America and the Great War - Essay Example

Topic: America and the Great War When historians deeply analyze the cause of World War we find that it was more complicated. The eruption of the war was not only caused by immediate chain of events but also some deep root causes (John, 2010). The paper tends to analyze the major events that led to the cause of World War 1. Emergence of Defense Alliances An alliance is a formal agreement negotiated between countries to assist each other in event of need. The signatories in an alliance are called Allies. Pre World War 1 saw the signing of many alliance agreements between countries. It was noted that the years preceding the World War 1, European countries made defense agreements which were mutual (Ross, 2008). This drew them closer to battles. According to Martin (2012), in these alliances, the agreements were that if one of the countries were attacked, the countries, which were allied to them in the alliances, were to come to their defense. Some of the notable alliances formed before the World War 1 according to Michael (2009) include the following: 1) The Dual Alliance of 1879 between Germany and Austria Hungary. 2) The Austro-Serbian Alliance of 1881 between Serbia and austral Hungary. 3) The Triple Alliance of 1882 between Germany, Austria Hungary and Italy. 4) The Triple Entete of 1914 between Britain, Russia and France. 5) The Franco -Russian alliance of 1894 between Russian and France. 6) The Anglo-Russian of 1907 between Britain and Russia. 7) Entente Cordiale of 1904 between France and Britain. In their article, History of the world wars, BBC (2013) states that the commitment to the alliances was seen Russia went to defend Serbia, her alley when Austria- Hungary attacked Serbia. When Germany saw Russia mobilizing her war artillery in a bid to come to the assistance of Serbia, the Germans declared war to Russia. This drew France to the war against the Germany and Austria Hungary. The unfolding events saw the Germans attacking the French through Belgium. This drew Britain also into the war. The entry of Japan into the war was seen at this moment in a bid to assist her ally, the Great Britain. United States and Italy later joined the war on different sides of the existing allies. Imperialism Imperialism can be defined as the state where a particular country multiplies their wealth and powers by colonizing many territories and bringing them under her control. Before the emergence of World War 1, imperialism was rampant among many European countries. Some parts of Asia and Africa were the main centers up for grabs among the European countries. This was so because of the availability of the raw materials in these regions (John, 2010). Britain had the largest empire extending to over five continents. Similarly, France’ territories in Africa was the largest. Imperialism was at its greatest heights because of industrialization in Europe and the need for raw materials and new markets for their finished products. Imperialism intensified the rivalry between Germany and France and Britain given that Germany entered late in the scramble for colonies late and had the smallest areas in Africa (Michael, 2009). The increasing competition and a higher appetite for bigger empires catalyzed the confrontation among these colonizing European countries and this pushed these nations to rise against each other hence resulting to a the first global war. Militarism It means the high profile treatment given to the military by the governments of the respective countries. Arms race started by the beginning of the 20th century (Ross, 2008). The major countries by then, the Great Britain and Germany increased their military buildup with Germany having the greatest and the most powerful military. Furthermore, this was also evident in the increase in the number of the naval military between these two countries. The military establishment in Russia and Germany in particular started creating a major public policy influence (John, 2010). The events that led to World War 1 would not be complete without mentioning that the higher appetite for increase in military establishments helped in increasing the push of the countries to the war. Nationalism Nationalism means strongly supporting your country’s rights and interests. Nationalism in many countries in Europe greatly pushed the countries to the World War 1. According to Martin (2012), the desire of the Slavic living in Herzegovina and Bosnia to cease to be part of Austria Hungary and be recognized as parts of Serbia formed the major genesis of nationalism in Europe that led to World War 1. Moreover, manifestation of nationalism in other European countries not only led to the war but also fueled its continuity. This is because every country tried to show their superiority and dominance. Assassination of Franz Ferdinand The assassination of Franz Ferdinand of Austria Hungary was the spark and the trigger of the World War 1 and was the immediate cause (BBC, 2013). His assassination with his wife rolled out into play the major deep-rooted factors into play. These factors are nationalism, alliances, militarism and imperialism. A citizen of Serbia, a nationalist and a member of a nationalist movement called Black Hand assassinated Franz Ferdinand and his wife while they were in Sarajevo, a part of Austria Hungary in June 1914 ( Ross, 2008). This was to display protest to the Austria for extending their authority and power to their region and yet Serbia had desire to control Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the assassination, it saw Austria declaring war to Serbia. Russia, an ally with Serbia began to mobilize her war artillery in aid to Serbia; this consequently led to Germany to declare war to Russia. This sparked the First World War. According to BBC, the explosion of World War 1 was in the offing because it was expected due to the stock piling of the tension between different European nations. Therefore, his assassination was just a spark. However, the action of the Austro-Hungarians was questionable because they wanted to stamp an authority on the Serbians in a bid to crush the Serbians nationalists’ movement, the Black Hand, there. They issued an ultimatum to Serbia demanding that the assassin be brought to justice; this totally violated the sovereignty of the Serbians (Martin, 2012). Position of the Americans in the World War 1 According to Martin (2012), President Wilson Woodrow of the United States declared absolute neutrality according to the policies of the US. This official statement lasted until 1917. However, the policy of the Germans; of unrestricted submarine warfare threatened seriously the commercial shipping of the Americans .it is important to note that the Americans shipments were directed to the allies of Britain and France. This forced the United States to enter the war finally in 1917 (Martin, 2012). The defeat of treaty of Versailles The contributing factors that led to the defeat of the Versailles treaty were the strong forces, which were opposing it, the opposition the League of Nations faced and the discontent of the committee of the senate foreign relations arguing that they were not involved in the negotiations and creation of the terms of the treaty (John, 2010). It is also important to note that it was not only the strength of the opposing forces, liberalists or conservatives of the United States that resulted to the defeat of the Versailles treaty but also the inflexibility, inability and political ignorance of President Wilson Woodrow (BBC, 2013). There were many avenues created for peace after the surrender of the Germans after the World War 1. According to Martin (2012), President Wilson offered his peace plans in 1918 after the war in a summarized fourteen points. The one he believed was most important was the formation of the League of Nations. However, after leading the conference to reach an international pact that comprised of his points, United States never signed the pact, meaning that they just existed in thoughts. References BBC. (2013). History: world war one. Retrieved on 7th April 2013 from www.bbc.co.uk. John, H. (2010). Events Leading to World War 1. Minnesota. ABDO Publishing company. Martin, K. (2012). American History: Top 5 causes of American War. Retrieved on 7th April 2013 from www.american history.about.com. Michael, D. (2009). A multimedia history of the world wars: Causes of the world war 1. Retrieved on 7th April 7, 2013 from www.firstworldwar.com. Ross, F. (2008). World war 1: primary documents on events and causes. USA. Green Wood Press. Read More