Introduction
World War 1 also known as Great War started in the year July 1914 and continued till November 1918 killing more than 17 million people. The war started due to various reasons and there were different events that led to fighting among different European nations. There are debates and discussion about the root cause that led to the war. However , the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie on 28the June 1914 in Sarajevo who were shot dead by Gavrilo Princip was the prime cause of the war (Hamilton & Herwig, 2004).
Imperialism
There were various treaties signed by the European nations based on defense agreements that led to the war. Imperialism was prevalent and all the nations were competing to increase their colonies. At that time the nations tried to become wealthy by occupying more land . This caused conflicts among the nations. Countries like Portugal, England, France Italy and Belgium were competing against each other that led to the rise in conflicts. These countries were having conflicts not only with the other nations but also with the nation they conquered. Great Britain was the high in imperialism and was one of the super power at that time (Hamilton & Herwig, 2004).
Militarism
In order to achieve the colonies all the European countries increased their militaries by spending money on building armies, navy etc. They trained the manpower to prepare them for war. There were small clashes between the countries near the borders. The military establishment impacted on public policy. This caused the countries to get involved in the war (Hamilton & Herwig, 2004).
Nationalism
One of the reason of the war was the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina who were not willing to be part of Austria-Hungary Empire but wanted to be part of Serbia. New leaders were formed and the sense on nationalism grew among the people and they started to govern themselves. There were freedom movements in various countries of Europe and also in the colonies like India, Africa. These people became extremist as the struggle to free the nation led to committing murder and all the countries tried to dominate the other country by imposing power (Hamilton & Herwig, 2004).
Pan-Slavic Nationalism
Patriotism in the air at that time which was a form of nationalism. One such nationalist movement took place in Eastern Europe. There was the sudden war declared by the Slavic groups of Balkans. Pan Slavism was the demand of the Slavic people to have their own country and establish 'Greater Serbia'. These groups had great impact on whole Europe. In Serbia this movement was very strong and it rose during the end of 19th century and early 20th century. These people mainly were against the control and influence of the Austria- Hungary region and they wanted a country full of Slavic people. This movement was the reason of assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which ultimately caused the World War 1 (Apponyi,1915).
Reasons of America in World War 1
When the world war started in the year 1914 the then President of USA Woodrow Wilson preferred neutrality for United States which majority of Americans supported. But problems started when many US ships travelling to Britain were damaged by German submarines. USA favored Britain as the country was one of the main trading partner. A passenger ship carrying 1959 passengers was attacked by Germany killing 1,198 of them. Among these passengers 128 were Americans and due to this incident America broke ties with Germany. Recurrent attacks on ships by the Germans led the declaration of war by President Wilson on April 2, 1917 (Carlisle, 2007)
Why was America Neutral from 1914 to 1917?
During the early 19th century America was growing at a rapid rate and the economy was booming. The government was focused on solving the major economic issues of the country like unemployment, problem related to human rights etc. America also tried to give importance to trade relations with the international market and did not want to ruin the trade with countries due to the war in Europe. The US president declared neutrality and most of the country men supported it. US tried to avoid impartiality with the European nations and hence tried to distant itself from the war. The President was of the opinion that by not getting involved in the war there is less probability of putting country policies at risk. President Wilson wanted to save the country from effects of war so that the country remains economically stable. The country wanted to maintain friendliness, fairness, impartiality with other countries. It wanted to protect the populations from the adverse effect of war. America even during these three years carried with its businesses in international market. America kept all the ports open to all countries. Trade merchants traded their goods. But countries took advantage of the neutrality and forced America by attacking the merchant ships. But still America solved the problem diplomatically but there was continuous attack on the merchant ships of the country. America still adopted peace talks with Germany and warned them. For a short period of time Germany withdrew all its attacks but then it started again which caused America to end its neutrality. As the then President Wilson was peace loving person he tried utmost to have peace in his country but on April 6 USA officially joined World War 1( "America and World War I", 2016)
After declaring war, the US army under General John J Pershing arrived in the west part of Europe in large numbers. As US was a military power house with strong industries they made contributions towards artillery, raw materials and other supplies ("America and world War I", 2016). They contributed in the victory of World war I. First USA maintained only a small army but after the passing of the selective service Act of 1917, the US government sent about 2.8 million soldiers to military service. In the year 1918 about one million soldiers entered in France to help its allies fight the battle. US navy also sent battleship group to join Britain whom the USA favored and sub marines to guard the convoys. Some of the marines were sent to France. Due to the number of US military forces which arrived at the rate of 10,000 per day, the Germans were unable to cope up with their losses. This strengthened the allies and as a result German was defeated. Britain, France and their allies achieved victory on November 11, 1918 when German almost collapsed both at its own country and at the battlefield ( "America and World War I", 2016)
Aftermath of the War
After the war over there were several economic penalties imposed on Germany and different treaties were signed like The Treaty of Versailles. Russia was not involved in this as it withdrew itself from the war after the Russian revolution that occurred in 1917 ("America and world War I", 2016).
Treaty of Versailles
The treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty. It was signed by almost all the countries and specially Germany to take the responsibilities of the damage and loss that happened during the war. The allies of Germany also signed the treaty and Germany was also forced to pay compensation for the losses. It was signed on June 28, 1919.
League of Nations
It was established on 10th January, 1920 after the Paris Peace Conference that caused the end of World War 1. It was the first organization that aimed to maintain world peace. The main purpose of this was to reduce the disputes between nations through negotiations, disarmament, reduction of arms trade and the protection of minority group in Europe ( "America and World War I", 2016)
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References
Hamilton, R. & Herwig, H. (2004). Decisions for War, 1914-1917 (1st ed., pp. 1-16). Cambridge: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. Retrieved from http://www.catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam051/2004048596.pdf
Apponyi,A.(1915).Austria-Hungary and the War (pp. 1-65). New York. Austro- Hungarian Consulate General. Retrieved from http://mek.oszk.hu/07000/07079/07079.pdf
America and World War I. (2016). The Saylor Foundation. Retrieved 13 August 2016, from http://www.syalor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/HIST103-6.2.1WWAmerica
Carlisle, R. (2007). The Attacks on U.S Shipping that Precipitated American Entry into World War I (1st ed., pp. 42-66). The Northern Mariner, XVII No.3. Retrieved from http://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol17/tnm_17_3_41-66.pdf
