The World Wars

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the outbreak of the First World War and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles. The paper shows how World War I was the first significant step in transforming the United States and Russia into global political, economic and militaristic powers. The paper looks at World War II and examines how women and minorities played a more significant role than ever before. The paper discusses how World War II firmly situated the Untied States and Russia as the ultimate global powers.

From the Paper:

"The outbreak of the First World War was truly the culmination of several decades worth of tensions and power struggles between the leading world powers: "War broke out in the summer of 1914 because several of the nations of Europe had differences that could not be settled by peaceful means," (Heyman 4). Centrally this was true because the nature of Europe's political and economic system demanded an ever-increasing grip upon colonial nations, while also requiring a very delicate balance of world power to prevent outright war. The emergence of nationalism saw members of different European nations begin to view themselves as the rightful heirs to the globe. Among these nations, Britain, France, Germany, and Austria-Hungary stood as the preeminent colonial powers; they gobbled up foreign lands and subjugated their peoples both because they believed they had an innate right to do so, and because access to foreign natural resources further strengthened their nations."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Black, Jeremy. (2002). The World in the Twentieth Century. New York: Longman.
• Heyman, Neil M. (1997). World War I. Westport: Greenwood Press.
• Laqueur, Walter. (1996). Fascism: Past, Present, Future. New York: Oxford.
• Meyer, C. (1995). Source Materials in Asian History: Japan. Hong Kong: Jacaranda Press.
• Shaw, Antony. (2004). World War II: Day by Day. St. Paul: MBI Publishing.

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