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Potsdam Conference
PhotoEncyclopedia BrittanicaThe Allied Big Three, American President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Union Leader Joseph Stalin meet in the city of Potsdam in Occupied Germany following the conclusion of World War II. The boundaries of Europe are reconstructed, including Poland. Germany is split into four allied zones, and Berlin is divided into four as well. They also agree to hold the Nuremburg Trials in order to punish Nazi war criminals. -
Truman Doctrine
PhotoComplete SpeechIn the wake of the war between Greece and Turkey, President Truman knew that if they didn't step in, Greece would fall to Communism. Thus, millions of dollars was given to belligerents in aid. -
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George Kennan's X Article
PhotoComplete ArticleAlso known as the Long Telegram, American diplomat George Kennan published an article in Foreign Affairs magazine that was highly critical of the Soviet system. It stated that the USSR was looking to fight a war against capitalism. He proposed a new American policy that would restore the balance of power and stop Soviet aggression. It was called the policy of containment and the objective was to CONTAIN communism within its existing borders and protect capitalism. -
NATO Formed
PhotoOverviewIn order to resist communist expansion, the US, Canada, and its allies in Europe form an alliance, pledging to declare war should the Soviets invade one of them. They are: the United States, Great Britain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal. -
Korean War Begins
PhotoOverviewNorth Korea invades South Korea, hoping to reunite Korea under a Communist regime. The United Nations votes to send troops to Korea. Two members of the Security Council cannot veto- the Soviet Union is boycotting the UN, and China cannot veto because the UN only recognizes Chiang Kai Shek's government in Taiwan, not the Communist government led by Mao Zedong. -
Korean War Ends
InfopleaseAfter three years of fighting, the Korean War ends with a cease-fire agreement dividing the countries on the 38th parallel- The South as a democracy, and the North as a Communist state. -
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Guatemalan government overthrown
OverviewIn a CIA backed attack, the Communist government is overthrown. The US had worried that the country could become a western puppet state for the Soviets. -
SEATO Founded
PhotoEncyclopedia BrittanicaSouth East Asian Treaty Organization is formed, uniting Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines, Great Britain, and the United States against Communist expansion in Asia. -
Warsaw Pact
PhotoCold War MuseumThe Soviet response to NATO, the USSR joined Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania in order to defend Communism. -
Cuban Revolution
PhotoThinkquestUnhappy with the repressive regime of American supported President Fulgenco Batista, rebel Fidel Castro leads an armed revolt against the government. He won and became the leader of Cuba. At the time, he gave no indication that he wanted to be Communist. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
ThinkquestPresident John F Kennedy sends several CIA trained Cuban exiles on ato secretsttempt to invade southern Cuba. It is a failure- all the exiles are killed or captured. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
PhotoThinkquestThe US learns that Soviets have planted missiles in Cuba, pointing directly at the United States. After tensions so great that World War III, could have begun, JFK orders a quarantine of the island, and the USSR later agrees to remove the missiles. -
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Tet Offensive
USHistory.comA campaign by the Viet Cong to bomb several military bases in South Vietnam and cause a quick end to the war. This shocked the US, but the military was still handily defeated. Even though they lost, it was a psychological victory for the North Vietnamese. -
Salvador Allende's Chilean government ousted
Time MagazineIn a US backed coup, the Communist government in Chile is overthrown after a three year reign. Salvador Allende commits suicide before capture. -
Khmer Rouge takes power in Cambodia
PhotoCambodia.orgLed by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge takes power and starts creating a Communist farming society. Thousands are murdered in what becomes known as the "Killing Fields". The government is ousted in 1979. -
Vietnam War Ends
About.comNorth Vietnam captures Saigon, gaining the surrender of the South. A peace treaty is signed, reuniting Vietnam under a Communist government. -
War in El Salvador
OverviewAfter a Communist takeover of the government, the Americans stepped in to prevent another potential Soviet alliance in Latin America, like Cuba. -
Sandinistas take power in Nicaragua
InfopleaseThe Communist Sandinista party overthrows the US backed Somoza dictatorship. This leads to the American invasion known as the Contras. -
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 shot down
[http://www.check-six.com/lib/Famous_Missing/KAL_Flight_007.htm](Overview)Soviet fighters shoot down a civilian plane it misidentified as a spy plane. 269 people are killed, including US Congressman Larry McDonald. -
Iran-Contra Affair
PhotoUSHistory.comThe US government admits that it gave weapons to Iran in exchange for hostages taken in the late 1970"s. Lt. Col. Oliver North was fired for his involvement. -
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Soviet Union is Dissolved
Cold War MuseumBy the end of 1991, the USSR was in tatters. All of its member states had declared independence. On December 25, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, and by the New Year, the Soviet Union had officially ceased to exist. The country was divided into 15 different countries- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
