Was the war inevitable?

In 1914, Europe was a seething caldron of defensive alliances, distrust, and territorial ambitions. Austria-Hungary and Russia clashed over who would control the Balkans, while Germany challenged the world dominance of France and Britain. In Britain, the government and populace viewed the German ship-building program and drive for African colonies with alarm. European imperialism guaranteed that a war based on European disputes would indeed become a world war. Before the Progressive Era, most demands for government action came from the businesses who benefited when the government set high tariffs, distributed western lands to railroads, or sent in troops to break strikes. Events in Mexico affected American participation in the First World War in several ways. In 1916, European armies were facing machine-gun slaughter on an unprecedented scale.