A word that translates easily into any language, a word that when heard causes a spark of fear in all, War. This single word holds enough power in itself to bring a nation to its knees and even makes some men question their views on reality. War is known to spread the greatest fear in the world; the death toll among American soldiers from 1775 to 1991 reached over 1.3 million and America provided millions and millions of dollars for every war that occurred. The fact that there are weapons capable of wiping an entire continent off the face of the earth can strike fear into any human being and bring a nation to its breaking point. War has struck every major nation on a large scale, from the Civil War of the early 1860s to the Cold War of the late 1900s. The reasons for war that occur most often are due to differences in beliefs between two nations or world powers. Instead of reaching an agreement, they stubbornly decide to embark on a war that can ruin their economic status as well as the nation's population. . An Event at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce and Angel, Archangel by Nick Cook are just a few examples of the hundreds of literary works capturing the terrifying and revolting perspective of these national conflicts; the war has also bruised, even torn, relations between countries as well as the connection to reason in the human spirit of reckless soldiers fighting for their greater cause. Whether on the "good" or "bad" side of war, everyone is affected, even during the civil war that broke out in the United States, innocent people were harmed not only by force, but also bought the fear of being killed every day. The war was a major event in the United States... middle of paper ... the deadliest war in history, and it very well deserved the spot, but the world was not done with wars ; Russia, a world power, took its place as the next participant in the global confrontations that took place over the past 100 years and ushered in the Cold War. Works Cited: Bierce, Ambrose, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” The San Francisco Examiner 1890 Print.Daniels, Patricia. “Trenches in World War I” Contributing author Hajima, Masuda, “The Korean War through the Lens of Chinese Society” Journal of Cold War Studies 14.3 (2013): 3-28. Internet. March 13, 2014. Masco, Joseph P. “Terror As Normality” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 69.6 (2013): 26-32. Internet. March 13, 2014. Seiple, Samantha. “Ghosts in the Fog” Scholastic, Inc. Printing 2011. THINKPROGRESS. “A Timeline of the Iraq War” Web. March 17, 2006 Seiple, Samantha. “Ghosts in the Fog” Scholastic, Inc. Print 2011.