https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/x66f79d8a:global-conflict/x66f79d8a:causes-of-the-first-world-war-8-2/a/activity-opener-tug-of-war 2026-06-30T12:40:47.173333589Z Activity: Tug-of-War Who was to blame for World War I? Time for some image analysis where you'll make predictions about who might win this political tug-of-war. article https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/x66f79d8a:global-conflict/x66f79d8a:causes-of-the-first-world-war-8-2/a/article-what-caused-the-first-world-war 2025-08-12T03:52:41.296842565Z What Caused the First World War? The First World War almost feels like a murder mystery, with many suspected causes and complex motives. Millions died in this confusing conflict that gripped the world. article https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/x66f79d8a:global-conflict/x66f79d8a:causes-of-the-first-world-war-8-2/a/activity-main-causes-of-war 2026-06-30T12:40:47.173333589Z Activity: "MAIN" Causes of War World War I didn't have just one cause. Figure out why the acronym MAIN is a useful tool for identifying the causes of this conflict. article https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/x66f79d8a:global-conflict/x66f79d8a:causes-of-the-first-world-war-8-2/a/activity-our-interconnected-world-world-war-i-origins 2026-06-30T12:40:47.173333589Z Activity: Our Interconnected World—World War I Time to break out the yarn! The interconnected nature of World War I becomes even more apparent when you visually mark out the various ways regions and countries were connected. article https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/x66f79d8a:global-conflict/x66f79d8a:causes-of-the-first-world-war-8-2/a/article-the-first-world-war-as-a-global-war 2025-08-12T03:52:41.296842565Z The First World War as a Global War How does a war become a world war? It’s a tough question to answer, but asking who fought, what they fought for, and where they fought should give you a fighting chance. article https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/x66f79d8a:global-conflict/x66f79d8a:causes-of-the-first-world-war-8-2/a/activity-closer-tug-of-war-revisited 2026-06-30T12:40:47.173333589Z Activity: Tug-of-War Revisited Synthesize what you've learned by determining what each participant in World War I was thinking on the eve of the war. article https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/x66f79d8a:global-conflict/x66f79d8a:causes-of-the-first-world-war-8-2/v/empires-before-world-war-i 2020-06-23T07:22:36Z Empires before World War I Austria-Hungary. Ottoman empire. British, German, French and Russian empires.  For extra coverage of World War 1 outside the scope of the AP course, click here. Sal Khan video https://cdn.kastatic.org/googleusercontent/q9ejFqcIhtBKMFGwpWVnHKCaZyWFTOT9pzk3Pu_RL4KrgmFRKF2iT9aE4X2SgjF7deZLVEfSIW75GpbVwy5QxQ-X Empires before World War I Austria-Hungary. Ottoman empire. British, German, French and Russian empires.  For extra coverage of World War 1 outside the scope of the AP course, click here. https://cdn.kastatic.org/ka-youtube-converted/IyoUWRAharQ.mp4/IyoUWRAharQ.mp4 457 Causes of the First World War | 8.2 https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/x66f79d8a:global-conflict/x66f79d8a:causes-of-the-first-world-war-8-2/v/alliances-leading-to-world-war-i 2020-06-23T07:22:41Z Alliances leading to World War I There are a number of European alliances that contributed to the broad scope of World War I. Prominent among these are the 1839 Treaty of London, which promised that the United Kingdom would protect Belgium's neutrality, the 1879 Dual Alliance treaty between Germany and Austria-Hungary to protect each other in the event of Russian attack, the 1892 Franco-Russian Military Convention that promised mutual assistance in the face of attack, the Triple Entente linking the United Kingdom and France (and later Italy), and the Triple Alliance linking Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (at first). Sal Khan video https://cdn.kastatic.org/googleusercontent/jXqAulNJ5NaMgJq5WshVpZJ8zyGasGcNbu2weAF8ktAdTS-E-mrzznmvzS4TtuJvSqwGxghr0KQmulvu3K7j9QU Alliances leading to World War I There are a number of European alliances that contributed to the broad scope of World War I. Prominent among these are the 1839 Treaty of London, which promised that the United Kingdom would protect Belgium's neutrality, the 1879 Dual Alliance treaty between Germany and Austria-Hungary to protect each other in the event of Russian attack, the 1892 Franco-Russian Military Convention that promised mutual assistance in the face of attack, the Triple Entente linking the United Kingdom and France (and later Italy), and the Triple Alliance linking Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (at first). https://cdn.kastatic.org/ka-youtube-converted/KMMAL3v0lA0.mp4/KMMAL3v0lA0.mp4 284 Causes of the First World War | 8.2 https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/x66f79d8a:global-conflict/x66f79d8a:causes-of-the-first-world-war-8-2/v/the-great-war-begins 2020-06-23T07:22:43Z The Great War begins World War I began after Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on June 28, 1914. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, whose ally Russia then mobilized for war. An alliance between Germany and Austria then prompted Germany to preemptively declare war on Russia, Serbia, and Russia's ally France. Germany then attacked France through Belgium, activating an alliance between the United Kingdom and Belgium, and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. Sal Khan video https://cdn.kastatic.org/googleusercontent/A3GgKkE5f0RTS1Nw58dwKWnF0v7xffItxFx9oBTpInAKVhvVofOnDoUF86MQf2PL_L0etfsaCz1R58FSsDKh0fYB The Great War begins World War I began after Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on June 28, 1914. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, whose ally Russia then mobilized for war. An alliance between Germany and Austria then prompted Germany to preemptively declare war on Russia, Serbia, and Russia's ally France. Germany then attacked France through Belgium, activating an alliance between the United Kingdom and Belgium, and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. https://cdn.kastatic.org/ka-youtube-converted/huOnuYAyv6w.mp4/huOnuYAyv6w.mp4 372 Causes of the First World War | 8.2 https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/x66f79d8a:global-conflict/x66f79d8a:causes-of-the-first-world-war-8-2/e/8-1-and-8-2-practice 2026-05-07T20:10:46.752915086Z Causes of the First World War Practice what you learned in lessons 8.1 and 8.2, focusing on the causes of the First World War! Jessica Shattuck exercise