3.5.7 Nationalism During World War I (1914 to 1918): MAINE

Should nations pursue national interest?

Big Idea:

  • Do national interest, foreign policy, and nationalism affect one another?



Kill That Eagle
© Flickr: European Revue (Kill That Eagle) 1914


The War Years: MAINE at Work

You may be wondering why we still learn about World War I. There are quite a few reasons why World War I was unique, especially in light of MAINE. World War I fundamentally changed the boundaries of Europe, helped lead to World War II, and was the start of new practices and innovations in wartime. Review the reasons below, and consider to which of the MAINE causes each reason belongs. Continue to take notes using your 3.5 Notebook Organizer.

World War I went from a smaller conflict in southeast Europe to a full-scale war between empires. Through the alliance system and race for military dominance, nations eventually pulled others into the conflict. The participation of the British Empire (including major nations India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and Hong Kong) meant World War I was a war on a global geographic scale.

Map of Nations in World War I (1918)

In the map above, Allies (or Allied colonies) are in green, and the Central Powers (or Central Powers' colonies) are in orange/yellow.
(click the image for a larger view)
© Creative Commons
  • Thirty nations joined World War I between 1914 to 1918.

  • The Allies included Serbia, Russia, France, the United Kingdom (Britain), Italy, and eventually the United States.

  • The Central Powers included Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire.


Many people were excited at the start of World War I. Young men, fueled by strong feelings of patriotism and the desire for adventure and freedom, signed up in great numbers. In July 1914, many believed World War I would be over in a few months (and at the latest, by Christmastime). People also believed their nations were justified in fighting, and images of heroes, national flags, and other such propaganda helped fuel war participation. However, these beliefs were quickly eliminated as the war raged on, not for months as had been initially anticipated, but for years. Millions of deaths and the harsh realities of war meant no one was left untouched by World War I.

  • 65 million men either volunteered or were conscripted to fight in WWI.

  • Millions of civilians worked in the industries the men left behind.

  • In 1914, the world population was estimated at 1.7 billion people. Estimates of over 18 million deaths and 23 million wounded suggest nearly everyone on earth was impacted, in some way, by WWI.

  • Germany and France sent up to 80% of their male populations to fight in the war.

  • The roles of women changed. Women were allowed into the military (for support and for combat) for the first time, and many women stepped in to fill job vacancies in the workforce.

  • Invading armies often attacked civilians by air, sea, and land in an attempt to break national support and morale for the war.

  • Increased use of propaganda created war support by broadcasting negative views of opposing nations through stereotypes or insulting language.

  • The Battle of the Somme lasted for more than five months, and over one million men were killed or wounded in the battle.
Watch the video "World War One In Numbers" and add to your 3.5 Notebook Organizer.



Women in Industry during World War I

Women work shoulder to shoulder to prepare glass for anti-gas masks in the central hall of Crowndale Works.
(London 1918)
© Wikimedia Commons


  • All WWI nations needed to draw on national resources (both natural and manpower) in a race to supply armed forces with equipment and weapons, food and clothing.

  • Germany's naval fleet grew and challenged the previously unchecked power of Britain's Royal Navy.

  • Growth in industries. such as steel, weapons manufacturing, munitions, and ship and shipping companies was exponential.

  • New and progressive growth occurred in industries such as communication technologies and medicine.

  • Advancements, unique to WWI, occurred in air, sea, and land technologies.

  • Air advancements included zeppelins (German airships), fighter pilots, aerial communications and surveillance, air bombings, and observation balloons.

  • Sea advancements included battleships, aircraft carriers, submarines, and battle cruisers.

  • Land advancements included chemical warfare (tear gas grenades, flamethrowers, poisonous gas (mustard chlorine, and phosgene)), flamethrowers, tanks, artillery, gas masks, tanks, and machine guns.

  • Trench warfare was used to combat conflict in "No Man's Land". While the terms "trench warfare" and "no man's land" are not new, World War I brought awareness to and popularized these strategies.

    Read more about trench warfare and soldiers fighting in No Man's Land here.

  • Additional innovations were made in manufacturing, chemistry, wireless and telecommunications, and medicine (blood banks and mobile X-rays).
Watch the History Channel's video "Tech Developments of World War I".



Soldiers pass through a wood near Ypres, France.
  • Historians have had difficulty determining the exact numbers of dead and wounded in World War I. Weaponry used often made recovering or identifying bodies impossible. The best estimate is 17 million soldiers and civilians were killed during the war, and millions more were wounded or psychologically scarred.

  • The Spanish flu epidemic (1918) killed between 20 and 50 million people.

  • Since millions of men did not return to the workforce, many women permanently took their place. Women in the workforce increased from 23.6% (1914) to as high as 46.7% in 1918.

  • Birth rates dropped during WWI, and the combination of economic hardship, high infant mortality rates, and lower male partners post-war meant population growth stalled.

  • The result of the war was the collapse of the Russian, Austria-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires.

  • Many nations were bankrupted as a result of financing and supplying for the war.


Continue to take notes using the 3.5 Notebook Organizer (Word, PDF, Google Doc). You may want to review the tutorial How to Take Notes. When you are done, return here to continue.