History is the record of humanity's wars

Wow... now this is is a difficult prompt... ><

History is the record of humanity's wars.
Explain what you think the above statement means. Describe a specific situation in which history might be the record of something other than humanity's wars. Discuss what you think determines when history should be the record of humanity's wars and when it should be something else. 

Outline:

1. History is a record of past conflicts, and any conflict may be regarded as a war. Example: battle between different politicians, conflicts between countries, etc.
2. There are many events that are recorded in history text books that are not wars. Examples include the invention of the telephone, the great depression, etc.
3. History is the record of everything that has happened in the past, including but not restricted to wars. Whether or not history is a record of wars depend on which period the history is recording.

Open any history textbook and we will see that wars are a common theme throughout history. World War I, World War II, American War of Independence, wars seem to be the most common solution to problems between countries. However, wars don't always have to involve groups of people fighting each other. In fact, a war can be defined as any conflict between groups of people. For example, the Cold War was an arms race between the former Soviet Union and the United States. Even though no guns were fired and no bombs dropped, the tension between the two nations were not unlike that felt by two countries when they were in a conventional war. This definition of war can be extended to include all conflicts between groups of people or even individuals. As such, the conflict between two political candidates could be called a war. Since history is a record of conflicts of the past, we can say that history is the record of humanity's wars.

Although there has never been a dearth of conflicts throughout history, it can be argued that history is a record of any significant events of the past, regardless whether the event involve any conflict. For example, the Great Depression of the 1930's was a significant event that changed the lives of millions of people. Although the depression was ended by a conflict, the World War II, the depression itself did not involve any major conflict between groups of people. Another example would be the invention of the telephone. The event was definitely worthy of being recorded in history text books as it revolutionized the communications industry. And just like the Great Depression, it did not involve any conflicts between groups of people. Therefore if the history focuses on events of the past rather than events involving conflicts, history is the record of something other than humanity's wars.

An important factor that determines whether history is a record of humanity's wars or the record of other events is the time period from which the historical record comes from. In the past, the world is less stable compared to the present, and wars are more prevalent than recent history. As a result, history of the past is more of a record of wars than history of the present world. This can be illustrated by contrasting history from two different periods. For example, lessons in medieval history never fail to include topics on famous knights and the battles they fought in. In contrast, history of the past 20 years are much more peaceful, and includes economic fluctuations and political reforms.

(Word count: 433)

I think I need to read more books. The ideas for these writing samples come very slowly to me. But hopefully thinking up ideas will be easier as I do more practice. The main problem with this piece of writing is that the arguments are very weak. I don't really like how the thesis and the counter-thesis differ only by the definition of the world history.

I found a video on youtube on this topic. I'll summarize the main points here:

• When thinking about a world historical timeline, it is clear that war has played a central role in the shaping of humanity's history
• When looking at major events in history, there is a disproportionate number of wars. For example, the two darkest period in recent human history are undoubted the two World Wars.
• Additionally, looking at the list of wars over humanity's existence, the list is mind boggling in length.
• One historical perspective involves examining societal elements within the context of war
• Given the magnitude and severity of war, it impacts society on every level. Art, literature, culture, technology, ideology, everything in society is affected by war. 
• A common example of this historical perspective is examining how war impacts economics. It often involves analyzing the economy during the war and the post-war economy.
• Given the sheer number of wars and their far reaching impact, it is reasonable to say that history is the record of humanity's wars.
• In contrast, there are many heritage societies internationally that seeks to preserve the past
• These heritage societies have the goal of preserving the roots of their nation and the rich history of the past
• They are interested in preserving how people once lived their everyday lives and this has little to do with war
• History exists on many time scales. For example, one can look at the history of the past hundred years or one can look at history on the scale of millions of years.
• As mentioned before, wars have devastating impacts on all facets of society. When one takes a broader view of history, wars will undoubtedly stand out and it will seem like a record of wars.
• However, on a smaller scale, history is about preserving the specific moment or period of time and that is what is important