The 20th century was overshadowed by a sequence of events that indicated significant changes in world history as to redefine the era as a whole: World War I and World War II, nationalism and decolonization, nuclear power and space exploration, the Cold War and post-Cold War conflicts; intergovernmental organizations and cultural institutionalization through growth in emerging transportation and communications technology; world population growth and poverty reduction, first realization of environmental deterioration, and the creation of the Digital Revolution. While the 20th century was dominated by wars it had clear progress in communication and medical technology that by the late 1980s allowed for genetic modification of life and immediate worldwide computer communication. While it is argued that the 20th century was the killing century due to it’s incredible amount of wars and bloodshed, it must be considered that the 20th century saw more scientific and technological breakthrough than any other century since the birth of civilization itself. The 20th century was a killing century, because it had the first ever global-scale total war in World War 1, another large scale war that involved one of the most horrific genocides ever which was World War 2, and a war involving two of the most powerful nations, both who had nuclear power giving them the capability to wipe out an entire city in one bombing in the Cold War. First, the 20th century had the first ever global-scale total war in World War 1, involving the most amount of people in a war up until that point in history, resulting in massive losses. Second, the 20th century had another large scale war that involved one of the most horrific genocides ever which was World War 2, which resulted in the largest death toll of a war to date. Lastly the 20th century had a war involving two of the most powerful nations, both who had nuclear power giving them the capability to wipe out an entire city in one bombing in the Cold War. First, the 20th century had the first ever global-scale total war in World War 1, involving the most amount of people in a war up until that point in history, resulting in massive losses. This war brought in many nations and split them into two opposing groups which were, the Central Powers and the Allied Powers. The Allied Powers consisted of Britain, France, Russia, Italy who eventually left the Alliance, and the United States. The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. The war was fought with some of the most horrific tactics including trench warfare leaving soldiers in dire conditions. World War 1 included more than 70 million military personnel making it the largest war in history up to that point. Not only was this the largest war it also included some of the most advanced weaponry seen yet. The result of this war was over 9 million deaths of soldiers and 7 million civilian casualties. On top
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The Cold War was between the United States and the Soviet Union and was fought using proxy wars in which the two sides supported which is why it was called the Cold War. The Cold War was waged on political, economic, and propaganda fronts and had only limited recourse to weapons. These two superpowers each possessed nuclear weapons capable of killing millions in a few seconds, making the situation extremely high in tension. Tensions reached a peak when the two backed a Korean War, where the U.S. supported South Korea and the Soviet Union supported North Korea. The Korean War was the first military action of the Cold War. The Korean War ultimately resulted in up to five million dead, wounded, or missing and up to half of them being civilian. It is said that the United States had used more bombs in Korea, which was 635,000 tons, and 32,557 tons of napalm, than in the entire Pacific theater during World War 2. In addition to all of this not one nation involved could consider themselves victors in the Korean War. The Cold War is responsible for about over 40 major conflicts ranging all across the eastern hemisphere and South America causing a great deal of
The Cold War was between the United States and the Soviet Union and was fought using proxy wars in which the two sides supported which is why it was called the Cold War. The Cold War was waged on political, economic, and propaganda fronts and had only limited recourse to weapons. These two superpowers each possessed nuclear weapons capable of killing millions in a few seconds, making the situation extremely high in tension. Tensions reached a peak when the two backed a Korean War, where the U.S. supported South Korea and the Soviet Union supported North Korea. The Korean War was the first military action of the Cold War. The Korean War ultimately resulted in up to five million dead, wounded, or missing and up to half of them being civilian. It is said that the United States had used more bombs in Korea, which was 635,000 tons, and 32,557 tons of napalm, than in the entire Pacific theater during World War 2. In addition to all of this not one nation involved could consider themselves victors in the Korean War. The Cold War is responsible for about over 40 major conflicts ranging all across the eastern hemisphere and South America causing a great deal of