20th century explained to kids

The 20th century was a time of great change. Scientists made new discoveries, and people began to think about the world in different ways. This was especially true in the last half of the century, when people started to question traditional ideas and challenge the way things had always been done. The 20th century began in 1900, and it was a time of great progress. People were moving to cities, and new technologies were making life easier. But the early years of the century were also marked by war and conflict. The First World War began in 1914, and it lasted for four years. More than nine million soldiers died in the war, and many more were wounded. The war also destroyed homes and businesses, and it left millions of people homeless. After the war, people were hopeful that the world would be a better place. But in the 1920s, a new kind of war began. This was the time of the Russian Revolution, when communist revolutionaries took control of Russia. The Soviet Union was born, and it quickly became a rival of the United States. The two superpowers quickly developed nuclear weapons, and by the early 1960s, both countries had enough bombs to destroy the world many times over. This led to a time of great tension, known as the Cold War. Fortunately, the Cold War never turned into a hot war, and in the late 1980s, the Soviet Union collapsed. This led to the end of the Cold War, and it ushered in a new era of peace and cooperation. The 20th century was a time of great progress. But it was also a time of war and conflict.