World War 1: A Comprehensive Analysis of Causes, US Role, and Treaty

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of World War 1, exploring its underlying causes such as nationalism, imperialism, and militarism, with a focus on the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as a key catalyst. It examines the United States' initial neutrality and subsequent entry into the war in 1917, driven by factors like Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare and attempts to involve Mexico against the U.S. The essay also discusses the Treaty of Versailles, its impact on Germany, and President Woodrow Wilson's vision for the League of Nations, highlighting the American public's mixed reactions and the eventual rejection of the treaty by the U.S. Congress. The document concludes by referencing various sources that offer further insight into the complexities of the conflict.

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World War 1
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World War 1
World War 1 was as a result of a range of factors, one of the factors was the assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassination together with his wife. Some other factors such as
imperialism, militarism, and nationalism also instigated the start of the war.
Nationalism
Most people in the 20th century believed in the supremacy of their countries. There
existed naval and economic supremacies in the British Empire. The Germans strengthened their
military power and industrialization and also thought on how they could have won the war
against other nations. Russia also had a significant number of military personnel. They believed
that having a considerable number of soldiers could help them win any war. France had built a
wall on the eastern border, and this made them feel confident they could prevent any nation to
invade their lands. The countries played superiority battles, and this made them be drawn easily
to any war (Herwig, 2014).
Imperialism
Before commencement of this war, Great Britain had occupied a quarter of the world.
Their significant objectives were on trade, importing raw materials and agriculture. France had
also colonized some parts of Cambodia, Vietnam, Pacific Islands and Africa. The Germans had
dominated some parts of China, Samoa, western Africa, Pacific Islands and the New Guinea.
The Spanish had occupied vast parts of South America while Russia ruled parts of Asia, Finland,
and Poland. Scramble for the colonies thus led to increased conflicts of interest for the empires.
These made the countries to be prone to war.

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Militarism
This is the rise in the expenditure of the military forces and policies with regards to
forcing in the resolving of conflicts. During the war period, there was increased control in the
military for the government of the state. There was also an increment in the power of the army
and policy-making more so in Russia and Germany. In 1910-1914, Germany had increased their
expenditures of the military during this period to about 80% and Russia by 40% (Ford, 2008).
The increase in militarism led to the belief that there could be some war. Some countries
continued to form alliances to take part in the coming war.
America and World War 1
The United States influenced the result of the World War 1; the nation had made decent
attempts to remain impartial in the European contention. In 1917, the strategy of Woodrow
Wilson played a major role during the World War I.
United States entry into World War I
In the year 1917, the president of the U.S., Woodrow Wilson, appeared before the joint
session of the Congress to ask for the assertion for starting the war against Germany. He spoke
on the infringement of the vow that Germany had made to suspend the unimpeded submarine
fighting in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic, and the actions to draw Mexico to cooperate
against the United States. On 4th April 1917, the Senate then voted to support to declare war on
Germany (Ford, 2008).

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The War was as a result of different factors that included the tension that was in the
European powers and crises of energy which divided Europe. One group joined Great Britain,
Russia, and France while the second entered the German empire. Some of the events involved
were;
The Franco- Prussian war
The war involving France and Prussia had ended with a defeat that was humiliating for
France and hence making them pay Prussia a huge indemnity. The nation also lost to Prussia
Alsace and Lorraine. This led to the formation of the German empire industry and a potential
military. This, in turn, disrupted the balance of the European power thus resentment and the
desire to revenge for French.
Russo-Japanese war
The war brought rivalry between Korea and Manchuria, the results of war became a blow
to the Russians since they had almost lost entire of Baltic and the Pacific fleet. Their defeat
forced a political crisis which led to the 1905 Russian revolution. The war also led to the end of
Russian ambitions leading to the rivalry between Austria and Hungary who were interested in
Balkans.
Entente cordiale
The German militarism and buildup of the maritime power had convinced Great Britain
on the plans of Germany to establish to be the dominant power in the world. The British then
decided to form an alliance with the France which came to be referred to be Entente Cordiale. In
the year 1907, Great Britain allied together with Russia which was already in partnership with

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France. This led to the formation of Triple Entente that became one of the Allies during the
World War I (Joll & Martel, 2013).
The Balkan wars
Bulgaria turned against Serbia and Greece as a result of the dispute for partitioning
Macedonia. Bulgarians were defeated and gave up their claims. The successes of the league of
Balkan shocked most of the European powers; the wars made the statesmen of Austria and
Hungary more determined to take action.
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Ferdinand and his wife assassination in 1914 led to increased conflicts and therefore
triggered declaration of war to Balkan (Lebow, 2014).
Ethnicity in America’s neutrality
The War had a divided experience for ethnic minorities that had arrived in the United
States. The immigrants then supported the country both on the battlefield and home front; the
government then dealt with the enemy aliens (Neiberg, 2009). With the Neutrality declaration
which was delivered to the Congress after commencement World War, President Woodrow
Wilson gave a warning that if the minorities of the nation become active participants for the
origin countries they were to face fatal consequences.
Treaty of Versailles
The World War I ended with the signing of the treaty on June 28th, 1919. It was
significantly negotiated by the Allied powers, Germany having participated little. After the strict

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enforcement that took five years, the French nation consented to modify the necessary provisions
(Sharp, 2015). Additionally, Germany also agreed to pay the reparations under the plan of Dawes
and Young but was plans canceled in the year 1932. The rise of Hitler to power and his actions
hindered the terms that remained for the treaty. President Woodrow Wilson gave a speech on the
League of Nations in January 1918 and outlined the essential ways for ensuring peace after
World War I. He talked of an organization which was charged in the resolving of conflicts before
they change to warfare and bloodshed (Schelle, 2009).
Between the years 1920-1930, the United States had negative reactions towards the treaty
and most of the Americans felt it was unfair towards Germany. They also thought that France
and Britain enriched themselves at the expense of Germany and USA was not to help them.
President Wilson, however, was met with opposed views from those of the Republican Party in
the Congress and used the treaty to oppose him. Americans also became uneasy on the League of
Nations scheme (Sharp, 2015). They believed that the League would have driven the United
States into the international disputes. Congress finally rejected both the League of Nations and
the Treaty of Versailles.

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References
Ford, N. G. (2008). The Great War and America: Civil-Military Relations during World War I:
Civil-Military Relations during World War I. Abc-Clio.
Herwig, H. H. (2014). The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918. A&C
Black.
Joll, J., & Martel, G. (2013). The origins of the first world war. Routledge.
Keegan, J. (2014). The first world war. Random House.
Lebow, R. N. (2014). Archduke Franz Ferdinand lives!: A world without World War I. St.
Martin's Press.
Neiberg, M. S. (2009). Fighting the Great War. Harvard University Press.
Schelle, K. (2009). The First World War and the Paris Peace Agreement.
Sharp, A. (2015). The Consequences of the Peace: The Versailles Settlement: Aftermath and
Legacy 1919-2015. Haus Publishing.