World War I: This short essay reflects the basic causes of WWI and the United States reasoning for entering WWI.
World War 1 was fought as a result of secret alliances formed in Europe in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The event which sparked the war was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand on June 28th 1914 at the hands of Gabriel Principe. Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was touring the nation of Serbia when a group of Bosnian nationalists named the Black Hand ordered his assassination. This act had a domino effect, and it quickly evolved into a war which spread rapidly through Europe. Secret alliances in Europe, an ever changing definition of neutrality in the United States, cultural issues, military considerations, and an explosive chain of events between the U.S. and Germany led American President Woodrow Wilson to ask Congress to declare war on Germany on April 6, 1917. In order to understand WW1, you must first understand the secret alliances among European nations. Austria-Hungary and Germany were allies. Germany issued “carte blanche” to Austria-Hungary which prompted Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia in retaliation to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. The Ottoman Empire entered the war on behalf of Austria-Hungary in order to gain territory from Russia and to gain control in the Balkans. Italy had a treaty with Germany, but later joined the allied powers in order to gain territory from Austria-Hungary. Serbia, which objected to Austria-Hungary’s demand to place troops within its borders, turned to Russia for support. When Russia mobilized its army, Germany demanded that it be demobilized. As a result of Russia’s refusal to do so, Germany attacked Russia. In reaction to Germany’s attack on Russia, France declared war on Germany because it had an alliance with Russia. In the interim, the Belgians were at war with Germany because Germany marched through Belgium without their permission in order to attack France. As a result, England (which had a treaty with Belgium,) declared war on Germany. The end result of this web of alliances was two