Causes+of+World+War+I

**The Causes and Events That Led to World War I **
World War I Wiki by Nina Merritt and Kealey Viglielmo

media type="file" key="KKNaNa Radio 107.8.m4a" width="408" height="46" Podcast by Nina Merritt and Kealey Viglielmo

It is known as one of the longest wars in world history and as one of the most infamous and casualty filled wars of the world's past - but the name it is recognized by today is World War I. This history-changing war left much of Europe in a state of crisis while leaving the world's ties and relations in shambles. All in all, the first world war contributed greatly to the history of all of the nations that were involved, and even some of the ones that weren't. It caused the ideas of many nations to change while altering the thoughts of people around the world. Even though the war only lasted a period of four years (not including the time leading up to the fighting), the effects caused by the war affected everyone and everything - in fact, many of the effects of this war can still be seen today.

On the day of June 28th, 1914, the archduke of Austria-Hungary Franz Ferdinand and his wife were shot and killed while in a motorcade on the way to a public gathering in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The Black Hand, a secret alliance located in Serbia, were the ones to blame. Gavrilo Princip, the gun man who ended up killing Franz Ferdinand and his family, had come to do his job for Serbia and the organization he belonged to. Nationalism fueled this man's drive, and with his success in eliminating a main leader in the Austro-Hungarian goverment, this movement began to sweep the nation. Due to the fact that so many countries were intermingled with the alliances of the Austro-Hungarian government, the death of their archduke began to stir controversy - many major powers who were somehow allied with Austria-Hungary became aware and tensions tightened. Soon enough the inevitable was going to happen, and with the invasion of Serbia by the Austro-Hungarian government exactly a month later, the war was now upon them. From there, the war only spread. To escape such a mess as this would not only be a challenge for both nations originally involved, but for all nations that became involved over time.

Video of Franz Ferdinand entering a town hall shortly before his death || The nations that were allied to Serbia now had to step in and help them to overcome the intruding Austro-Hungarian people. The problem with this was that since so many nations were allied with another, many ties between nations ended up contradicting each other. For example, Russia was allied to Serbia, and thus stepped in to assist them against the Austro-Hungarian invasion - but when Germany, Russia's enemy, also allied with Serbia, new conflict broke out. From then on they were not fighting against a single enemy anymore but amongst themselves, hindering the process and causing more and more nations to become involved in the war.
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 * = [[image:Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria_-_b&w.jpg width="486" height="597"]] Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary ||= [[image:bismarck.jpg width="471" height="597"]] Otto Von Bismarck of Germany ||

Even before Ferdinand's assassination, events stirring in Germany began leading to the war as well. A statesman named Otto Von Bismarck was recently gaining power in Germany, and wished to unite his country and lead it to greatness. Against the wishes of his own Kaiser, Bismarck wanted to make Germany as powerful as possible - and to do so, he began allying Germany with as many nations as he could. He swept Europe, gaining every ally he pursued, and eventually formed the Triple Alliance with Italy and Austria-Hungary. In response to this, Russia, Britain, and France allied to become the Triple Entente to counter the power of the Triple Alliance. When Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, all these countries were dragged into the conflict based on their relationships with one another and with their other allies.

Basically, war declarations were set off in a chain reaction after the initial spark provided by Ferdinand's death. After Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia mobilized it's army, causing Germany (an ally of Austria-Hungary) to declare war on Russia. France, an ally of Russia, then went to war against Germany. Britain then joined France's side against Germany, involving all of Britain's colonies and territories around the world. Italy, Japan, and the United States all became involved shortly afterward. With so many countries involved, it certainly made sense to consider this crisis to be a world war.

__//SOURCES//__
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 * Duffy, Michael. "The Causes of World War I." //First World War//. 22 Aug. 2009. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. .
 * Casment, Roger. "The Crime Against Europe." //The World War I Document Archive//. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. .
 * Seymour, Charles. //The Diplomatic Background of the War//. Yale University Press. 1916.

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 * "World War I." //Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2011//. Web. 7 Feb. 2011. 
 * Strachan, Hew. "World War I." //World Book Student. World Book, 2011//. Web.7 Feb. 2011. 