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Chapter 26- michelle shine
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The Yalta Conference
Roosevelt met with Stalin and Churchill at Yalta to discuse the future of Germany and Poland. During the meeting Roosevelt and Churchill rejected Staliln's demand that Germany pay the Soviet Union $20 billion in war damages. Poland proved the most difficult issue at Yalta. The meeting stoped until Stalin agreed on elections to let Poles choose their government. -
The United Nations
The United Nations was a way to create a new international peacekeeping organization. Delegates from 50 nations met in San Francisco to adopt a charter for the UN. It stated that the members would try to settle their differences peacefully and would promot justice and cooperation in solving international problems. Representatives of 11 countries sat on a Security Council. The U.S., the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, and China had permanent seats on the Security Council. -
The Potsdam Conference
Truman had his first meeting with Stalin in the Berlin suburb of Potsdam. Here they continued their issues that had divided them at Yalta, including the future of Germany and of Poland. Also, Truman got word that the atom bomb had been tested in New Mexico. Hoping to intimidate Stalin, Truman told him that the United states had a new weapon of extraordinary force. However, Stalin already knew about the bomb, so he simply nodded and said that he hoped it would be put to good use. -
The Army-McCarthy Hearings
The hearing was to show McCarthy for who he really was. The Democrats wanted it to be televised in this instinst. Most of the people that watched, were horrified by McCarthy's bullying tactics and baseless allegations. By the end of the hearing, the senator lost even his strongest supporters. Although McCarthy remained in the Senate, his power was gone -
The Launch of Sputnik
The Soviets focused on long-range rockets in order to help match the Americans strength since they were unable to match it in airplanes. The Soviets soon used one of their rockets to launch the Sputinik, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. Americans were shocked and scared when they realized that rocket could carry a hydrogen bomb to American shores. -
The U-2 Incident
The Soviet military demonstrated arms calpabilities by using a guided missile to shoot down an American U-2 spy plane over Soviet territory. American officials assumed that they were invulnerable to the attack because the planes flew more than 15 miles high. The U-2 shattered their confidence, making them reconsider their resources to catch up-and surpass- the Soviet Union.
