Cause Of World War example essay topic

316 words
World War I was a major event in history. It not only affected Europe socially, economically, and politically, but also affected many other areas around the world. One cause of World War I was the alliance system. In 1914, there were two alliances.

The Triple Alliances consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy and the Triple Entente consisted of Britain, France, and Russia. It was thought that these alliances would promote peace, but instead one conflict would draw all of the countries into a fight, which is what happened when problems between Austria-Hungary and Serbia led to World War I. A second cause of World War I was competition for colonies, known as imperialism. France and Britain had many colonies in Africa and Asia, and now Germany and Italy wanted to take part, too. This competition to gain new territories sparked many disagreements over boundaries and control. A final cause was militarism. Many countries had begun building large armies and navies years before the war.

Along with this, powerful military officers began to dominate civil authorities. Nations continued to build up their armies and navies, creating secret plans to be prepared for battle. This created hatred and fear among the people of that country. President Woodrow Wilson announced what he called his Fourteen Points on January 8, 1918. With these Fourteen Points, he hoped to break the will of the Central Powers to fight, by promising peace and independence for those involved in the war. The first five points had to do with freedom and equality in all aspects of life after the war.

Points six to thirteen focused on restoring the peace to each country that was involved in the war. Finally, the fourteenth point ensured "political independence" and "territorial integrity". One result of World War I was.