thing led to another and war began in Europe. Four years and 10 million deaths later, Europe began looking for answers. Alliances, militarism, and imperialism were all causes of World War 1.

One piece that leads to the underlying cause is alliances.

In Document A, there is a map with European alliances. In black, there is the Triple Alliance. The Triple Alliance is made of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. In gray, there is the Triple Entente. The Triple Entente is made of the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. Germany feared about fighting a war on two fronts, or two broders. Germany was right. Around Germany, there is France, and Russia. In Document B, there is a newspaper article with a drawing in it. There is 8 people, named England, Russia, Germany, Austria, Serivia, Italy, France, and Belgium, respectively. There is a large hand in the high left corner. That hand represents the rest of the world, the author, Americans in general, or God. The hand is pointing to “The Peace of Europe”, a lady laying on stone, stabbed with a sword, This shows that the “Peace” is dead. This is why alliances were part of the underlying

cause.

The second piece that lead to the underlying cause is militarism. There is a graph in Document C that shows the growth in armaments for Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Great Britain, Russia, and France. In 1890, Germany and Austria-Hungary spent around 40 million British pounds for their navy and their army. In 1914, they spent around 140 million British pounds, a little more than triple the amount they spent in 1890. Great Britain, Russia, and France spent about 100 million British pounds in 1890, while they spent around 225 million British pounds in 1914. Great Britain needed that money for the war because it was on an island. This is why militarism was part of the underlying cause.

The last piece of the underlying cause was imperialism.

Imperialism is competition for a country. In Document E, there is a picture called “Freiheit Der Meere”. That means “Freedom of the Seas”. There is also a caption in the picture. It says “England der Blutsauger der Welt”. This means “England, the bloodsucker of the world”. The picture shows an octopus(England), controlling other countries, hence the name “bloodsucker”. The main point of this picture or cartoon is to stop Great Britain. Germany was going against Britain. Germany also had to worry because British naval expenses were doubled in 1914. This is why imperialism was a piece of the underlying

cause.

All in all, alliances was the main underlying cause. This is because the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente were going against each other. First they had to make a group, and then they could go against each other. Then came the militarism, which was weapons and expenses they spent/used for the war. Alliances was the main underlying cause because of these reasons.