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North Altanic Treaty Organization (NATO)
America along with Canada and 10 other countries formed the NATO, it was a new military alliance. They pledge to help one another if one of them got attacked. -
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Nuclear Arms Race
After World War II nuclear bombs were being made. That was one of the terrifying things of the Cold War because the Soviet Union also had developed some nuclear bombs. Both the United States and the Soviet Union started developing hydrogen bombs. People were afriad of a nuclear war breaking out. Both sides developed bombs to match the other sides amount of bombs. It was a "balance of terror." Both sides knew that neither side would launch because they knew that they would both be destoryed. -
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Berlin Wall
Berlin WallThe Berlin Wall was a wall that split East and West Berlin during the Cold War. It was a wall that was a large concrete wall that had barbed wire at the top. Guards patrolled it. The reason for building it was to stop people from East Germany, which was communist, from going to West Germany, which was democratic. -
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Communist Cuba
Communist CubaFidel Castro led a armed rebellion against the dictator. His guerrilla army won so he started to transform the country. Casro was able to get the support of the Soviet Union and he put most of the land under government control. Cubans' were highly restricted on political freedom. Those who spoke out were punnished. Florida was a place for the Cubans to flee to and many went there. U.S.-trained Cuban exiles had the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Castro's forces captured the invaders. -
Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union started their own alliance Warsaw Pact with 7 satelance in Eastern Europe. The Soviets oftened invoked it to keep its satellites in order. Europe was divided into "eastern" and "western" Europe. Eastern Europe was the Soviet dominated counteries. They claimed to be a democracy but were really a dictator. In the western part of Europe their were democracies with the United States leading them. -
Missile Crisis
The Soviet Union had given Cuba nuclear missiles. President John F. Kennedy sent a navy blockade that stopped the Soviets from further shipment. Kennedy demanded that the missiles be removed. The world was at risk of a nuclear war over the issue for a few days. Premier Nikita Khrushcev finally removed the missiles and the war was averted. -
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Detente
DetenteThe Detente was a time of relaxation of tensions. The United States and the Soviet Union had control agreements. The United States was restraining the Soviet Union by useing diplomatic agreements instead of military means. It ended when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. -
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Soviets in Afghanistan
A Soviet-supported Afghan government was being run in Afghanistan. They did social reforms and land distribution to help reduce the power of regional landlords. Muslim conservatives and Afghan landlords claimed it threatened the Islamic tradition. They took up arms against the government and Soviet troops moved in. The mujahedin proved to be difficult for the Soveits to battle. After the American government smuggled weaponary to the mujahedin it took awhile for the Soviets to recover.
