MAIN World War I

The Catalyst
Industrialization - the catalyst for every
event leading up to World War I.
The four major causes of WWI

Militarism
Alliances
Imperialism
Nationalism
 Militarism
Aggressive preparation
for and glorification of
war
Industrial Revolution
lead to development of
new weapons of war.
Machine guns, trains,
& chemical warfare.
How do you think Industrialism
influenced Militarism?
 Europe was
involved in an
arms race
Militarism
race to develop
or control more
weapons

Developed
faster ships,
bigger guns, and
new technology
like airplanes
and poison gas.
 Alliances
Alliance a pledge to
defend each other
during war
Countries established
alliances in order to
intimidate each other
and avoid war
Alliances
How does Industrialism
influence Alliances?
 Alliances
Germany and France
become bitter rivals
after the Franco-
Prussian War 1869.
France gave up Alsace-
Lorraine to Germany =
anti-German feelings

Germany formed
alliances with Italy and
Austria, and attempted
to isolate France.
Alsace-Lorraine
 Imperialism
Imperialism when a
strong country
attempts to control a
weaker country.

European countries
tried to control Africa,
China, Japan, India,
Mexico, Central
America, South
America, and South
East Asia.
How did the Industrial
Revolution influence
Imperialism?
 Imperialism
Britain took control of
India, changing the
national language to
English, promoting
English culture as
superior, and draining the
country of its wealth and
resources.

What other examples can

you think of?
 Nationalism
Nationalism belief in the
superiority of your nation,
extreme love for your country

Reached an extreme before

World War I
Countries competed against
each other to control the most
territory in an attempt to prove
superiority.
How did the Industrial
Revolution influence
Nationalism?
 Social Darwinism:
popular in England,
America, and elsewhere,
Extreme
states that the strongest Nationalism
or fittest should survive
and flourish in society,
while the weak and unfit
should be allowed to
die.

This system placed rich

people above poor
people, and the Anglo-
Saxon race above all
other races.
 Extreme Nationalism & Eugenics
Eugenics
racist pseudoscience
determined to wipe away all
human beings deemed "unfit,"
preserving only those who
conformed to a Nordic
stereotype.
Starting in the late 1800s &
through WWII, this led to:
a national policy of forced
sterilization
segregation laws, as well
as marriage restrictions