Introduction
The First World War (1914-18) was triggered by the assassination of Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which invoked several alliances between different countries in order. But, other events that preceded the assassination worked as a build-up towards the First World War that engulfed the whole world. The increasing nationalism, militarism and imperialism, also played a major role as states and people within started to identify themselves one nation. Also, the presence of the alliance system and the rise of Pan-Slavism started to light the fire. Combined together, these factors brought the world to the brink of a war, which was kick-started with the assassination of the Archduke in Sarajevo. The United States of America also joined the war in April 1917 and their role was critical in the Allied victory. Post-war, America was recognized as a world power and their presence in international issues increased after the Great War culminated (Hamilton & Herwig, 2003, p. 1-45).
Causes of the Great War
The feelings of nationalism, imperialism and militarism were all connected intrinsically with the European powers. The majority of the pre-war Europeans used to believe in the supremacy of their nation’s economy, culture and military. Nationalism was also experienced through popular culture of the time, such as music, literature, and theatre.
Major politicians, diplomats and royals used to promote nationalism by contributing to the tensions developing in Europe. European powers started to scramble for colonies in Africa and led to many diplomatic disasters. The rush for empires in the late 19th century was fuelled by strong nationalism among the European powers and increasing demand for raw materials, labour, land and limited opportunities for colonization. Military power was considered as a measure of imperial and national strength in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Large navies and strong armies were required for defending the homeland and protecting trade interest and imperial presence abroad (Ferguson, 1992).
The greatest impact a nationalist movement had on the outbreak of the Great War was the groups of Slavic people in the Balkans. The Pan-Slavism strongly believed that they should have their own country called Yugoslavia and the strongest level of Slavic nationalism was seen in Serbia. Pan-Slavism was in strong opposition of the presence and their control of Austro-Hungarian Empire in Bosnia. They believed that Bosnia was a Slavic state should have been part of their country. Their intention was to drive Austria-Hungary from Bosnia and this feeling led to the rise of a Serbian nationalist radical group called Red Hand that assassinated the Archduke (Mann, 2013). Another important factor was the presence of German nationalism. Germany was a young country, formed by the unification of 26 states and territories speaking the German language. German leadership was highly reliant with the Pan-German model that worked to keep the German speaking states as one nation. The leadership gave Austria-Hungary Empire assurance that, if they went to war with the Serbians, Germany will support their cause (Ferguson, 1992).
The alliance system worked as the rationale for the European powers to start or join wars. Just because alliances existed between countries did not mean that they wanted to help each other, rather it was because countries wanted to earn pride through their military prowess. Alliances became the central cause of bringing so many countries to war within a short space of time. In the early 1900s, Europe was divided into two major alliances. The alliance meant that if any one of them went to war, alliance members would also need to join. Alliances such as The Entente Cordiale, The Triple Entente, The Anglo-Russian Entente, The Dual Alliance, The Triple Alliance, The Three Emperors’ League, etc. created two pools that ensured that when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, other countries had to honour the alliances. For example: The Dual Alliance was a military alliance between Austria-Hungary and Germany that bound both countries to support each other during war times (Ferguson, 1992).
America and the Great War
When the Great War broke out, the United States decided to remain neutral as their physical location was far from the European countries fighting the war. Also, the American economy was growing and financially the country was growing strong. The ethnic make-up of the United States also played its role as people came from all European countries and choosing sides would mean alienating one or more ethnic groups within the country (Manning, 1920). But, overtime it became impossible for United States to remain neutral as the Germans brutality on passenger ships such as RMS Lusitania started the feeling among many Americans that entering the war was evident for U.S. In 1917, the British intelligence recovered a telegram from Arthur Zimmerman (German Foreign Minister) to the Mexican government to support their war effort by attacking the Americans; in return they would get back the territory lost during the American-Mexican War.
After learning about the German intentions and enraged by the German brutality, the American President had no other choice, but to join the allied side. American started supplying men at the rate of 10,000 per day when German had no one to replace their dead and wounded. American forces played an important role in the Allied Counter Offensive and their greater numbers started to counter after a period of time. As the American troop numbers kept increasing to help the allied forces, the German morale at home and on the war front started to dwindle. Finally, victory was achieved in November 1918 as Germans requested Armistice. The United States, Britain, France and Germany sign the Treaty of Versailles that places economic sanctions on the Germans. But, the Treaty was not accepted in the Senate as the Treaty had little in common with Wilson’s Fourteen Points (Office of Historian, n.d.).
The Great War introduced the United States of America on the world stage and President Wilson’s role during the war provided him with due importance on the world stage. Due to the mistrust and problems between the European nations, Wilson proposed an association of nations which would help in solving international disputes and ensure another war could be avoided. But, Wilson’s plan failed to come to fruition as United States decided not to join the League of Nations. Due to belief in the American public that they should keep away from the international issues, the United States despite formulating the plan failed to join. In addition, after the Great War, a new President was elected and Warren Harding came to power, he believed that America needs to focus on its own problems and took an inward decision towards foreign policy (Office of Historian, n.d.).
Conclusion
The Great War was one of triggered by the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but in reality the war was long awaited due to growing tensions between the European powers and their allies. The War was also the result of rising nationalism, imperialism and militarism among European powers. The Pan-Slavic nationalist ideals and German nationalism stoked fire into the growing tensions and created sides on the basis of alliances.
The United States of America decided to remain neutral for years, but was forced to join after witnessing the German brutality on passenger ships and discovery of German intentions through Zimmerman Telegram. The participation of the United States changed the course of the Great War as the American forces kept increasing in numbers to support the allies, whereas the Germans were losing numbers and could not replace them.
References
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