Cold War (jan 1, 1945 – jan 1, 1991)

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The Cold War was a state of hostility between the US and the USSR that lasted from the end of World War II until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Although there was no actual fighting, both countries made other nations economically dependent on themselves (such as the USSR Soviet Bloc and the US's Marshall Plan), raced to create increasingly advanced space and military technology (arms race and space race), and carried out proxy wars in independent nations (for example, the Korean War and the Angolan Civil War).

Some countries during this period chose to stay out of the conflict and formed the non-aligned movement. Many of these countries were newly-formed African and Asian nations, and a man named Kwame Nkrumah became a leading figure in the movement.

As a result of the Cold War, an alliance against communist nations was created known as NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and an alliance against non-communist nations was created known as the Warsaw Pact. Additionally, the buildup of nuclear weaponry led to the cuban Missile Crisis which almost led to the beginning of World War III.

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