There was no singular cause which led to the first truly global war. Long standing tensions over imperialism, nationalism, and militarism led the world down the path to total war. Germany, still a young empire, emerged on the global stage as a formidable industrial power and flexed its military might against the established empires of England, France, and Russia. The United States was a nation of immigrants, with no political or diplomatic obligation to join in the global conflict. For three years, America waited as the world burned and its population of immigrants, with ties of their own to every nation involved, debated joining the fight.