Origins of World War I
World War I is a conflict that has forever scarred the pages of history. What caused this great atrocity? How could this type of event ever come into existence? Every war has many complicated causes, but it often has what historians call a "trigger" that sets it off. Many experts agree that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was this “trigger”. However, the origin of World War I can not simply be directed toward a single event or even to a specific country. Many complex factors are to blame, including: (1) alliances systems;(2) militarism;(3) nationalism;(4) imperialism; and(5) the newspaper press.
The greatest single cause of World War I was the alliance system which developed after the Franco-Prussian War. It slowly separated Europe into two aggressive groups of powers who were increasingly suspicious of one another. The members of each group also felt bound to support each other, even in matters where they had no direct interest. If they failed to do so, it would have weakened the unity of the group. For example, Germany often felt forced to back up Austria-Hungary with their Balkan policies. If they failed to back up Austria-Hungary, Germany would undoubtedly lose their only thoroughly dependable ally. Likewise, though France had no interests in the Balkans, they felt bound to back up Russia, because if they didn’t the existence of the Dual Alliance would have been threatened, and the French safety from a German attack would have been lost. Similarly, England was convinced it must support France and Russia in order to protect the solidarity of the Triple Entente as a check to the Triple Alliance. With countries forming alliances with one another to protect themselves from other countries, nobody seemed to fear war. Though there were many nations that played a role in this war, the major players were: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (forming the Triple Alliance) and Great Britain, Russia, and France (forming the...