Historical Essay Regarding WWI

As the war ended, millions of people had already been killed. The root cause of the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. However, there were a number of other factors which contributed to outbreak of the war. In this paper, I will discuss the various causes of the World War 1 including mutual defense alliances, militarism, nationalism and imperialism among others. a) Nationalism. The Slavic people wanted to be part of Serbia so as to form a one nation. However, Austria-Hungary opposed this as it feared that the Slavic state will cause rebellion. Therefore, the pan-Slavism created conflicts between Slavic people and Austria-Hungary which lead to outbreak of the World War 1 (Joll et al, 2013). b) Imperialism. Imperialism refers to the process by which a country extends its power and influence by acquiring other territories through use of military power/colonization.

This mainly refers to a belief that a nation needs to maintain strong military forces. By the year 1994, Germany was the most powerful nation in Europe with the strongest military forces. Both Germany and Great Britain increased their army during this period. As one nation increased its military forces, the other nations also felt the need to do the same. Therefore, military establishment began to develop a great influence on public policy. Therefore, this hatred and confrontations resulted to the outbreak of the World War 1. United States Entry into WW1 At first, the United States remained neutral during the World War 1 between the years 1914-1917. This was mainly because America had no interest in the war. According to president Wilson, America had no reason to join a war which they had less interest in (Sage, 2010).

however, ethnicity played a major role in America’s neutrality during the war. As a result, America decided to join the war so as to help the allied powers in fighting against the central powers (Joll et al, 2013). iii. Sinking of the Lusitania The Germans sunk a British ship and killed more than 1000 passengers whereby 128 people of those killed were Americans. America was very annoyed by this incidence and this further ruined their relationship with Germany. As a result, it decided to enter the war and fight the Germans (Sage, 2010). In 1917, America entered the war and mobilized a large number of military personnel to attack the central powers including the Germans. Its entry into the war weakened the German troops leading to their defeat.

As a result, both Germany and Austria-Hungary began to lose the battle. In 1918, the Germans surrendered and signed an armistice. They agreed to evacuate all the occupied territories and this led to end of the WW1 (Sage, 2010). As a result, this led to its failure. In addition, America failed to join the League of Nations and did not take part in enforcing the treaty thus resulting to its failure/defeat. America participated in drafting the treaty of Versailles desired to end the WW1. Therefore, America played a major role in bringing peace to the world during the war. President Woodrow Wilson contributed greatly in ensuring peace during and after the war. The Perfect Storm-The Causes of World War One. Mendes, N.