AMERICAN IMPERIALISM 1890 1919
CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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They were not interested in empire building
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They were too weak militarily to conquer other countries
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They believed tat taking over other countries was evil
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They unified much later than other great powers and had missed their chance to grab land
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Detailed explanation-1: -German unification was achieved by the force of Prussia, and enforced from the top-down, meaning that it was not an organic movement that was fully supported and spread by the popular classes but instead was a product of Prussian royal policies.
Detailed explanation-2: -In the 1860s, Otto von Bismarck, then Minister President of Prussia, provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in its defeat of France. In 1871 he unified Germany into a nation-state, forming the German Empire.
Detailed explanation-3: -The unification of Germany fundamentally altered the delicate “balance of powers” established by the Congress of Vienna with the creation of a large, wealthy, and powerful nation-state in central Europe. Moreover, it is a useful case study for the broader concept of “nationalism” as a historical agent.
Detailed explanation-4: -On 18 January, 1871, in an assembly gathering in the palace of Versailles, Germany was declared as an independent nation state. Representatives from the Prussian army and the princes of all German states were present in the assembly. Kaiser William I was declared as the emperor of the German state.