Identification and Evaluation of Sources During Research Study Paper Example

Section A: Identification and Evaluation of Sources

This paper helps carry out a research study which examines and evaluates the functions and impacts that nationalism as a critical cause of 1914 First World War outbreak. Nationalism is considered as a form of loyalty or patriotism which an individual has towards their homeland. Thus, in 1914 those who embraced nationalism exaggerated the importance or value of their country above and over the interest of other countries. Therefore, the purpose of this current research study is to find out the extent at which Nationalism caused the tension which resulted in 1914 First World War outbreak.

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In particular, the current research study aims to use two books which are regarded as the primary source of information. These sources would include a nonfiction book; Nationalism in Europe" between1789 to 1945 that was the literature work done by Timothy Baycroft's. The other source is also a nonfiction book on how Europe went into the war in 1914: "The Sleepwalkers" which was done by Christopher Clark in 2012. Notably, the two primary sources of information included crucial information concerning how Europe before the year 1914 that included; timelines when those events occurred, references as well as the events which took place. The information concerning Europe before the year 1914 is expected to form a strong background for this research study question. In this case, the data will help to support the research and analysis that will offer a rational and robust argument about the matter of this research study.

Timothy Baycroft who is the author of the first source of information 1789-1945; Nationalism in Europe, was a historian from Canada. He was also a senior lecturer at the University of Sheffield where he was in charge of modern history lecturers. As presented, the author had other various publication concerning nationalism and other topics in history. Moreover, this source is considered trustworthy because the author had done the work of teaching concerning nationalism and identity in modern Europe in more than a decade. This book purpose and content is considered valuable because it helps to give a discussion of how Nationalism spread in all regions of Europe beginning from the period of French Revolution to the period of the Second World War. But in this case, the research conducted was limited by the set period something which made it hard to keep focusing on a particular area.

In the same manner, the second source of information which was the work of Christopher Clark an Australian philosopher entitled How Europe Went into war in 1914: "The Sleepwalkers." Christopher was a lecturer at the University of Cambridge who was in charge of undergraduate students who were in their final year. The author engaged in extensive work of writing essays and articles regarding religion and politics as well as those which focused on European region history. The actions which the author participated in helped to explain how Europe war broke out. But unlike the previous book, this source was done in 2012, and this would be suggested that it is quite limited in information about the First World War.

Section B - Investigation

It was evident that the history of the world took a turn around during the period of the First World War. The war had an impact on those nations which were involved as well as those who were in an alliance. A large number of Europeans especially those who were citizens of countries that were termed as having great powers like Germany, Britain, and France had the conviction that their lands had held position of military, cultural and economic supremacy. Over the years historians have attempted to study the great World War one, but so far there is no a clear understanding of the role which Nationalism played that resulted in World War one outbreak. However, to some extent nationalism was presented as the emotional attachment ideology which resulted from people being attached to their nations and this mainly came from the French revolution whereby the group wanted to remain to remain united. The royals, politicians, and diplomats played a role in convincing that the ideology of nationalism the critical thing which resulted in the First World War. In this case, it was shown that nationalism was continuously practiced over the decades until the year 1914 when overseas empires were acquired by colonization to demonstrate that they had more national power to be able to control other countries.

It was evident that nationalism led to First World War out break. The issue of nationalism was more evident in Serbian wherein the mid-1800s nationalism events which took place in this nation were directly associated with the beginning of First World War. It was presented that Slavic Serbs who were in the Balkans tried to seek independence in 1878 from the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. Thus, they had to unify the Serbian state by controlling Bosnia and Herzegovina. The rise of nationalism in Serbian continued rising even after the Empire of Ottoman began to decline and this led to Austria Archduke assassination by a Serb Bosnia in 1914 something which officially stirred the beginning of the First World War.

As presented, between the 19th and 20th-century nationalism ideology spread in higher levels in Europe and this caused problems because nations developed pride due to how they considered themselves powerful a condition that caused them to try and become more independent through competing and outdoing one another. Thus, nationalism led to the formation of alliances so that it could have been easier for people to gain military support, protection and necessary supplies during the period of war or when there was the need to be assisted.

Not only did nationalism led to the formation of alliances, but it also led to the building of tension all over Europe. This was as a result of how people became more confident concerning their military power and government. Many individuals, therefore, got the conviction that their nation was without blame, fair and more righteous compared with others. However, nationalists triggered rivalry among nations through their adopting schemes which were deceitful and acting in uncivilized ways. The press reported that the interest which nationalists had concerning their countries got threatened by the rival plans and plots which they set. The nations where this nationalist belonged assured them that they would have offered them necessary support in case war erupted and there was no doubt that their country would have in turn gained the crucial victory.

Great Britain had possessed a great territory through colonialism and continued the process of building an active military to be more powerful compared to the neighboring nations. British had believed that their naval power along with the tremendous economic advances they had would have offered them appropriate support in case they engaged in any war. Similarly, Germany leaders believed in the efficiency of their Prussian military as well as their industries which had experienced tremendous growth. Furthermore, the Germans had come up with a new form of armaments, and at the same time, they expanded their fleets of U-boats and battleships. This gave the Germans more confidence that in case war erupted they would have been in a position to realize victory. Their high commander had a Schlieffen plan which gave him more confidence since he believed that he had set an effective strategy which would have helped to defeat France before even Russia could have offered them additional support.

On the other hand, Tsar of Russia believed that God sustained his empire and therefore he was massively protected by a standing army which incorporated 1.5 million men. To him, this was the most significant force in Europe. Similarly, the commanders of Russia believed that the large population within the country would help them to take control over Western Europe small countries.

In particular, France placed its trust in the defenses and countries industries. They had a fortress and concrete wall on their eastern borders, and this assured them that they were quite protected. France also had prior preparations which were marked by the period when they lost in 1871 in the Franco-Prussian war. After the loss got the motivation to build their colonial empire to be able to bring back confidence and maintain the 'great power' position which France had, this allowed the French men to feel they were well prepared to be involved in any battle.

It was presented that Europeans had enjoyed nationalism and patriotism by the time it was the late 1800s. For two centuries Britain had been recognized for their naval, imperial and commercial dominance. This triggered the British to come up with patriotic songs which that passed the message that they would never be slaves. Notably, London spent their 19th century improving their commercial and imperial interests while at the same time avoiding rivalry. However, the British nationalist concern was alarmed by Germany unification and how Kaiser speedily possessed armaments.

The nationalism of Germans was not intense even though it sprang from different regions. This was because German was a small nation which was formed after 26 states that spoke Germany unified themselves. The unity was driven by believing they had that all countries which spoke German needed to work together. After integration, the Germans used nationalist sentiments to gain public support and come up with a new nation. The strength of their military forces also boosted the nationalism of Germans. Nevertheless, they had young and ambitious leaders who assured the success of the government.

Most importantly, other forms of nationalism were seen in eastern and southern Europe. The kind of patriotism entailed ethnic groups' rights to self-government, independence, and autonomy. Therefore many regions, religious groups, and races were seeking freedom from their Imperial masters. For instance, the many ethnic groups in Asia and Eastern Europe who were forced to use the Russian language and worship tsar began to resist. The nationalist groups weakened the Ottoman Empire in Europe. The nationalist group began to seek how they could have overthrown the Muslim rule which had made them subjects.

It was evident that nationalist movements which were formed did not directly contribute to the outbreak of the First World War. As noted the Slavic group within the Balkans did not directly led to the outbreak of the war although their reaction officially led to the outbreak of the war. It was presented that Serbia had the most robust Slavic nationalism and it rose significantly in the early 20th century and the late 19th century. Pan-Slavism opposed the influence and control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Thus, the radical Young Serbs mobilized nationalistic groups including the Black Hand. The nationalistic groups formed a unified Serbia state that incorporated all Slavic people. The activities of the Slavic nationalism resulted in the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914 June, and this resulted in First World War outbreak.

Section C: Reflection

Counducting researching This investigation was a major opportunity to view and think like a historian, face obstacles and challenges just like one and to get to a conclusion for my research question finally. By reading all the relevant material for this research investigation, I got to experience the events leading to WW1 from the perspective of two historians. As a historian myself, I had many challenges such as unclear and very open subjects and sources for my investigation wh...