Name____________ Date________Handout: MAIN Jigsaw WWI Activity Unit C

MAIN: There are four causes that led to war between the major powers of the world in 1914: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.

LEARNING GOALS To learn the four main causes of WWI Collaboratively and critically read the four causes

DIRECTIONSRead the main cause you have been assigned. In your group answer the questions. After you complete the first part, you will jigsaw with other students in the class.

READINGS & IMAGES

I. Imperialism

“Imperialism was clearly a contributing cause of World War I. The competition for

overseas possessions often brought European powers into conflict. In the late 19th and

early 20th centuries, Germany became more and more aggressive in its quest for imperial

possessions. In 1905, the leading imperial powers acceded to Germany’s demand for a

conference to dispute French control of Morocco. Though Germany gained nothing, other

nations began to view Germany as a threat to stability in Europe. Britain and France had

vied for control of areas in Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. It was

not until the Anglo-French Entente of 1904 that the two nations finally settled their

colonial disputes. Many the “entangling alliances” that historians often cite as a premier

cause of World War I actually came about as a result of conflicts over imperialism.”1

“What was most strikingly novel about the new imperialism was its intense concentration

upon two continents: Africa and eastern Asia. These were the only two important areas of

the globe still not brought under European influence before 1870. The decades between

1870 and 1914 speedily completed the expansion of European influence and civilization

over the whole of the earth; and it was accomplished in an era when the realism,

1 Quoted from: www.socialstudies.com

ruthlessness, and rivalries of European national governments were exceptionally great. It

therefore had a temper uniquely masterful and remorseless, brooking no obstacles and

pushfully self-assertive. This quality came as much from the nature of European politics

as from the urges of European economic development. There was no international

organization fitted to exercise any kind of control or regulation over the scramble for

territories in which the great powers now indulged. The naked power politics of the new

colonialism were the projection, onto an overseas screen, of the interstate frictions and

rivalries of Europe. It was this combination of novel economic conditions with anarchic

political relations which explained the nature of the new imperialism. Among the

economic forces behind it, the urge to find new outlets for the "glut of capital" and fresh

markets for industrial output were in general more important than either the quest for raw

materials or the factor of overpopulation.”2

II. Alliances 2 Quoted from http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/world/lectures/imperialism.html

“An alliance is an agreement made between two or more countries to give each other help

if it is needed. When an alliance is signed, those countries become known as Allies.

A number of alliances had been signed by countries between the years 1879 and 1914.

These were important because they meant that some countries had no option but to

declare war if one of their allies.”3

“European alliances were designed to keep a balance of power. The Triple Entente (U.K.,

France, and Russia) balanced the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy).

Belgium had pledged neutrality but made a treaty with the U.K. to protect it in case of

attack. The Ottoman Empire was weak and had allowed Germany too much control over

its foreign policy. As a whole, these alliances assured total peace or total war. There was

nothing in between: one incident could set off a chain reaction that would draw all the

countries of Europe into a conflict.”4

III. Militarism 3 Quoted from: http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/world/lectures/imperialism.html4 Quoted from : www.socialstudies.com

“The Industrial Revolution brought great changes to all aspects of life, including the

military. Armies were now swifter, stronger, more mobile and more deadly. New

technologies also created new weapons. The cavalry and bayonets of the past would now

meet tanks, machine guns, howitzer cannons, and airplanes on the battlefields of

Europe.”5

“The menace of the hostile division led to an arms race, another cause of World War I.

Acknowledging that Germany was the leader in military organization and efficiency, the

great powers of Europe copied the universal conscription, large reserves and detailed

planning of the Prussian system. Technological and organizational developments led to

the formation of general staffs with precise plans for mobilization and attack that often

could not be reversed once they were begun. The German von Schlieffen Plan to attack

France before Russia in the event of war with Russia was one such complicated plan that

plan drew more counties into the war than necessary.

Armies and navies were greatly expanded. The standing armies of France and Germany

doubled in size between 1870 and 1914. Naval expansion was also extremely

competitive, particularly between Germany and Great Britain. By 1889, the British had

established the principle that in order to maintain naval superiority in the event of war

they would have to have a navy two and a half times as large as the second-largest navy.

This motivated the British to launch the Dreadnought, invented by Admiral Sir John

Fisher, in 1906. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 had demonstrated how effective

these battleships were. As Britain increased their output of battleships, Germany

correspondingly stepped up their naval production, including the Dreadnought. Although

efforts for worldwide disarmament were made at the Hague Conferences of 1899 and

1907, international rivalry caused the arms race to continue to feed on itself.”6

5 Quoted from: www.socialstudies.com6 Quoted from: http://www.cusd.chico.k12.ca.us/~bsilva/projects/great_war/causes.htm

IV. Nationalism

“In countries like Germany, nationalist movements united the people with a sense of

greatness of who they were. Nationalism takes patriotism and adds to it a sense of

superiority that calls for the conquering of the inferior. In the 19th century, nationalism

was expressed as dedication to and identification with the nation-state as evidenced by

the unification of Germany and Italy.”7

“Austria-Hungary was established as the Dual Monarchy in 1867. The Dual Monarchy

ruled over a large empire consisting of many nationalities, but only the Austrians (racially

they were German) and the Hungarians had the right to rule. The other nationalities

Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, Rumanians and Poles resented their loss of political

freedom. They desired for political independence. Thus the policy of the Dual Monarchy

was to suppress the nationalist movements both inside and outside the empire. The

particular object of the Dual Monarchy was to gain political control over the Balkan

Peninsula, where nationalist movements were rife and were always giving

encouragement to the nationalist movements within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The 7 Quoted from: www.socialstudies.com

centre of the nationalist movements in the Balkans was Serbia. Serbia always hoped to

unite with the Serbs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire so as to create a large Serbian state.

Therefore the first enemy of Austria-Hungary from 1871 to 1914 was Serbia. Besides

Serbia, Austria-Hungary also hated Russia because Russia, being a Slav country, always

backed up Serbia in any Austro-Serbian disputes.

Nationalism in Britain

In 1870 Britain was the most industrially advanced country in Europe. She also possessed

the largest overseas empire and the largest navy in the world. She did not want to trouble

herself with the continental affairs of Europe. Her main concern was to preserve her

overseas empire and her overseas trade by maintaining a large navy. Before 1890, her

chief enemies were France and Russia. The colonial interests of France often clashed

with those of Britain . (Britain and France had colonial rivalries in Asia and Africa--for

example, India, Burma, Thailand, Egypt.)

Russia's interest in the Balkan area also alarmed Britain, as British naval interests in the

Mediterranean Sea would be immediately threatened. After 1890, as Germany went on

increasing her naval strength and threatened British naval supremacy and the British

overseas interests, she became Britain's chief enemy.8

QUESTIONS

8 Quoted from: http://www.thecorner.org/hist/wwi/national.htm

1. What factors led to the cause you are studying?

Militarism

Alliances

Imperialism

Nationalism

2. Summarize in one sentence how the cause led to war

Militarism

Alliances

Imperialism

Nationalism

3. What is the connection of the image to the cause?

Militarism

Alliances

Imperialism

Nationalism

4. What could have been done to prevent the cause from leading to war?

Militarism

Alliances

Imperialism

Nationalism