The last post prompt was for a paper 3 question. This time it is a question from Paper 2, Topic 1: Causes, Practices and Effects of War. The question is from the May 2012 Exam.
6. Assess the importance of each of the following in causing the First or the Second World War:
nationalism; alliances; economic factors.
Similar to the last blog assignment here are the parameters for posting:
2.3.1 You have a week to craft and write your response for this first round. They should be completed and submitted by 2:00 pm Friday, February 28th. You should write one (1) introductory paragraph - thesis with general supporting themes to be expanded on if you were to construct the completed and more fully developed essay. Then outline your comparison for three key points for each leader's rise to power. I will post your initial responses. I will collect the responses and then post them en mass. Submissions after 2 pm will be penalized 10%.
2.3.2 Once the collection has been posted on Friday afternoon, you will have the week to reply to one of your peers - first come first serve. You need to offer constructive criticism and one focused meaningful question about their answer for your peer to answer for the final part.
I will post them as soon as I get them. The longer you wait the less likely you will be to get your first reply posted and this part of the assignment completed. The due date for this part will be midnight Friday March 7th. REMEMBER this is a long weekend, so we have not school on Friday, however you will need to have this submitted on time for full credit. Submissions after midnight will be penalized 10%.
2.3.3 You will need to reply to the question posed by your critic in concise, supported answer - be sure to provide correct MLA formated citation to your answer. This is due midnight Monday Mar. 10th. I will post IB markscheme Tuesday and we will go through it for the first part of class. Submissions after midnight will be penalized 10%.
Non-posts will be scored as incomplete, late and 50%
Both world war I and II revolved around the idea of a power struggle. For world war I this mainly involved european powers whereas world war II was more wide spread. Alliances, nationalism, and economic factors were all things that served to strengthen a nation or cause its demise. Nationalism was necessary in both wars for boosting moral. The power of nationalism can be seen clearly by the strength of France in World War I and the strength of Germany (especially due to hitlers power in creating a strong sense of nationalism) in World War II. Nationalism proved to be useful in boosting moral during the wars and a lack of nationalism was seen as weakness by other countries. Alliances were similar in their characteristics as nationalism. Like nationalism, a lack of alliances could severly damage the country. Alliances were almost a form of insurance in which nations promised to defend each other. The alliance between Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary and the triple alliance (Germany, Italy and Austria- Hungary) in World War I proved to serve each nation greatly. With an alliance each nation now had the strength of three nations as opposed to just one. Lastly the economic factors greatly influenced the strength of a country in both world wars. In World War I economic factors mainly surrounded trade. If a nations trade was not in tact then the revenue for that country severly decreased leading to a weak nation. For World War II economic factors surrounded funding the war effort. War supplies were in high demand during World War II and a nations strength was strongly determined by weather or not the nation could keep up with those demands.
ReplyDeleteI think you provided good examples for your claims. However, I think you could mention how economic difficulties directly caused the wars. You discuss the factors that occur when the wars are already taking place and if you focus on their causes I think you will have a unified response.
DeleteThe most significant causes for the Second World War are the idea of integral nationalism used by the aggressor countries and Europe’s terrible economic state following the previous war. This was mainly due to the new regime in Germany under Adolf Hitler. Alliance systems still contributed in causing the war and were formed through ideology but it was not as important as Germany’s actions toward the rest of Europe.
ReplyDelete1. Nationalism: The nationalism used by Germany helped cause the war because it allowed them to have a very aggressive foreign policy.
a. Integral nationalism is a form of extreme nationalism. It happens when a certain country believes that they are above the rest of the world and thus need more space to expand their master race.
b. This gave Germany an aggressive expansionist policy
c. They began to conquer neighboring countries such as Czechoslovakia. It was the invasion of Poland that sparked war.
2. Alliances: The systems of alliances were mainly through ideology but there were some exceptions. Alliances did lead to involvement in the war but it was more of Hitler’s actions that caused it.
a. There was an alliance of fascists in Italy and Germany. Communist Russia also tried to ally itself with Germany. While the western, democratic powers of Europe formed an alliance.
b. Germany betrayed Russia and tried to conquer it.
c. These alliances did have a domino effect as it had in the First World War but was overshadowed by Hitler’s actions.
3. Economic Factors: The terrible economic conditions allowed for the rise of ruthless, extreme dictators that would ultimately start the war.
a. The economy in Europe was horrible after the First World War especially in Germany.
b. Germany was forced to pay the war reparations based on the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, causing the country to eventually go bankrupt.
c. The terrible economic conditions caused people to look for leadership in figures such as Hitler who promised to make Germany the most powerful country in the world.
Hiya!
DeleteYou treat this in a list format which makes it easy to follow but a bit difficult to follow at times. My main comment would be to try and expand your ideas and make your connections between ideas clearer(see jump between integral nationalism and next point about Germany, WHY did Germany see a rise expansionism). Also try and treat only one World War and stick to that one so that your ideas aren't as spread around and you can focus on one. Your general ideas are pretty good though and could be stronger with more specific examples. My question to you is: Why, specifically, did Germany see a rise in expansionist thought?
You have great information, and the analysis is strong, but maybe, offer a counter claim or find weaknesses in the claim to improve the validity. Overall, the outline for the essay is strong, and the knowledge shown in the evidence helps to show the reader the reasons for the claims.
DeleteGermany’s rise in expansionist thought was due to the leadership of Adolf Hitler. After World War I, Germany was in a terrible state due to the agreements reached at the Treaty of Versailles. Their economy was in shambles and they were governed by a weak republican government. Because of this, the German people were more willing to elect an extreme leader. Hitler’s ideas included a form of nationalism known as integral nationalism. Through this, Hitler stated that the German people were superior to other races; therefore they needed room to expand their race. This form of nationalism caused Germany to become aggressively expansionist. They began to conquer neighboring countries which helped lead to World War II.
DeleteThere was no definite cause of World War II (WWII), though it can be logically concluded and argued that some of the most important were nationalism, alliances, and varying economic factors. The majority of the alliances seen in WWII were formed during WWI such as that of the US, Great Britain and France. A major factor in forming the alliances was that of ideologies. The ally powers desired capitalist economies for Europe, whereas the axis powers desired communistic economies. Considering these ideologies are virtually in direct opposition of each other, this sets up potential for conflict already. After WWI Germany was economically devastated, both due to the cost of war, as well as the cost of reparations. This caused a need in Germany for a strong leader that would be able to lead them out of the economic depression, presenting an ideal time for the rise of Hitler. In the eyes of the Germans, he was strong and perfectly fit to lead them out of their current economic state. Hitler believed the only way to repair their current economic state was to expand, considering he believed in integral nationalism. His extreme expansive nationalistic views resulted in his extermination of the Jews, and expansion throughout Europe in order to create a perfect Germany.
ReplyDeleteThis is very well written, and you gave a good amount of details while keeping it short and to the point. You listed the alliances and the reasons for those alliance, and commented on how the economy brought certain leaders in to power, which is all really good.
DeleteI think the only thing you may want on expand on is how Hitler's extreme integral nationalism led to the persicution of the Jews, and how this brought on WWII.
But overall, really good job!
This is a good general outlook on German economic crisis and the rise of Hitler, I suggest to bring more factual backup to what you are saying with specific dates because your critique has to be a concise supported answer.
DeleteThanks! I'll be sure to include that next time. I didn't because I figured it was somewhat self-explanatory, but it is IB so you have to include every single little detail. But thanks!
DeleteThe First World War was caused by a number of factors but nationalism, alliances and economics factors were among the most important. Nationalism was very influential because it really led to massive involvement by many countries. The countries had no respect for their enemies and really preached this to their citizens which caused the entire country to want to get in on the fight. The other belief that was spread through many countries was the hatred of the Germans. This hatred was very strong in France and Great Britain and this spread throughout both countries leading to their involvement in the war. The alliances played a very large role in the start of World War One because without them the world war would have never happened. It would have been a very short war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. With all of the alliances that were formed years before, almost immediately after the assassination the majority of Europe was involved in this war. The alliances factor was what really caused the war to be a “world war”. Economic factors mainly involved the concept of mercantilism. With everybody believing that the only way to get money was to take it from someone else led to countries scrambling for places to take money from which caused great imbalance in the world.
ReplyDeleteI think your part about the alliances was really strong. I think you should go into more detail when talking about how nationalism affected the countries and their leaders. I also think you should talk more about the “hatred of the Germans” and how that leads into World War I. Maybe also explain the whole economic factors bit some more and talk about some more economic issues that were presented. Other than that, good job!
DeleteCharles! I think you spoke too generally here - I think beyond listing the countries within the middle of the paragraph, you don't really mention specifics. I don't know if specifics will make your argument any better, but it makes it stronger (in that people will trust it). And I don't know if you're looking too far into the war and not enough before the war. But yo're solid, as always
DeleteThanks. I agree that I should add some more information about the economic factors section. I think including more about that would also help the nationalism section also which could have used a little more elaboration.
DeleteAlliances, nationalism, and economics were all very important factors in the cause of WWII. Following WWI, economic depression swept the world. Countries across the globe were in debt and inflation caused people everywhere to be poor. However, Germany may have been in the worst economic shape as the Treaty of Versailles required them to pay billions of dollars to the Allied powers. With so many people poor and unhappy in Germany, they looked for a new leader and when Hitler promised a new life, one that was heavily based upon nationalism and the country succeeding together; German’s immediately put Hitler in power. Similar events occurred in Italy and Japan- creating a base of Axis powers. In opposition to the Axis, over 50 countries joined the Allies, particularly the US, Russia, and Great Britain. Both alliance groups were formed with the same reasoning: to create a better country/ world (economically and politically) and to defeat the other power. With both powers attempting to spread their beliefs, a war broke out. Germany, Italy, and Japan tried to spread their fascist’s beliefs and conquer other countries, while the Allies tried to stop them and create independent countries with a good government.
ReplyDeleteI really like the content of your response but I think that it would be more affective if it were organized a bit better. You seemed to throw the three main topics in throughout the intro paragraph and it could be more effective if they were addressed separately and in slightly more detail.
DeleteStacy- you did an excellent job summing up the causes of WWII. You tied the events together really well too. To improve this, you could talk more about the nationalism part of the war and how that effected it. I realize nationalism pertains more to WWI with the conflict between Serbia and Austria, and you chose to talk about only WWII. But I think it would be beneficial to the essay to include this factor as well. Overall though, it is very well written and would be the beginning of a very solid essay.
DeleteTo expand on nationalism- the reasoning many countries, especially Germany, Italy, and Japan, put their leaders in power was because they promised a nationalistic country. Around the world most countries came together with a nationalistic outlook towards the war. Although each country went about it in a different way such as the U.S joining with other countries to promote a democratic government or Germany putting Hitler in power to promote Nazism and making everyone “similar”. The main ideal and reason for countries supporting the war was all surrounded around nationalism and the promise of a nationalistic country.
DeleteNationalism, alliances, and economic issues are all main factors in the start of World War II. The German Nationalist Party, or better known as the Nazis, were formed as a result of Germany wanting their former land back after it lost a large amount of its land in World War I and after the Treaty of Versailles. The goal of this nationalist party was to take the land back by force to build up Germany and make it much stronger than before. The allies that were present during World War II included those who were for the German, Italian, and Japanese, and those who were against it. The Axis Powers consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan, and the Allied Forces consisted of France, Poland, and Great Britain, along with the Soviet Union and American joining in later. These two Powers played great roles throughout the duration of World War II; in the development, action, and resolution of the war. Economic issues that took place before the start of World War II included the Great Depression, which sent many countries, including Germany, into economic crises. During Hitler’s rise to power, he focused greatly on restoring Germany’s economic standing, which made him very popular among the people. These economic issues caused plenty of tensions throughout Europe, especially between the soon-to-be Axis Powers and Allied Forces.
ReplyDeleteAlex,
DeleteYour organization is very good which makes the paragraph very easy to read and effective. The nationalism and economic factors sections are good but maybe refine the alliances a little more.Consider including what would've been different if the alliances weren't there. Overall good job though.
Alliances, nationalism, and economic factors all played a significant role in causing WWI. Starting with alliances mainly Europe was entangled in alliances that in many cases forced nations to be involved in a conflict exclusively because another nation that they had an alliance with was becoming involved in a conflict. Here are many of the significant alliances that aided in causing WWI:
ReplyDelete2.) The Dual Alliance (1878)
This alliance was between Germany and Austria-Hungary to protect themselves from Russia.
3.) Austro-Serbian Alliance (1881)
Austria-Hungary and Serbia allied to no allow Russia to gain control of Serbia.
4.) The Triple Alliance (1882)
Between Germany and Austria-Hungary to prevent Italy from siding with Russia in any conflict.
5.) Franco-Russian Alliance (1894)
Between Russia and France to protect Russia against Germany and Austria-Hungary.
6.) Entente Cordiale (1904)
This was not a formal alliance but was between France and Britain.
7.) Anglo-Russian Entente (1907)
Between Britain and Russia.
8.) Triple Entente (1907)
Between Russia, France, and Britain to counter an increasing threat they sensed from Germany
9.) Triple Entente (no separate peace) (1914)
Britain, Russia, and France agreed not to sign for peace separately.
As you can see these alliances did nothing but entangle the continent of Europe, which created a domino effect once the initial conflict started.
Nationalism is a form of patriotism that is mostly used to demonize other nations and was used for this purpose especially in this case. Britain in their media was very anti-German because they saw a conflict coming with Germany or even a German invasion. The same goes for Germany. They saw Britain as a nation that was very much trying to steal their place of glory in Europe and in their media depicted them as such. Nationalism also played a role in the Balkans where many nations sought freedom from Austria-Hungary in the same time period as WWI. So in summation nationalism created bad blood between nations in Europe that lead towards WWI.
Economics played a major role in terms of nations wanting to have power over others mainly in the arena of imperialism. In the late 19th and early 20th century imperialism was a major concern for many European nations considering that many of them had colonies in Africa, India, and parts of Asia. European nations moving into WWI wanted to maintain their colonies that they had been arguing over for years before the conflict began and therefore keep there economic assets that they held in those colonies.
Germany and Hitler were the main cause of the start of World War II. However, Hitler was not the only things that were influencing the beginning of World War II. There were many important factors that went into the beginning of World War II. The three most important factors were Nationalism, alliances, and economic factors. These three factors are nationalism, economic factors, and alliances. Nationalism was a factor because after World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany felt degraded and defeated therefore they felt the need to expand their territory and make it what it was before. To go along with this, Germany chose to blame other nationalities like the Jews for their own downfall which led to them invading Poland to start WWII. Economic factors helped to start WWII as well because Germany was way in debt from what the money they owed the allied powers from WWI. These as well as the fact that they got stripped of their military power made them want to find an easy way out of their situation by expanding their land and getting more resources. The last factor that helped to cause World War II was alliances. The reason World War II began was because the second that Germany invaded Poland, Britain was allies with Poland therefore they were going to go war with Germany right away. They were quickly followed by France. A number of other countries got called into the mix because they were simply allied with members that were already in the war which is what made it a world war.
ReplyDeleteHi Tim,
DeleteI think you have a nice intro paragraph here, but a few adjustments could make it stronger. First of all, I would recommend reading it over a few times and editing it to catch any typos or forgotten words, etc. Also, there is a very redundant sentence towards the beginning of the paragraph. Eliminate casual word choices, too, such as "way in debt" and "got called into the mix". Second, I would try to have a solid, concise thesis statement at the end to provide strong direction for the rest of your paper. Additionally, you provide some examples/evidence, but you could use more. Fore example, when you say Germany felt degraded and defeated and felt they needed to expand their territory and make it what it was before, could you add in some evidence to demonstrate that Germany really did try to expand their territory? I think that would strengthen your paragraph. Finally, saying that all three factors (nationalism, economic factors, and alliances) were equally influential in causing the war is fine, but don't feel like that is the only way to answer this question. If you know/find in your research that nationalism, for example, was more of a cause than economic factors, you can explain that. I think that could add an extra dimension and element of strength to your intro. But overall, good start!
Tim, I noticed that in the beginning you state the three factors "nationalism, alliances, and economic factors" twice in a row which is not necessary but probably just a typo. This is a strong introductory paragraph that would lead into a well written essay. To make it even better, you could go more into depth on the part nationalism played in not only the second World War but the first one too. Overall, good job!
DeleteUpon reading my paragraph again I did find a couple errors and redundant sentences that could have been revised. While we are on the important topic of grammar, I would also like to point out the misspelling of "fore" in your paragraph. I do not believe there should be an "e" at the end of that word. On a serious note, I do believe I could have made the paragraph more formal by using better word choice and crafting it a little better. Thanks for the advice.
DeleteIt is evident that the First World War was caused largely by nationalism, alliances, and economic factors. However, nationalism had the most significance. Nationalistic attitudes were high during this time period. France wanted to regain lost provinces and several groups such as the Yugoslavs and Poles were determined to gain independence. Increased patriotism made it easier for nations to take steps close to war. Alliances in the First World War were meant to maintain a balance of power throughout Europe and avoid war. The Triple Entente formed after France created the Dual Alliance with Russia and Britain and Russia created an Entente. The Triple Alliance formed between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Countries felt obligated to go to war because of alliances. Lastly, at this time, several world powers competed with each other to gain new land through imperialism. However, it was not significant enough to consider a major cause of the First World War. In conclusion, nationalism was the factor that contributed most to the First World War.
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand all of your points and it was relevant information, I don’t think the introduction matches with what you’re going to be talking about in the paper based on your thesis. Since your thesis is that nationalism was the main cause of the war, then I think it would be fitting to focus on this for your introduction rather than the alliances. If you’re going to include alliances and economic factors, I think you should explain why they are not as significant as the Nationalism. So, in general, what is the cause of this nationalism and why is it more significant than the alliances and economic factors.
DeleteThanks for the comment. To fix my thesis I suppose I would simply say that each of these factors had different levels of significance and that these levels would be explored throughout the essay. I would evaluate each of the factors in separate paragraphs, and in my conclusion I would state that nationalism was the most significant factor.
DeleteSecond World War:
ReplyDeleteNationalism, alliances, and economic factors were important elements for the events that transpired to cause WWII. Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini played important roles to cause WWII’s events. They each used the factors listed above to contribute to the overall result.
Nationalism- Created by the speeches they delivered to their countries
Hitler- Renewed the feeling of nationalism by branding the “3rd Reich”
Stalin- Laid down ideals of communism to unite the Soviet Union
Mussolini- Used ideals of fascism to unite Italy.
Alliances- Created alliances to get more troops fighting for their particular cause.
Hitler- Allied with Mussolini. Formed Axis Power (with Japan, Spain, and Italy).
Stalin- Allied with Great Britain, parts of France, and the United States.
Mussolini- Allied with Hitler. Formed Axis Power
Economic Factors
Hitler- Germany’s economy was weak. Hitler provided strong leadership to help the German people have hope. Hitler established projects (i.e. building roads, etc.) so people could have jobs and the economy would improve.
Stalin- Planned economy around new communist regime. Made people work to achieve this through labor camps.
Mussolini- Took everyone and put them in labor camps in order to get everyone working.
When considering the beginnings of World War I, nationalism, alliances, and economic factors appear to be predominant causes. Nationalism played an important role because it guided each nation to strive for what that specific country wanted, even at the expense of war. France sought to recover Alsace and Lorraine, and Serbia wanted Austro-Hungarian territory, to name a few of the many nationalistic sentiments leading to warlike measures. Similarly, alliances contributed to the development of war. Even before the war began, tension rose between the two alliances that had formed in Europe: the Triple Alliance (which later became the Central Powers) and the Triple Entente (which later became the Allied Powers). Although a balance-of-power was the ultimate goal and intension behind the existence of two separate alliances, this balance unfortunately failed, resulting in two sides that were now militarily in opposition. And finally, economic factors were an additional cause of the First World War, although perhaps not to the same extent as the other two previously mentioned causes. The economic factors primarily tie in with the alliances; some of the alliances formed in part because of loans given from one ally to another (such as France supporting Russia). Ultimately, nationalism and alliances, formed partly due to economic factors, greatly contributed to the beginning of World War I.
ReplyDeleteWhile the event that is commonly attributed to causing World War I is the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the true cause of the war lay in the instability of international relations resulting from a long string of events occurring between the involved nations. Prior to the war, Great Britain under the rule of Queen Victoria owned almost a fourth of the world as well as the most advanced navy in the world. Germany was envious of this power, motivating them to colonize overseas (in Southern Africa) and build up their navy as well, creating competitive tension between the two countries. In defense from each other, both countries developed alliances, which translated to the alliances of World War I. In addition to international tension, there existed a general state of economic prosperity, which fed the initiation of war by encouraging nations to look outward (global expansion) for improvement rather than inward. Because of this, Germany was able to expand physically and build up the navy, and Britain was also able to expend more resources in colonizing and military expansion. Through this economic well-being, a sense of nationalism (especially within Germany and Britain) developed, providing incentive to grow in global status with the aid of alliances; all of which made for heavily sensitive groups that happened to be set in action by Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination.
ReplyDeleteHow Nationalism caused WWI:
- Need for Power
- Britain and Germany’s desire to expand over seas
- Ferdinand’s death started the war because of nationalism and loyalty in Austria-Hungary to him and Serbia was blamed
How Alliances caused WWI:
- Britain, France, Russia
- Germany, Austria, Italy
- Germany vs. Britain (main conflict leading up to the war)
- When Germany blamed Serbia for Ferdinand’s death, Serbia turned to Russia for help, starting the war rather than a smaller conflict between just Serbia and Austria
How Economy caused WWI:
- Economic prosperity
- Economic benefits of expansion (resources in South Africa for Germany)
- Desire for even better economy became competitive as well
Under Bismark's leadership, Germany defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War, so he attempted to pursue foreign relations to gain allies for Germany in defense against a possible revenge attack from the French and any other future conflict. In addition to sharing a border and ethnic ties with Germany, Austria-Hungary's expansion into the Balkan states from 1912 - 1913 created conflict with Russia, making the Austro-Hungarian empire an attractive member for an alliance with Germany. France's attacks on Italy's northern border drove Italy to seek protection among Germany and Austria-Hungary, forming the Triple Alliance. In response, France sought an alliance with Russia to win back its lost provinces. Following Bismarck's dismissal as chancellor, France extended military and industrial loans to Russia and gained its confidence, resulting in the Dual Alliance. Great Britain considered Germany to be a threat to its colonial empire and industrial leadership, and joined France in diplomatic understand to create the Entente Cordiale. Once Russia and Britain agreed upon spheres of influence in Persia and China, the two alliances with France merged to create the Triple Entente. The alliances created a sense of equal balance of power. A Serbian nationalist, however, assassinated Austro-Hungarian Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo. This is widely considered to be the immediate cause of World War 1. The assassination ignited a chain reaction in Europe that led to the first World War, as it upset the balance of power. It was the undoing of conflicting alliances, an inflated sense of nationalism, and poor economic situations.
ReplyDeleteNationalism, alliances, and economic factors were some of the things that led to the start of the second World War. Nationalism was one of the biggest contributers to this. Throughout Germany and Italy Hitler and Mussolini created this sense of nationalism that allowed them to be able to attempt to expand and take over Europe, especially in the case of Germany. It was these attempts to expand and take over Europe that dragged the world into the war. Alliances also played a key factor. Because there were two main sides in the war many alliances had to be formed. The axis powers made an agreement to fight together, and this at the beginning included the Soviet Union. However, following their betrayal of the Soviet Union all of Europe was dragged into the war. And finally economic factors. The entire world was taking part in the Great Depression. Germany was especially hit hard as they were still paying reperations for the first World War, and because of this they were willing to look for leadership and Hitler was this person. And because of Hitler they launched the world into World War II. So it was a combination of alliances, nationalism, and economic factors that launched the world into World War II.
ReplyDeleteAfter the turn of the twentieth century, the world collapsed into a war known simply as "The Great War" due to the violence and amount of blood shed. Leading up to the break out of war in 1914, alliances, nationalism and economic factors all became important in causing the break out of war. After a relatively small Balkan Crisis, alliances caused the tone of the conflict to escalate and cause the war. Alliances were key in embroiling almost all of Europe into a full-scale conflict due to the Triple Alliance signed in 1882 by Austria-Hungary, Italy and Germany and the Triple Entente in 1907 between France, Britain and Russia.However, the Balkan Crisis pitted both sides against each other, with Russia promising aid to Serbia and Austria-Hungary and other powers pledging aid to Bulgaria. Due to the many pacts that the countries had signed and kept before the crisis, most major European powers were stuck on one or the other side of the conflict, and when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, the dominoes fell one after the other resulting in Russia declaring war on Austria-Hungary to honor its alliance with Serbia, Germany declaring war in order to satisfy its alliance with Austria-Hungary, and the rest of the Triple Entente declaring war in order to honor their alliance with Russia. Without the web of alliances, the war would not have escalated to the extent that it eventually did. Nationalism was another important factor in causing the war. Integral nationalism became a widespread ideology held by much of Europe. Many countries sought to expand their borders in order to obtain larger natural resource deposits and to expand their ideologies. Germany sought to control Morocco and was eventually forced embarrassingly to admit that the French was in control, leading to a German sense of need for expansion and to regain their reputation. German nationalism led directly to German interest in participation in the war in order to renew their national pride and to prove that they were still strong after the Moroccan crises. The sense of Pan-Slavic community and nationalism also led to an escalation of tensions around the Balkan crisis and the reason why Russia sought to aid Serbia against the non-Slavic Austria-Hungary. Another important factor in the break out of the first World War was economic factors. Many of the European countries found themselves short on many raw materials and thus sought to expand their empires, this resulted in tensions in Europe between the major powers after the Scramble for Africa that lasted until the outbreak of war. Germany especially was in a state of economic decline and surrounded by many hostile countries. This caused Germany to seek to expand to both better their economy and to rid themselves of dangerous neighbors. All three factors were crucial in causing the start of the First World War.
ReplyDeleteThis was really well done. The detail and specificity made the argument really strong. You might, however, add counter arguments and prove where they are lacking/why they cannot be accepted. Kind of along the same lines, you could also address the value and limitations of each factor in the outbreak of WWI.
DeleteHi! Thanks! Some counter arguments to the one presented in my original paragraph may be that many find the importance of economic factors in the outbreak of the war. Many would argue that the intricate array of alliances and the rising sentiment of loyalty to a nation after the period of unification in the mid-1800s were more important factors in causing World War I. However, economic factors are at the center of a nation at all times and cannot be ignored in equal if not more importance. As the Russian economy rose after the gilded age of its enlightenment, the other economies in Europe were at best only half-stable. With the decline of the German economy, the state sought to expand into more fertile regions of the continent in order to expand in both economic power and in production. This was one of the major reasons that Germany became involved in the war and rationalized its entrance into the war for the people of the country. It was logical at the time to seek to expand and although the alliance with Austria-Hungary seems to indicate a forced measure into the war, the republic also saw the need for economic expansion and a larger economic presence in Europe.
DeleteNationalism, alliances, an economic factors were all important factors of the second world war. The most important was economic factors. Germany was desperate for someone who could save their failing economy and help them restore the country to what it once was. This gave Hitler an opportunity to come in and say that he alone could save the country and its economy. Other countries economies also contributed to the start of the war. Many were economically sound and that allowed for them to be able to help their allies when it came time to fight. The next important factor is alliances. Many countries were in alliance with each other and when it came time to fight, they were able to help out the countries that needed it. The next important factor was nationalism. The extreme sense of nationalism that many German's had when Hitler came to power really blinded them from seeing what was wrong. The nationalism from other countries, such as the US, was strong as well and once they knew what was going on, the strong sense of American pride prevented them from turning the other cheek. They had to fight. Economic factors, alliances, and nationalism were all very important factors that contributed to the start of World War Two.
ReplyDeleteAssess the importance of each of the following in causing the First or the Second World War:
ReplyDeletenationalism; alliances; economic factors.
The first and second World War carried a heavy importance regarding nationalism, alliances and the economy throughout the world and throughout Europe. Nationalism stems from very early Eurpoean history. It is the idea of uniting as a country and being proud of your heritage and who you are and where you come from. Through both world wars, This occured often because in Germany, the people bound together to fight the war and support their country. Alliances also occured throughout both WWI and WWII. These alliances helped the United States and Britain win the war and also foreshadowed to what the alliances woud look like during the Cold War. Lastly, the economy. The economy in the US boomed. WWI and WWII were the reasons that we left the depression, however Germany suffered from extreme debt and even more extreme inflation. The economy in the US benefitted from both World Wars where as Germany was not so lucky.
Hey Claire,
DeleteI think your statements are relatively on point and make your introductory paragraph strong. However, you assessed the three contributing aspects with regard to both world wars, whereas the prompt asks that you focus on either the first or second world war. I think that by centering your argument around one of the world wars, you could be a little more specific about certain things you sort of just touched upon. You could delve a little deeper into the rise of nationalism in Germany under certain leaders, as well as in other countries. Briefly describing the tensions created by alliances, as well as their military and monetary benefits, could help give you more to talk about in your assessment of the essay question. Also, the economies of quite a few countries had an effect on the start of each world war. So instead of focusing on the post-war economies of just the U.S. and Germany, your introductory paragraph could probably expand to more broadly describe the global economy, or how the economic situations may tie in to alliances and nationalism. These would make your introductory paragraph stronger and more coherent, and allow you a better starting point upon which you could build the rest of your argument.
Hi Claire. This is a good start and you bring up good points about all three factors. If I were you, I would pick either WWI or WWII so that you can narrow in further on the specifics of each of these factors and how they impacted the course of whichever war you choose. Lumping them together makes it hard to be detailed and thorough while remaining accurate.
DeleteJibin-
DeleteYes thank you! I completely didn't realize I did that. Duh. So I think I would choose to focus more solely on WWII and the power of Hitler and his rise to power and then the destruction through his rule. Thank you for the feedback!
The First World War commenced in July of 1914 in Europe. There were various political disputes internally between Russia, Italy, France, Germany and various other powers within Europe at the time and the ultimate decision to go to war was enhanced by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife by a member of a nationalist Serbian Organization, as Austria had worked against Serbia to gain more territory, which had been a concern within Europe for a while. Every great power in Europe held a strong sense of nationalism and its overall supremacy. Nationalism led each country to believe that they would remain victorious throughout the war and the extreme national pride led the countries to believe that they were more superior. Alliances formed by Great Powers before WWI led to countries supporting each other in the case of attacks. In 1882, the Triple Alliance was formed between Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary and in 1907 the Triple Entente was formed between France, Britain and Russia. When one country went to war, its allies would be obligated to follow and support. Economic Factors also played a role in the beginning of the war as countries participated in imperialism due to the potential economic benefits.
ReplyDeleteThere were various factors that eventually led to the beginning of the First World War but the most significant causes of the war were nationalism, alliances and economic factors, all of varying importance.
Hey Scarlett!
DeleteYour paragraph is really easy to follow and really well structured. It was good since this is only an introductory paragraph that you hit all the major points without going into too much detail. The only thing that I would recommend is that you have two or three example for nationalism and alliances but only had a brief statement amount how economic factors were involved, so maybe add a little bit more about the economic factors in there? But overall it was solid in content and really well structured!
In World War I, surging nationalism, complicated alliances between European countries, and economic competition all played significant roles in the outbreak of the war. Nationalism was the most impactful in the outbreak of the war as the building arrogance of European nations led to clashing egos that spurred the war. The alliances served to drag many countries headfirst into war solely in support of their allied friends; economic competition added pressure and tension between countries that aimed to defend their great patriotism but didn’t have the finances to do so.
ReplyDeleteNationalism: the Great Powers were all in the midst of a nationalistic surge which celebrated their culture, economic, and military superiority. This arrogance soon became dangerous as each country firmly believed that in the case of war in Europe, their own country would be successful
--Strong nationalistic elements in Germany and Italy led to their reunification.
--The end of the Franco-Prussian war and the settlement that was agreed upon made France angry at Germany for their significant land loss and left them eager for revenge.
--Serbia and Austria-Hungary were home to several different nationalistic groups who all wanted freedom.
Alliances: forced many uninvolved countries to join the war in order to maintain the alliances they had built in hopes of security.
--After the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the war began and the alliances acted to
create a domino effect in pulling the entire world into the war.
--Effect of alliances on the war was magnified by nationalism as countries were celebrating their love for their country and respect for the alliances they had built.
--Triple Entente (France, Britain, Russia) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria) were the two warring components of WWI.
Economic factors: added pressure and tension between powers who were competing and struggling in the world market.
--Globalization of world trade and capital markets increased economic competition.
--Germany loses competition for colonial empire which results in the Naval arms race.
--Germany expected military victory but didn’t not have the financial means to do so.
Hey Girl,
DeleteGood introduction. You set up the information that you present later on very nicely, but you might consider trying to develop a more concise thesis statement that integrates your main points in a sentence or two. Also, you might consider adding a concluding paragraph that demonstrates your understanding of the extent of the impact that each of these factors had on the developing tension throughout Europe. Great Job presenting and organizing your information.
I'm not going to write a conclusion for this blog post just because we weren't asked to but I definitely will on the IB test. Otherwise, I worked on making my thesis more concise.
DeleteThesis: Throughout World War I, surging nationalism, complicated alliances between European countries, and economic competition all had a large part in orchestrating the outbreak of the war; of these, nationalism was most impactful as the building arrogance of European nations soon led to clashing egos, while the alliances served to drag many countries headfirst into wars they didn’t have the finances to fund or any additional reason to be involved in.
6. Assess the importance of each of the following in causing the First or the Second World War: nationalism; alliances; economic factors.
ReplyDeleteTwo interrelated factors that played significant roles in causing World War II were poor economic situations and integral nationalism. One important catalyst was the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. Due to the floundering of Japanese and German economies, along with a strong sense of nationalism following the ascension of Emperor Hirohito in Japan and the dissolution of Weimar Germany, these countries invaded neighboring countries to obtain their natural resources.
1. Lack of natural resources within Germany & Japan
a. Sought to obtain raw materials through a policy of war aggrandizement.
b. Both countries were blocked from trade with other nations during the Depression
i. Trade blocs and high tariffs made importing adequate amounts of these materials nearly impossible
2. Integral nationalism in Germany
a. Hitler hoped to pursue Lebensraum
i. A Nazi ideal meaning “living space”
ii. Germans were facing overpopulation due to German borders imposed in the Treaty of Versailles
b. Paramilitary organizations, including extensive youth programs helped to proliferate this sense of German power.
3. Nationalism in Japan
a. Militaristic government was already in place in Japan
i. Process of gekokujo – junior officers gaining power from senior officers – was looked at with admiration
b. At first, Japan made a small effort to unify the entire Pan-Asian region
i. After this failed effort, they hoped to dominate the entire region
1. Most of the motivation came from lack of trading abilities – hoped to gain natural resources such as oil in the Dutch East Indies
As the Second World War began to take shape it seemed that things were becoming progressively harder for the German nation to handle, the economy had crashed due to the massive reparation debts they had accumulated after World War I set forth by the Treaty of Versailles. The discontent eventually gave rise to the National Socialist German Workers Party or the Nazi’s who focused on an intense version of nationalism inspired by Adolf Hitler. However the dominant conflict did not arise until the separation of countries into allied and axis powers which managed to entangle most powerful countries across the world thus creating the second World War from a combination of alliances, nationalism and poor economic circumstances.
ReplyDelete• Hitler
o Due to the economic crisis after World War I Germany was looking for someone to bring order to the country and to the economy
o Hitler was a powerful orator and had the ability to convince many that his nationalist ideas would help Germany recover
o Germany became tied to the Axis powers as Hitler believed that their leaders, especially Mussolini shared similar ideals for the world after the war and that with their aid he could more successfully complete his plans
• Stalin
o Stalin came to power after Lenin and then proceeded to formulate the government into a less communist form than a personality cult
o In an already weak Soviet economy, he spent more money on industrialization than on the failing farms as he believed it would enable the Soviet Union to join the ranks of the world superpowers despite the fact that it was destroying his own people.
o Stalin formed the alliance with Hitler at first because he wanted to maintain his power and because he wanted more opportunity for land to create a buffer between the rest of the capitalist world
• Truman/Roosevelt
o During World War II the United States for some time refused to become immersed in the conflict as a self interest in safety
o When it became inevitable that the United States would have to join the war, they had had time to recover from World War I and entered with the advantage of having a powerful economy
o The bond with Stalin was formed out of a necessity that the president saw to stop Hitler’s power and that the Soviet Union was geographically useful and that Stalin had managed to acquire a large sphere of influence giving him more power
1. System of alliances caused war, for all powers are entangled in a vow meant a minor attack could involve everyone; peace treaty originating from the Congress of Vienna in 1912 lead to the next war outbreak: WWII; due to the unresolved issues leading ententes breaking vows.
ReplyDelete2.Nationalism rose from imperial glory to compete for colonies and territories to assert power and independence. Also for the fear of communist expansion.
3. Economic Factors where aimed at creating self-sufficient continents, by a destruction of complicated organizations to submerge society into the ideology of the dictator to unify and satisfy individuals needs. The great depression lead for a commodity for the dictators to enter into power for the sake of saving the their nations.
Italy- Mussolini intervenience
1. strong resentment in Treaty of Versailles for the the failures of expansion is the strive for justice, for an awakening in the greatness of Rome and it’s Imperial rule, this caused the sustained power from Mussolini’s military intervention into this new spirit and dogma of fascism. The internal alliances was within military forces to mobilize the masses; once established fascist militia; the government was another alliance (King Emanueles approval) that allowed Mussolini to march in Roma, taking over.
2. The fear toward western capitalism and the disappointment within the Vatican council geographical status, allowed Mussolini to submerge in all state aspects to rally a potent Italy by the dogma which strived for nationalistic zeal, unity. Rallying was obtained through totalitarian inquadramento of Italy into military zones.
3. Creates insitute by Italian reconstruction- agencies in the state which controlled agricultural, industrial and real estate companies. 1926 forms security intelligent police to secure his “mussolinization” and enter into any economic aspect through intervening all social aspects (economy intervenience: draining of the Pontine marshes, legal system codified. Built motorways).
By:giorgia tesei
Hey Giorgia!
DeleteI think that you kind of went really detailed in some of your topics, and it seems less like a thesis statement, and more like an outline for the actual paper 3 itself. I think if you narrowed each thing down to more specific on point details it would seem more like a thesis that would be more fitting. Your information is on point though!
World War II was started through a complicated string of alliances and a combination of tactical leadership and opportunity. This opportunity was the economic state of Germany after World War I and the leadership came from Adolf Hitler. The man knew what to tell the people to persuade them to follow him, and through this he started a wave of nationalism that would sweep the nation. He would convince the population of Germany that he could solve these problems through his ethnic cleansing and imperialism, and through this, he started his side of the war. The other side of the war was largely started through the alliances between many of the European nations and world powers such as Great Britain and the United States. These would not start the war so much as fuel it into the severity that it was, pushing it to a global scale, rather than one localized to Europe. Through the opportunity presented by the economic status of Germany, and the nationalism that swept the nation after, as well as by means of alliances between powers, World War II was started and fueled into the raging beast that it was.
ReplyDeleteWorld War II was caused by a collection of both nationalist and economic factors, as well as pressure from the wolrd's alliances. Coming out of World War I Germany was not in a good spot economically. Germany was in a great deal of debt due to the strain of the previous world war and this increased the pressure and tension within Germany. This also led to their need to show, and strengthen their nationalism. Germany wanted to become a stronger nation after their previous loss, and their increased need for a sense of being one German nation also increased the tension between their relationship with other nations. The alliances that were previously formed in World War I contributed to this tension as well, and more so when they began to change. Each nation wanted peace, but the increased dislike between them, and their differences led to World War II
ReplyDeleteI thought that this was a pretty strong introductory paragraph. I like that you connected nationalism, economic factors, and alliances. I think what might improve your response is the addition of facts specific to World War II so you can clearly analyze what caused this war in particular. For example, you could give some data showing the debt that Germany was in after World War I.
DeleteEven though World War One was initiated by the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand, there were many other factors such as alliances, nationalism and economic factors. For nationalism, People were very willing to go because each country assured a winning strategy; however, everyone was tricked by their own propaganda and was no expecting the true reality, which led to the scale of the war. The alliance system, which was a direct cause of mistrust and belligerent attitudes in Europe, was developed in Europe in the previous decades. By the summer of 1914, Europe's major powers had been divided into the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and the Triple Entente (Britain, France, and Russia). The alliance system did cause WWI to the extent of the size of the war by pulling many countries in to the war.
ReplyDeleteThinh- I think you have some good ideas here that could help you to expand this introduction into an entire essay. I think it would be helpful to talk more about propaganda, since you mention that, and explain the differences and similarities in the propaganda used by each of the different countries. Also, it could be helpful to elaborate on what you mean by the "winning strategy" that each country had, and how those individual strategies lead them to gain nationalist support from their citizens. Another way to expand this would be to elaborate on how exactly the alliance system between many of these countries created mistrust, and maybe mention the pros and cons for this alliance system. All in all, I think you have set yourself up with a bunch of different leads that could definitely be turned into a good essay.
DeleteYea, I tried to write it as a very general opening paragraph, but ultimately I think I would be better off if I had a more in depth, longer paragraph to begin with.
DeleteNationalism, economic factors, and alliances all played significant roles in causing World War II. First, German nationalism sparked Adolph Hitler's rise to power. Hitler aimed to avenge Germany of its World War I defeat and free it from the reparations placed on it (Germany). Furthermore, Italy's Benito Mussolini formed the Fascist Party out of desires to bring Italy back to a position of power. Both of these nationalistic causes played large roles and they brought two main nations into the war. Economic factors also played roles in bringing these nations to war as Germany was in very poor economic condition following World War I and Italy was in poor economic condition in general. Furthermore, economic factors dragged the United States into the war. While they had attempted to remain passive in the war and stay out of conflict, when conflict for oil in the Pacific broke out between Japan and the U.S., Japan finally decided to bomb the U.S. Naval base of Pearl Harbor. Upon this bombing, America declared war on Japan, thus involving them in the war. Finally, when Germany invaded Poland, Britain got involved in the war. While in part, Britain wanted to avoid Germany dominating Europe, they also were in alliance with Poland and had interest in defending them. When initial war broke out, nearly all of Europe decided to allign themselves with either the Allies or the Axis Power. Over 50 countries alligned with the Allies, led by Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. All of these cumulitive factors came together to cause the Second World War.
ReplyDeleteAlliances, nationalism, and economy all played a large role in the cause of World War 2. Alliances brought together countries because of obligation to fight the war. Nationalism was a driving force and completely changed the dynamic in each country in preparation for war. The economy may have been the most important factor of all as major economies were not doing well and the war served an important role for getting countries back on their feet.
ReplyDeleteAlliances were prevalent before the war and essentially forced other countries to get involved because of obligations. The allied powers consisted of Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States, and China. The axis powers included Germany, Italy, and Japan. Alliances were very important as they were a support system for each side. Alliances were necessary for the Allied powers to overcome to the Axis powers.
Nationalism played an integral role in World War 2. Nationalism was the driving factor which leaders across the globe were able to instill in their respective countries. This allowed for numbers on the front and full support at home. A great example of this is Germany as Hitler was able to convince all of Germany that Germans are a superior race to everyone else. This fueled the German army and helped production at home. This also happened in America especially after Pearl Harbor which made made young men want to sign up and fight for their country. The home front in the United States was very productive and played a huge part in the Allied powers winning the war.
Economy across the globe was not very prosperous before world war 2. The United States had the Great Depression and Germany was still struggling after World War 1. The war essentially played a part as a catalyst. The war demanded large home fronts across the world to fuel the war. The war demanded a lot of production therefore many people had to be hired. This drastically lowered unemployment rates and helped various countries overall economy.
Alliances, nationalism, and economic powers all played a role in causing either World War 1 or 2. Primarily, nationalism played a very big role in World War 1. There was a very overwhelming sense of nationalism among many European countries, especially Italy and Germany. Because of the large amount of treaties and alliances that were formed between many of the European countries prior to the war, betrayal and mis-communications happened very easily, causing countries to be easily aggravated. This also ties into the idea of alliances because of all the agreements that they were making between counties. The nationalism led countries to be very loyal to their people, and when alliances were broken, conflict was very easly started. As for economics, Germany was in an economic state of recovery after World war 1, for World War 2, which made them fairly vulnerable. Also, the US was very concerned with getting oil from the European and Middle Eastern countries, because of how much our economy was beginning to depend on it. There were many factors that influenced both of these wars, however economy, nationalism, and alliances somewhat worked hand in hand in causing both world wars. The world seemed to be at a very vulnerable place, and conflict was easily ignited.
ReplyDeleteYou have really good ideas overall, but I think that you should narrow it down to one war instead of trying to fit both of them in. I think if you focus on only one, you'll be able to go a lot more into detail and be more specific than you would be able to when doing both wars. Once you do that expanding on your ideas will be easy!
DeleteSorry, I pressed publish before I was done. Which specific examples of nationalism could you use for either war? Is there anyway you could get specific about the leaders that were part of the alliances or that got nationalism to be such a prominent part in the war? You mention specific countries but could you go more into depth on just one country as an example?
DeleteYeah, I agree that it might be easier to narrow this down to focusing on one war instead of trying to show different aspects from each. It would probably also make it easier to evaluate the topic using specific countries and people.
DeleteWorld War I was triggered by the confrontation between nationalist Serbs who's goal was to establish a greater Serbia. Serbia assassinated Archduke Ferdinand of Austria because Austria had control of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which Serbs wanted for expansion. Austria asked to search the radical Serbian nationalist organization for who sponsored the assassination. Serbia turned down the request and Austria declared war. The dispute between the two different alliances, the Allies and Axis began the start of World War II. When the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, war broke out. After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles was created in which Germany had to pay a large sum for reparations. This caused hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic and Germany followed Hitler in their desire to be a powerful country again. Hitler was elected into power who invaded Poland and thus World War II began.
ReplyDeleteDuring the 1930's several economic depressions were occurring throughout Europe. The Treaty of Versailles left Germany responsible for WWI economically. Also, Italy, Germany and Russia were isolated because their trade came to a hault and each country was forced to support citizens without trade. A few leaders saw there chance to restore prosperity as well as implemt a nationalist society during this economic struggle. It was a common belief at the time to create strong nations that demonstrated patriotism and contained a unique identity that other countries would recognize. To rebuild a country's econimic status and impliment a nationalsit government, dicatators and counrty rulers sought to form alliances to give eachother aid in case of disputes. Ultimately, these factors led to the start of World War II due to the rise of dicatators after economic collapse and alliances with the goal to control Europe.
ReplyDelete-Early stages
Economic factors in Germany and Italy primarily. Dictators used propoganda to win citizens support. Implement Nationalist government. With strong nationalism and society supporting country, it is easier for country (Germany) to spread their belief system and control Europe.
Alliances-
Countries started creating alliances to increase power and land. This irritated nations in Europe because they feared being overtaken.
I think you have a strong introduction to provide as a foundation for your paper. You covered the topics nicely and briefly. I think you could go in more detail as to how some of these countries interacted? I think it would also be beneficial to go into a little more detail for individual leaders. The introduction though covers the necessities in a sharp way and is written well.
DeleteIn 1939 the second world war began with the German invasion of Poland. This set into motion the deadliest war that the world had ever scene as well as the most technologically advanced war in history. Before the war however most of the world was in a severe economic depression, mainly caused by the economic fallout which followed World War I. This economic depression caused many countries to become discontent with their current governments. In Germany and Italy this is what allowed Hitler and Mussolini to rise to power. In Germany in particular, Hitler increased the countries moral and their nationalistic pride, promising that Germany would again become a world power. He was able to use the nationalism that he produced to convince the country that to become a great power again they must take over Europe, which started with the systematic invasion of Poland, thus starting the second World War. When Germany invaded Poland France and Great Britain immediately declared war with Germany because of the alliances that they had made with Poland in order to try and protect the relatively new country. In response Germany made pacts with Italy and Japan to form the axis powers. This went along with the non aggression pact that Germany had already signed with Russia. Of these three factors, economic factors, nationalism, and alliances, economic factors had the largest significance in the initiating of World War II, followed by nationalism and then ultimately alliances.
ReplyDeleteI like the way that you formatted this paragraph because you started with a nice amount of background information that should be there in an intro paragraph and explain the three topics to the right amount. I feel like you have a solid start to a good essay. As an ending not, in the second sentence it should be seen not scene. Just saying.
DeleteWorld War I was a devastating show of power that changed the world forever. But many factors leading up to the war were the driving force behind the conflict. The economy in Europe was being driven by the imperialistic needs of all the countries. Due to the rise in mercantilism, many countries wanted new land to control more natural resources and therefore more wealth. This imperialist aims were greatly impacted by new nationalism found in many countries, especially Germany and Italy. Due to their recent unification, these countries wanted to display their new power which in turned caused the colonization of new land. International relations and alliances also had a large impact on the start of the first world war. Due to the mutual defense alliances set up between many of the Western countries, a larger variety of powers were drawn into the war, causing the conflict to become even more extensive. Overall, it was economics, extreme nationalism, and alliances that caused World War I.
ReplyDeleteHi Meghan-
DeleteYour paragraph is very easy to follow and incorporates all of the necessary elements. The only advice I would give is to include more specifics in the paragraph (which countries belonged to which alliance system, which countries were seeking to expand vs. which countries were looking to gain independence and autonomy, etc.) in order to make your argument a bit stronger. Good job overall!
And for the question: What role did the Balkan territories play in the onset of WW1?
Thanks Emily! Looking back on it now I definitely should've included more details. I will be sure to next time!
DeleteThe Balkan Territories were in between several of the major powers as the onset of World War I began. The Ottoman, Russian and Austrian-Hungarian empires all surrounded it, and wanted these territories to gain access to the major water ways it was surrounded by for their naval power. With rising nationalism, the Balkans were more vulnerable to Russian influence, which caused an anti Austrian propaganda ring which led to extreme terrorist acts like the killing of Archduke Ferdinand.
World War I was a war due in large part to the complicated system of alliances as well as a prevailing feeling of nationalism. World War II, by contrast, was caused more by the existing detrimental economic factors than it was by either nationalism or alliances. However, both wars involved some degree of nationalism, alliances, and an existing economic situation. For World War I,it was the conflict between the allied Entente Alliance of the British, French, and Russian and the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman empire that ultimately instigated the "cousin's war". The alliances of World War II, on the other hand were formed more by circumstances. The Axis powers were all fighting different causes, and just happened to align. Economically, Germanic power was derived from the weakened economic state due to the reparations afforded to the country after World War I. For World War I, economics played a very minor role, contributing only to the system of alliances formed. Lastly, nationalism as a concept was predominant throughout both wars, both as a direct cause (as is the case with the Black Hand group in Serbia) and as an indirect factor with the resurgence of the Italian and German nations.
ReplyDeleteYou have a good start but rather than comparing the world war's, pick one and focus on how the factors played into that war. Also, be a little more specific on how nationalism, alliances, and economic factors played into the war. Although some factors (ex: economics in WWI) may not be a main cause or influence, they do have some influence and are important.
DeleteHey Brett,
DeleteI like this a lot. It's short and sweet, and I like how concise it is--no muddling it with irrelevant, unimportant facts. I dig that. I think you focus on only the important stuff, which is perfect.
The only comment I have, is that it gets a little confusing at the beginning where you say WWII wasn't caused as much by alliances and nationalism, but then go on to talk about how those things are important. So maybe just wordsmith that to make it a bit more clear?
Overall though, rockin' job.
I completely misread the prompt. I thought it said both wars. The prompt makes so much more sense now. Before it was a huge prompt. I should be able to make my paragraph more specific now that it has to cover less information.
DeleteThe assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 proved to be the spark that would ignite all-out warfare. The First World War swept across Europe with devastating force and left immeasurable destruction it its wake. Its onset can be attributed to a specific combination of three primary causes: nationalism, alliances, and economic factors. Nationalistic sentiment was on the rise throughout the continent and played a key role in spurring many nations to action. Oppressed peoples wanted independence and autonomy whilst larger, more powerful nations wished to further expand their empires. Economic factors tie very closely into the latter idea, as the desire to increase economic gains by means of expansion appealed to opposing nations such as Great Britain and Germany. Finally, systems of alliances played a key role in the commencement of the war. The Triple Alliance was formed by Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy in 1882 and France, Great Britain and Russia formed the Triple Entente in 1907. These alliances did not only affect the major countries involved but also implicated many others spread across the continent. Such complicated systems left the vast majority of Europe entangled in conflict, as one country’s obligation to another would provide the basis for another nation’s attack. Altogether, the war was ultimately a struggle of power influenced by nationalism, alliances, and economic factors. It sought to restore order to an otherwise imbalanced world.
ReplyDeleteHey Emily, I think this is a good start. To make it better, I would try breaking the sections up and discussing them a little more in-depth. While you hit on all three areas, you really only gave detail when talking about alliances. Try doing that for the others. Otherwise, your transitions and ideas were really good!
DeleteHi EB-
DeleteThanks for your feedback! I definitely agree with you in that I need to fill out all of my sections a little bit more. I’d include details about the Blank Hand in Serbia and Italian/German unification for the nationalism part, and go into more detail about the general globalization of markets and trade for the economic section.
I think you have good information to support your claims. However, I think you should directly state the categories that caused the war before you provide information about it. This will help you be more concise about the causes and effects of the war.
ReplyDeleteElva Smith
ReplyDeleteIt is not certain what the definite cause of World War II was, however it is known that nationalism, alliances, and economic factors had an effect on the events of World War II.
1. Alliances: There were two main alliances, the Allies which consisted of US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union and the Axis powers which involved Japan, Germany and Italy. The formation of these alliances were created due to the shared common interest in power and ideology. For example the allies believed in a more democratic and capitalist economy, while the axis power believed in a more communist place. A Triple Entente was formed between Great Britain, France, and Russia based on the Franco-Russian military alliance (1894), an Anglo-French entente (1904), and an Anglo-Russian entente (1907). This alliances were meant to maintain balance within Europe but it instead brought more chaos when the war began, countries felt or were obligated to fight with their allies.
2. Nationalism: strong nationalistic attitudes were high during this time period, there was hope in each country that the effects of the Great Depression were going to diminish. Germany was one of the leading countries that caused the war. Adolf Hitler built a strong sense of nationalism out of the loss of hope left by the Great Depression and the First World War. Hitler spread the idea of a superior country and race which was strongly supported by his citizens, the strong support was a motivation to attack other countries. They began to conquer countries such as Czechoslovakia and Russia. In the other side of the world, the US decided to stay away from any signs of war, however that changed when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred in 1941. The US declared war on Japan not only to prevent future attacks but to assure its citizens that the government does care for them. This increased the support and the amount of people volunteering to serve for the country.
3. Economy: The economy of many countries in Europe was altered terribly due to the effects of the Great Depression followed by the heavy consequences left by the First World War. Germany was one of the countries that felt the heavy weight of WW I. Due to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forced to pay war reparations within and out of the country; this eventually left the country on the verge of bankruptcy. This left the country and its people in devastation and they looked for any type of leadership, even if the person was Hitler.
Besides the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which demanded that all of the blame of World War 1 be placed on Germany, there were also important economic, nationalistic, and alliance factors that led to the cause of World War 2. Economics were the most influential factors leading to World War Two because the depression of the 1930’s is what caused the countries, specifically Germany, to have the need for nationalism and alliances. Nationalism was the driving force behind Hitler and all of his conquests. His invasions were what began the political unrest, leading the rest of the countries to feel the need to take military action. Finally, the alliances created before the start of the war were the result of the conditions that were already present due to the economic and nationalistic climate.
ReplyDeleteEconomics
World-wide depression in 1930’s
Nations formed economic “blocs” to protect their industries and raw materials
Trade barriers made resources too expensive even if a country was willing to export them
Nations such as Japan and Germany had to import oil and rubber from places outside of spheres of influence
Different ideologies led to aggression
Felt necessary to gain physical control through military conquest in order to secure resources
1931 - Japan gets hit with depression
People lose faith in their government
Invade Manchuria, China, an area with many minerals and resources
When China appealed to the League and the League demanded that all trade with Japan stop, no one listened because no one wanted to lose trade in the already dismal economic climate
Nationalism
Hitler took a vote in Austria to see if they wanted to be unified with Germany
99% voted for Anschluss
Austrian leader did not unification
Hitler promised that Anschluss would end Germany’s expansionism
Other countries agreed because they did not want to get into another war
6 months later demanded that part of Czechoslovakia be given to Germany
Munich Agreement gave part of Czechoslovakia to Germany as long as Hitler promised not to invade the rest of the country
March 1939 - Hitler invades rest of Czechoslovakia
When Czechoslovakia asked for help, Britain and France both refused to take military action against Hitler
Action was necessary when Poland was discovered to be Hitler’s next conquest
Threatened to invade to see if Hitler would stop aggression
German troops invaded Poland in September 1939 anyways
Alliances
Hitler’s alliances in 1936
Rome-Berlin Axis Pact - Allied Germany with Mussolini’s Italy
Anti-Comitern Pact - Allied Germany with Japan
The League of Nations
When Japan invaded China, the League called for all trade to stop with Japan
No one obeyed, caused Japan to leave the League of Nations
When Italy invaded Abyssinia, Abyssinians appealed to the League
Ordered trade restrictions again, but were still ineffective due to fear of war
This is a very good outline and it fit gives a basic least of event that occurred and led to WWII. I know you would probably do this when you actually write the essay, but I think this would have been better if you had added "cause and effect" on some of the events you listen.
DeleteThanks for the input. Its a bit difficult to outline cause and effect with bullets, but I get what you are saying. A lot of my topics, especially Hitler's nationalism and the worldwide depression occurring in the 1930's were catalysts that spread fear and unrest across the world, and the responding actions taken by different countries are listed within each section.
DeleteThe First World War was caused largely in part by nationalism, alliances, and economic factors. The influence of these things led to agitation in countries that partook in the war.
ReplyDeleteNationalism:
It was obvious that many of the European countries wanted to expand over seas, leading to competitiveness between countries. In addition, when Ferdinand was assassinated and Serbia was blamed, nationalism played a large role in the reaction of countries. Countries grew involved to defend their side, but as alliances dragged more countries into the war, it became about more than just a side of the story and became about power.
Alliances:
Many alliances were formed between European countries, entangling the continent so that if there was even one skirmish, many countries would be involved. These alliances included the Dual Alliance of 1878, the Autro-Serbian Alliance of 1881, The Triple Alliance (1882), the Franco-Russion Alliance (1894), The Anglo-Russian Entente (1907), and the Triple Entente (1907). These alliances were created by countries as a form of a “safety net.” However, as soon as one country was involved in something, all countries joined in because of these alliances, which dragged Europe into World War I. This triggering event was when Serbia was blamed for Ferdinand’s assassination. Instead of starting one small skirmish, Serbia called Russia for help, starting the war. As more alliances were dragged in, the war grew bigger.
Economic Factors:
Many countries felt motivated by the idea of economic prosperity that goes hand in hand with winning a war. Also, countries wanted to expand (especially into Africa), and more land comes with more money. Countries became competitive in their want for more money and land, helping push the war to being bigger.
This is a good start! With regards to nationalism, I think that it would be very important to talk about Hitler and his goal to expand the territory of Germany. You've done a good job telling about the alliances. As far as economic factors go, I think that you are touching on it, but I would specifically name and talk about the worldwide depression that occurred during the 1930's. I think that that was a major push towards the war since it made the countries feel desperate and unsettled.
DeleteThanks for your response! However, I don't think that information would fit into this because that is more relevant to World War II. I could talk about how WWI led to them, but that might be out of scope for this question.
DeleteThe Second World War was no less horrific than the First; however there are distinct differences between the two. The Second World War was fueled in part to the first, and leftover tensions between nations were unveiled. Nationalism, alliances, and economic factors were all things that aided in the causation of World War Two.
ReplyDeleteNationalism:
-Played a big part in causing WWII
-Nationalism of Germany helped to put Hitler in power to attempt what he wanted as Chancellor.
-Nationalism levels were astronomically high in the US when Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan (launching the US into battle).
- Nationalism of Soviet Union during WWII was supported by the US. They were considered the “good communists”. This helped the Soviets to remain influential in the war.
Alliances:
-Alliance in WWII were not as big of a causing factor as in WWI, but were still important.
-US tried to remain neutral while still supplying to their alliances; this resulted in the Lend-Lease Pact.
-Alliances of Soviet Union to the US resulted in the Soviet and US leaders carving up territory to own after the war.
Economic Factors:
-German economy was in shambles after the war which helped Hitler gain power. He promised economic turnaround which appealed to the poor people of Germany.
-US overestimated its economic return of the Len-Lease program and lost millions of dollars during the war.
-Soviet Union economy was also hurt badly from WWI, which carried into WWII.
The Second World War was fought mainly due to Hitler and his policies. Hitler came to power after the economic depression that was left by the severe reparations that Germany had to pay after World War I. Although alliances and economic factors played a role in the outbreak of the war, World War II itself was caused by the integral nationalism that led to the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany.
ReplyDeleteAlliances played little to no role in causing World War II because until war broke out, the Russians and the Nazis were allies. However, alliances were important in shaping the war because the alliance of Germany and Japan brought the United States into the war.
Economic issues were only important in that they were instrumental in Hitler's rise to power. Because of this, economic issues were an indirect cause of World War II.
Integral nationalism is the most important cause of World War II because it caused the world to take notice of Hitler's policies. A case could be made that the war would have happened anyway due to his domestic policy, but it would have been long delayed. Germany's nationalism and expansion into Poland caused the French and British to enter the war, and Russia entered the war later, when the USSR was attacked by Germany. Integral nationalism was the reason that the war was declared by the French, British, and Russian governments.
Your response to the causes of World War II is very detailed. However, you fail to acknowledge the second part of the prompt which requires you also analyze World War I in the same respects. Your specificity in terms of the type of nationalism involved in World War II adds a lot of strength and detail to your paragraph.
DeleteThanks! I think instead of asking for a comparison of the two wars, the prompt is asking for an analysis of one of them (WW! or WWII).
DeleteWorld War I was due to a variety of factors, including nationalist pressures, alliances, and economic factors. While the direct cause of World War I was the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the pressures put on European countries from these factors allowed to war to break out on such a widespread, all-consuming scale.
ReplyDeleteBy the early 20th century, all of the strong European powers were involved in alliances. Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary formed the triple alliance in 1882, while Britain, Russia, and France formed the Triple Entente in 1907. The alliances were meant to be purely defensive, but the nature of the alliances required that if one nation became involved in a conflict, it would have to involve all the other nations. There were several conflicts between certain nations, which exacerbated the relations between the alliances. A main conflict was the rivalry between Germany and France over the territories of Alsace and Lorraine. Russia and Austrian were also competing for control over the Balkans, while Britain and Germany competed over the expansion of the navies and economic powers. The two alliances exacerbated the conflicts and put a lot of stress on the power struggle developing in Europe.
Nationalism was another factor that greatly influenced the actions of European countries prior to World War I. Nationalism went hand in hand with the militarism spreading across Europe. Germany desired the status of a great world power, and this caused a lot of militarism and drove a lot of their conflicts, such as the naval competition with Britain. The French desired revenge over Germany’s possession of Alsace and Lorraine, and this stimulated a lot of aggression. Nationalism in Britain was exaggerated by imperialism and the desire for the expansion of the British Empire. The nationalism present in these countries caused there to be little resistance to the idea of war, where each country wanted exhibit its power to the world.
Imperialism was an important factor in the development of economic tension in Europe. The UK and France accumulated vast fortunes from their control of trade and natural resources in territories they occupied around the world, and other countries in Europe desired to do the same. Some European nations, such as Russia and Germany, were also very limited economically by their lack of natural resources, and this caused them to seek wealth through the introduction of trade in different parts of the world. The German-English commercial conflict in Africa created yet more tension between the two nations. The Pig War is another example of the economic tensions present in Europe prior to World War I, which was an economic conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia in which the Hapsburgs imposed a customs blockade on Serbian pork.
The First World War came about not through one singular act, but instead a mix of different factors that lead to the greatest war the world had ever seen. Following the great surge of nationalism that had occurred in the 1800’s, the 1900’s offered the same hope for some groups, such as the Serbian Black Hand group.
ReplyDeleteBut it wasn’t just groups attempting to create their own countries or states, but also countries and states attempting to make their mark.
Such was the case of that of Russia’s Czar Nicholas and Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm, who also happened to be allies and cousins. Germany, attempting to strengthen themselves, could not allow it appear to the outside world that Germany would allow for such affronts to their sovereignty or to that of their allies, such as Austria-Hungary. Furthermore, Europe was so entrenched within their allies that it was only a matter of time before the whole continent was sucked into the fighting.
Between the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente, the main continental powers were all obliged to begin fighting.
What’s more, with a war, countries could both gain more land and expand their sphere of influence. Countries could both regain any lost land were seeking to gain further influence over China.
Meredith,
DeleteThis is a great start. It is important to mention the alliances and the major powers involved in them on the opposing sides of the war. So instead of only mentioning Russia and Germany, also mention Great Britain and that side of the war. Additionally, make sure to also talk about the economic factors. The prompt asks you to ask for all three aspects and how they influenced the war.
What economic factors would you discuss that impacted the war?
Add these few changes and you will be set!
Marissa
Yes, I think I tried to write it as a very general opening paragraph, but ultimately I think I would be better off if I had a more indepth, longer paragraph to begin with.
DeleteI disagree about your point regarding Great Britain, however, because what I'm trying to demonstrate explicitly is how integral Russia and Germany were in the cause of the war.
World War II arose out of conflicts that stemmed from nationalism and the alliances between countries. Nationalism in Germany grew stronger leading up to the war, allowing Hitler to gain more power. Hitler used this power to enact policies that became problematic for nations across the globe. Nationalism was also strong in other nations, such as the United States, and only continued to gain power throughout the war, such as after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Nationalism drove the second world war as it fueled tensions and prevented many countries from seeing any other point of view. Alliances between nations also caused problems before and during World War II. The fascist parties of Europe allied against the Western powers. These alliances played a key role because the US decided to get involved in the war due to the alliance of Germany and Japan. Alliances and nationalism both played key roles in both the beginnings of WWII and became essential in the war itself.
ReplyDeleteEmily,
DeleteI think your first paragraph is very strong. I can see how you would lay out the rest of your paper after this paragraph. However, I think that alliances could have been expanded on in the paragraph to make it stronger as a whole. Great work! You are a rock star
-Caesare
Nice outline! I think that the more specific you are about how these factors influenced the War, the stronger the paper will be. Going back and thinking how each individual piece influenced the War would be beneficial to create structure/organization. How did these three factors directly influence the war?
ReplyDeleteNationalism directly influenced the war by spurring the aggressor countries into action. The war would not have started unless countries, such as Germany, felt they needed to defend themselves against other nations.
ReplyDeleteAlliances directly influenced the war by causing more countries to become involved because of previous agreements.
Economic factors directly influenced the war by causing many countries, especially Germany, to elect powerful dictators who promised them a better and stronger world.
Thanks Mallory for your advice. It is much appreciated!
World War II came about as the result of economic factors and nationalism, and escalated because of the alliances formed between involved nations. After World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany's economy was very weak, and the people were embittered. Hitler used this to his advantage, as well as nationalistic sentiments which he encouraged and used to rebuild the nation and its sense of coherence and strength. The other axis powers also had strong nationalistic tendencies. Japan sought to expand their own empire, and Italy's fascist government was eager to express its power. The formation of alliances as the war unfolded served to further escalate it, as Britain came to the aid of her allies, as the United States did eventually as well. The various alliances did not necessarily cause the war itself, but did transform it from a localized conflict to one spread across several continents.
ReplyDeleteThe causes of the World Wars included strong nationalism, implementation of alliances, and the worldwide economic difficulties. Hitler used the powers of speech to unite his country. Alliances on both sides created a domino effect pulling more and more countries in, making them actual world wars. Finally, the whole world had financial difficulties, and an effective ways of getting out of these difficulties was through the war.
ReplyDelete