Cause Of World War I

In the words of Woodrow Wilson, World War I was the “The war to end all wars”. While it was revolutionary, World War I was one of the most destructive wars to date with millions of casualties. The cause of the Great War can be attributed to four main causes: militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. Though the three other causes did have an impact, the underlying factor to the explosion of tensions known as World War I can be attributed to the concept of nationalism. Nationalism is defined as intense devotion to one's country marked with a sense of superiority. Throughout the unraveling of World War I, nationalism sparked the war, drew in multiple countries, and paved the way for the other causes to take shape.
The spark that caused

With more colonies, countries grew to become much more powerful. Therefore, through nationalism, countries wanted to expand and further celebrate their superiority. However, competition rose quickly between countries. This drive rooted in nationalism pushed countries to claim more land and expand their empires further than their counterparts. Examples include Britain and France who were continually expanding their empires. However, competition through nationalism also caused tensions to rise. An example of rising tensions through imperialism can be seen with France and Germany in Morocco. Another cause that goes hand-in-hand with imperialism is militarism. Militarism is the glorification of war and “when a country aggressively pursues the policy of a strong military to defend itself or expand its territory in the name of national interests.” (Pinkerton, Militarism). Such a burden for national interests sprouted from nationalism. As people celebrated and appreciated their country, those feelings eventually trickled down to the military side. Thus, militarism took form and started to influence countries. This is evident in the case of Germany and Britain as both countries had nationalism evolve into militarism within their countries. Through this, both countries become formidable opponents with their fierce military forces. The need to become stronger through the ideals of nationalism also played a part in the arms race. With the arms race on the rise, there was immense competition to have the finest weapons. Such competitions took root in nationalism as countries wanted to be the most dominant. The last main cause of the war was alliances. The purpose of alliances were to create “powerful groups” that could keep peace. Countries agreed to make alliances to become even more dominant and once again celebrate each country's strengths. By forming alliances, countries