World War I Causes Ever wonder why World War I occurred in the first place? There were many different circumstances that took place to cause the mass destruction that is known today as World War I. Some of these causes had been happening for a while, but others came about just before the war began. All the different causes eventually led to the beginning of Word War I. Some major causes were imperialism, which happens to be a long term cause, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, and the sinking of the Lusitania. Imperialism, countries striving for global economic power, pushed several nations head to head and started both alliances and rivalries between those different countries fighting for global power.(pg 662,687 American Nation) …show more content…
Since the assassination occurred in Serbia, Austria-Hungary said that the Serbian government planned the the assassination. (History.com) Because of this event Germany backed Austria-Hungary mainly because Russia supported Serbia.(History.com) Within a week after the assassination, the two sides declared war on one another. (History.com) This event was the tipping point between the sides and gave each of them a reason to go to war. The Germans utterly destroyed the Lusitania which carried American property and people. The ship was trying to get to Great Britain, but the Germans and Brits had blockades on each other. (pg 690 American Nation) The Germans warned America about travelling to Britain and the dangers of doing so. (History.com) Also the U.S. president warned the Germans not to destroy any U.S. property.(pg 690 American Nation) After the ship being torpedoed, the U.S. threatened to cut off ties with Germany. (pg 690 American Nation) In response, the Germans weakened their use of their submarines. (pg 690 American Nation) This devastating event really sealed the deal when it came to if the U.S. joined the war and whose side they were on.