Name

What were the causes of World War I?

Answer questions based on the accompanying documents. As you read the documents, consider the source of the
document and the sources’ points of view.

Document 1: Front page of The New York Times front page, June 29, 1914.

Question 1. How was nationalism connected to the assassination of the archduke? (2 points)

Document 2: Military spending for Britain, France and Germany from 1880-1911.

Year British (in French (in German

millions of millions of (in
pounds) francs) millions
of marks)
1880 25.1 715 418
1890 34.2 946 479
1904 73.3 1053 790
1911 62.9 1534 973
Source: B.R. Mitchell, European Historical Statistics

Question 2. According to the chart, what pattern of military spending emerged across all three
countries? (2 points)
Question 3. How could these patterns lead to war? (3 points)

Document 3: Map of European political alliances before World War I.

Credit: Xiaphias / Wikipedia

Question 4. How did the alliance system contribute to the outbreak of World War I? (6 points)
Document 4: "The Chain of Friendship" printed July 1914.

Question5. Write down one expectation of countries depicted in this cartoon. (2 points)

Document 5: Illustration from Le Petit Journal, January 16, 1898

Question 6. How did this French cartoon portray the relationship between the European
powers and Japan over China? (2 points)
 Document 6: John Hobson, Imperialism, 1902

… After 1870 this manufacturing and trading supremacy was greatly impaired: other
nations, especially Germany, the United States, and Belgium, advanced with great
rapidity, and while they have not crushed or even stayed the increase of our external
trade, their competition made it more and more difficult to dispose of the full surplus of
our manufactures at a profit. The encroachments made by these nations upon our old
markets, even in our own possessions, made it most urgent that we should take energetic
means to secure new markets. These new markets had to lie in hitherto undeveloped
countries, chiefly in the tropics, where vast populations lived capable of growing
economic needs which our manufacturers and merchants could supply. Our rivals were
seizing and annexing territories for similar purposes, and when they had annexed them
closed them to our trade. The diplomacy and the arms of Great Britain had to be used in
order to compel the owners of the new markets to deal with us…

Question 7. How did economic competition, combined with colonialism, create political conflicts? (4
points)
Document 7: The Versailles Peace Conference in 1919 was designed to set terms to end the war. Two of
the major terms of the treaty, among others were that Germany would assume full responsibility for
starting the war and that Germany would also give up all colonial possessions and substantial national
territory. Count Brockdorff-Rantzau, leader of the German delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference,
said:

“It is demanded of us that we shall confess ourselves to be alone guilty of the war. Such a
confession from my lips would be a lie. We are far from declining all responsibility for
the fact that this great World War took place or that it was fought in the way that it was…
But we energetically deny that Germany and its people, who were convinced that they
fought a war of defense, were alone guilty. No one would want to assert that the disaster
began only at that disastrous moment when the successor of Austria-Hungary fell a
victim to murderous hands. In the last fifty years, the imperialism of all European states
has chronically poisoned international relations. Policies of retaliation, policies of
expansion, and disregard for the right of peoples to determine their own destiny, have
contributed to the European malady which came to a crises in the World War.”

Question 8. How did the German delegation leader’s views support Hobson’s theories above in
Document 6? (6 points)

Answer Key
Initial answers may vary. Some students may point to the assassination of the Austrian archduke and his
wife by the Serb nationalist Gavrio Princip. Others may allude to Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and
Nationalism as the causes of WWI.

Document 1
How was nationalism connected to the assassination of the archduke?
The article notes that it was a Bosnian seeking revenge for Austria’s seizure of the Balkans. An effective
idea for the students to track the causes would be for the teacher to attach the four “MAIN” causes to each
document (Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism). This way the students can track which
they think had the greater impact toward causing the war.

Document 2
What did Austria-Hungary accusing Serbia of doing?
Austria-Hungary accused the Serbian government of supporting the nationalist movements seeking
independence within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Ask the students why did Austria-Hungary publicly
send out this notice to Serbia, some of the students could indicate that this is Austrian nationalism, that
they were showing their own superiority versus the Serbian willingness to support a terrorist
movement/independence movement.

Document 3:
What did this stanza suggest about the British military?
This stanza shows that the British were prepared and willing to fight any potential foe. Ask the students,
based on the MAIN chart, where would this document fit. It can certainly apply to both Nationalism and
Militarism.

Document 4
According to the chart, what pattern of military spending emerged across all three countries?
All three countries showed a pattern of increased spending on weapons and defense spending.

How could these patterns lead to war?

This question requires students to speculate on the answer. Have the students consider that if they were
military officers in any of these countries, would they expect to see these figures and not see any conflict
occur. Again, ask the students where would this fit on our MAIN chart, Militarism should be the consistent
answer.

Document 5:
What factor does this cartoon suggest would eventually contribute to the outbreak of war in
1914?
This cartoon suggests that all of the parties (the United States, Japan, Germany, France, and Britain) at the
table had engaged in an ‘arms race,’ by amassing more weapons. A particular note should be at the
bottom of the cartoon, where Japan notes “I see your cruisers, and I raise you a Dreadnought! Again, this
could be seen as a Militarism point, but also ask why would the Japanese be featured here. Students
should relate this to the rise of Japan in the Meiji Restoration culminating in the victory following the
Russo-Japanese War. Students may also connect this to Imperialism, as these countries required these
levels of military dominance in order to maintain their colonial or territorial holdings.

Document 6:
How did the alliance system contribute to the outbreak of World War I?
Observing both the Central Powers and the Triple Entente, the notion was that if any one country within
an alliance was attacked, the other countries would come to its defense. This could result in tensions
within both alliances. At this point, ask the students to analyze strengths and weaknesses of both
alliances, based on geography. Perhaps the most telling point the students should observe is that
Germany was vulnerable by having to potentially fight a two-front war, one against France, the other
against Russia.

Analyze the activity in Austria-Hungary. How is Nationalist feelings portrayed on this map?
The students should note that there are multiple uprisings within Austria-Hungary, each group pursuing
independence, a key factor in Nationalism.

Document 7:
Write down one expectation of countries depicted in this cartoon.
Again, student can analyze that each of these countries would support the other and retaliate against the
aggressor nation. If there is time available, ask the students if there would be any possible way to avert
war, based on what has been recorded thus far. The responses could vary, from having a neutral party
investigate and prosecute those responsible for the attack on the Archduke, to regulations limiting the
amount of weapons per nation.

Document 8:
How did this French cartoon portray the relationship between the European powers and Japan
over China?
This cartoon clearly showed the tensions and rivalry between all countries involved over the carving of
China. Students would pretty quickly point to the influence of Imperialism here in this document. Ask the
students where else in the world this idea would apply; they should point out the colonial holdings in
Africa, the Middle East, the South Pacific, and other locations.

Document 9:
How did economic competition, combined with colonialism, create political conflicts?
Hobson noted that the industrialized powers seized territories for their economic and political interests,
and then closed those territories off to further trade. It was only diplomacy or the use of military power
that forced those countries to maintain trade. Students can point to both Imperialism and Militarism in
this document.

Document 10:
How did the German delegation leader’s views support Hobson’s theories?
Brockdorff-Rantzau argued that imperialist ambitions poisoned diplomatic solutions to conflicts. A really
effective idea here would be to note that this document showed the end of the war. Ask the students to
think of the responses from Britain, France, or Russia on this document. Would they agree or disagree
with the German position. Why or why not? Student response should vary.

The developed thesis should point to the influences of Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism
contributing to the outbreak of war in 1914.

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