World War I Research Assignment: Europe in the 20th Сentury

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World War I
Q: Europe in the 20th century has witnessed both wars of unprecedented scope as well as a period of unprecedented peace. Life and culture in the year 2000 was remarkably different from life and culture of the year 1900. To some extent, the global wars share some responsibility for these changes. Considering all the events of this unit (and even some of past units), which of these wars (first, second, or the cold war) proved the most significant in changing the course of the 20th century? Use at least three examples to prove your answer.
The First World War had a profound effect on Europe, precipitating WWII and changes in power relations in Europe. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was one of the major causes of First World War the Habsburg heir apparent. The emergence of America as a superpower after the Second World War happened when the country suffered few casualties in both WWI and WWII. The Great War (1914-198)/ World War I reshaped the political landscape of Europe with the Central powers (Austria- Hungary and Germany) pitted against the Allies (France, Great Britain and Russia) and Germany sought to gain territories by allying with her friends while also into new areas including Russia, Belgium, France and Luxemburg (Hunt et al 822). At the same time, Russia sought to reassert her status as a powerful state, which protected the Slavic people and reunified with Poland under a new Russian Empire (Hunt et al 823). World War I was the most significant event in the 20th century with the rise of Russian communism, the redrawing of Germany, the former Ottoman Empire and the Austro- Hungary Empire, and this realigned the political landscape in Europe.
One of the examples of the impact of WWI was that Russia played a prominent role in shaping politics in Europe and the world with the 1917 revolution bringing to power the communist Bolsheviks (Hunt et al 830-831). The Tsar and the aristocracy were overthrown with the workers and soldiers having more power than ever before. The Bolsheviks popularized communist rule in the Soviet Union and the country’s sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. The Bolsheviks defeated the Whites who fought against Russian revolutionaries and sought to return to the previous Tsar regime till the end of the war in 1918 (Hunt et al 833-834). The country emerged as a formidable power in Europe and Central Asia. Russia would go on to play prominent roles in WWII and was the main US antagonist during the Cold War.
The geographic divide between the US and Europe meant that Americans did not experience the horrors of the war first hand. As such, the country was peaceful and largely unaffected as there were no interruptions in the business activities. There was no direct intervention and involvement in the war as would happen decades late and only entering the war in 1917. Even as the war ended in 1918 there was still turmoil among the countries affected especially...