Case Briefing
International Historical Commission β Case File WWI-1914
Your Assignment
You have been retained by an international historical commission, ninety years after the guns fell silent, to help settle one of history's most argued-over questions: who β or what β caused the First World War?
You will not find a single confession, a single villain, or a single correct answer. Instead you will examine 28 primary and secondary sources β telegrams, treaties, mobilization plans, cartoons, posters, newspapers, and diaries β evaluate each one as a real historian would, and build your own evidence-based argument about which causes mattered most. Two careful investigators can examine the same evidence and reach different, equally defensible conclusions. That is not a flaw in this case file. That is how history actually works.
What You Will Practice
- Sourcing β who made this, and why?
- Corroboration β do other sources agree?
- Contextualization β what was happening around this document?
- Evaluating reliability and recognizing bias
- Weighing long-term causes against a single triggering event
- Building a claim-evidence-reasoning argument a historian would respect
Eight Categories of Cause
Every piece of evidence in this case relates to one or more of these categories. Keep them in mind as you investigate β you will eventually have to rank them.
How the Investigation Works
- Open files in the Evidence Locker. Read each source, analyze who made it and why, rate its importance and reliability, tag it, and take notes.
- Pin examined evidence to the Case Board and connect it to the cause(s) you believe it supports.
- Rank the eight causes from most to least significant, in your own judgment.
- Build your argument: a claim, supporting evidence, reasoning, a counterargument, and a rebuttal.
- Receive your Investigation Rating and reflect on what changed your mind.
Evidence Locker
28 documents. Open a file to begin your analysis. Filter by suspected cause below.
Case Board
Drag an examined document onto a cause category to pin it there. On a keyboard: select a document, then activate a category to connect it. A red string appears once a document is pinned to two or more categories, linking them together.
Rank the Causes
Order these eight causes from most significant (1) to least significant (8), based on your own analysis. There is no single correct order β your ranking will be judged on how well you can defend it.
Build Your Argument
Construct a ClaimβEvidenceβReasoning case, then confront the strongest opposing view.
Investigation Rating
This is not a pass/fail grade. It reflects the depth and rigor of your investigation, not whether you picked the "right" cause.
Investigator's Reflection
Every good historical investigation ends by turning the lens on yourself.