Cold War explained to kids

The Cold War was a time when the United States and the Soviet Union didn't get along. The Soviet Union was a communist country, and the United States was a democracy. The two countries were the most powerful in the world, and they had different ways of doing things. The Cold War started in 1945. That's when the Soviet Union and the United States first started to have disagreements. For example, the Soviet Union wanted to put communist governments in other countries, but the United States wanted those countries to remain democracies. The Cold War lasted until 1991. That's when the Soviet Union collapsed. The United States and the Soviet Union then became allies and started working together. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union never fought a war against each other. But they came close a few times. In 1962, there was a crisis called the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union put missiles in Cuba, and the United States put missiles in Turkey. This made both countries very nervous, and there was a lot of talk about war. But in the end, the two countries came to an agreement and avoided war. The Cold War was a time of great tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. But it was also a time of great progress. For example, the United States and the Soviet Union worked together to put a man on the moon.