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World War I began when Franz Ferdinand, an important political figure, was assassinated causing many countries to be pulled into the conflict due to a messy network of alliances.
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The Tsar regime was overthrown and the Imperial family was executed. This opened up way for Communism to enter the Soviet Union.
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The War officially ended with Germany signing the Treaty of Versailles.
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With the stock market crash on October 10, 1929, a great depression was sparked in the United States and eventually spread throughout the world. This depression lasted for a decade.
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During the Great Depression, a German political figure, Adolf Hitler, gained popularity in Germany. With dreams of expanding German power, Hitler lead the world into World War II by invading Poland.
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One of two atomic bombs created in the Manhattan project was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan killing around 70,000 people.
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The second atomic bomb created in the Manhattan Project was dropped just two days after the first on Nagasaki, Japan killing around 35,000 people.
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Although Germany had surrendered earlier in the year of 1945, Japan continued to fight. After the dropping of the two Atomic bombs, Japan surrendered, officially ending the War.
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With WWII over, the United States and the Soviet Union entered into a political power struggle that became known as the Cold War. During the Cold War there were no direct battles between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. However, there were proxy battles such as the Korean War and Vietnam War.
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The Korean War was between North Korea with the support of China and the Soviet Union and South Korea with the support of the United States. The War began when North Korea invaded South Korea.
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The Korean War Armistice was accepted by the United Nations which ended the conflict although it wasn't considered a peace treaty.
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The Vietnam War was also considered a proxy battle during the Cold War. The War was between North Vietnam supported by the Soviet Union and South Vietnam supported by the United States.
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Another result of the Cold War was the Space Race. The Soviet Union and United States competed in their explorations of space. The Soviet Union succeeded in sending the first satellite to space. The United States succeeded in sending the first man to the moon.
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The United States gradually pulled themselves out of the war in Vietnam in an effort to allow the Vietnamese soldiers to take control. North Vietnam eventually captured the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, ending the war. South and North Vietnam were reunified the next year.
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The Berlin Wall was erected to separate East and West Berlin. The purpose of the Wall was to keep Westerners from coming to the East and disrupting the socialist state as well as to keep those in the East from defecting to the West. The Wall was torn down beginning in 1989.
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In 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved which disrupted many communist regimes in other countries. With the Soviet Union dissolved, the United States remained as the only superpower and the Cold War ended.
