Savannah Powers Mrs. Davidson Honors World History February 12 2023 WW1 Essay On June 28th, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated in Sarajevo. A month later, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, officially beginning the start of World War I; a war that claimed the lives of 9.7 million soldiers. The outbreak of World War I had many additional factors, but the idea of militarism contributed the most. Militarism was the highest contributor to World War I because of the arms race, military rivalries, and the amount of money spent on growing armies. By turning small problems into a whole ordeal, the arms race contributed to making militarism the leading cause of World War I. Document “I” depicts a pile of wood ranging from twigs that say things like Bosnia to larger logs that have phrases like “Triple Alliance,” a match that mentions Sarajevo, and two gusts of wind saying, “The Arms Race” and “Nationalist Movements.” The arms race in this cartoon provides the …show more content…
Document “D” exhibits a table that represents the total amount of money (in millions) spent on armaments. Countries such as Russia (which spent the most money in 1913) were preparing for the upcoming war. Document D is a primary source with the purpose to inform people of the money spent from 1908 through 1913. The source is extremely credible because it relates to the claim by displaying how nations believed militarism was so important, they spent millions of dollars on armies. Therefore, this document showcases how the armament expenditures were growing exponentially and nations who weren’t allies had spent the most on their militaries. In addition, money spend on militaries allowed countries to grow large armies which played a huge role in