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Russian Communist Revolution
two revolutions, the first of which, in March, overthrew the imperial government and the second of which, in November, placed the Bolsheviks in power.In 1919 Lenin stated that his new state was surrounded by a "hostile capitalist encirclement", and he viewed diplomacy as a weapon that should be used in order to keep the Soviet Union's enemies divided, beginning with the establishment of the Communist International, which called for revolutionary upheavals -
The Treaty of Versailles
The Treat of Versailles ended WWI when it was sign on June 28th, 1919. It was organized by the allies, and punished Germany for WWI, by making Germany take the blame for WWI, to cut down on the German military and to make Germany pay for damages caused in the war. The treaty is important because it caused Germany to go in debt and caused hyperinflation in the country. The treaty is one of the biggest causes of WWII because with the debt and inflation, it lead the rise of Hitler and another war. -
League of Nations
The League of Nations was created on January 10th, 1920 and was founded by President Woodrow Wilson. It was the first international organization and it was created to maintain world peace. Its primary goals were to prevent wars and to disarm and settle dispute through negotiation. The League of Nations failed because the United States never joined, the Soviet Union joined late but only for a brief amount of time. Germany, Japan, Italy, and Spain had all withdrew from the League of Nations. -
Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg, Germany, was chosen as a site for trials that took place in 1945 and 1946. Judges from Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States presided over the hearings of twenty-two major Nazi criminals. Twelve Nazis were sentenced to death.The new generation of judges, politicians and academics was increasingly sympathetic to international criminal justice, and adopted the Nuremberg precedent by dealing judicially with crimes committed in the East during the Cold War. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference,1945, was the WWII meeting of the heads of government of the U.S, the UK and the USSR for the purpose of discussing Germany and Europe's postwar reorganization. The three states were represented by President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Premier Stalin. Although most of these agreements were initially kept secret, the revelations of the conference became controversial after Soviet-American wartime cooperation degenerated into the Cold War. -
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. The organization is tasked to promote international cooperation and to create and maintain international order.During the Cold War collective security failed once again, as most of the world was divided into two blocs. Due to the rigid structure of the UN that was intended to maintain the status quo of the international world order, the Security Council often found itself in a stalemate situation, unable to act efficiently. -
Nuclear Deterrent
the military doctrine that an enemy will be deterred from using nuclear weapons as long as he can be destroyed as a consequence when two nations both resort to nuclear deterrence the consequence could be mutual destruction -
Baruch Plan
The Baruch Plan was a proposal, written by Bernard Baruch and based on the Acheson - Lilienthal Report, to the UNAEC during its first meeting in June. The U.S, Great Britain and Canada called for an international organization to regulate atomic energy and President Truman responded by asking Dean Acheson and David E. Lilienthal to make a plan.
The failure of the plan to gain acceptance resulted in a dangerous nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. -
General Assembly
The General Assembly was the first meeting of the newly created United Nations. It began on January 10th, 1946 in London where 51 countries were represented. Functions in the General Assembly include admitting new members, selecting members from the Economic and Social Council to become nonpermanent members of the security council. One of the important things include that there were many disagreements between certain countries. The General Assembly has also dealt with events in the Cold War. -
Iron Curtain Speech
Winston Churchill visited Westminster College and delivered "Sinews of Peace," a message heard round the world that went down in history as the "Iron Curtain Speech."
Winston Churchill condemns the Soviet Union's policies in Europe and declares, “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”
It is remembered as the announcement to the world of the beginning of the Cold War -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was created by President Harry S. Truman on March 12th, 1947 and it was further developed on July 12th, 1948 when he pledged to contain certain threats to the countries Turkey and Greece. The Truman Doctrine was the foreign policy for the United States and it was created to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. In the document direct military force was not involved. The Truman Doctrine implied American support for nations threaten by Soviet Communism. -
Marshal Plan
The Marshal Plan was an American initiative to help aid to Western Europe economic assistance to rebuild Western Europe economies after WWII. The U.S. gave over $13 billion dollars in order to help to rebuild different Western Europe economies. The Marshall Plan started on April 3rd, 1948 and it set different goals. Some of those were: To rebuild war-torn nations, to remove trade barriers, to modernize industry, and to prevent the spread of Communism. It also gave more aid to allied powers. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift began on June 24th, 1948 and it was used to get supplies to West Berlin after the Soviet Union blockaded accessible sectors into West Berlin. In response, many Western Allies organized the Berlin Airlift in order to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin. The airlifts occurred between June 24th, 1948 to September 30th, 1949. Over 200,000 flights provided the people of West Berlin 8,893 tons of supplies such as fuel and food. The blockade was lifted on May 12th, 1949. -
NATO created
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance between several North American and European countries based on the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949
the prospect of further Communist expansion prompted the United States and 11 other Western nations to form NATO. The Soviet Union and its affiliated nations founded the Warsaw Pact. This alignment provided the framework for the military standoff that continued throughout the Cold War -
Chinese Communist Revolution
The Chinese Communist Revolution started from 1946, after the end of Second Sino-Japanese War, and was the second part of the Chinese Civil War. It was the culmination of the Chinese Communist Party's drive to power after its founding in 1921. Mao Zedong led communist forces in China through a long revolution beginning in 1927. Along with Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, Mao is considered one of the most significant communist figures of the Cold War. -
Joseph McCarthy speech
During a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy claims that he has a list with the names of over 200 members of the Department of State that are “known communists.” The speech vaulted McCarthy to national prominence and sparked a nationwide hysteria about subversives in the American government. "mccarthyism" the hunt for communists in the United States came to be did untold damage to many people’s lives and careers, had a muzzling effect on domestic debate on Cold War issues -
The Korean War
The Korean War began when 75,000 North Korean soldiers invaded South Korea with a goal of uniting the two countries under communism, with the USSR and China supporting The North while the U.S. supported the South. The Korean War began on June 25th, 1950 and it ended on July 27th, 1953, which lead to a military stalemate and the creation of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. It is important because it is one of the proxy wars between the Soviet Union and the U.S. and it leads to current events today. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was created after the west created an alliance called NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). In response to this, The Soviet Union created and alliance called the Warsaw Pact on May 14th, 1955 in Warsaw Poland and it was dissolved on July 1st, 1991. The Warsaw Pact members include The Soviet Union, Romania, Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Albania. -
Sputnik launched
Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-Soviet Union space race.the launch of Sputnik served to intensify the arms race and raise Cold War tensions. During the 1950s, both the United States and the Soviet Union were working to develop new technology. -
Fidel Castro Proclaims Communist Cuba
Cuban leader Fidel Castro established the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere after leading an overthrow of the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. He ruled over Cuba for nearly five decades. During that time Castro’s Cuba also had a highly antagonistic relationship with the United States–most notably resulting in the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. -
MAD
Mutual assured destruction is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender. It is based on the theory of deterrence. The strategy is a form of Nash equilibrium in which, once armed, neither side has any incentive to initiate a conflict or to disarm. -
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion began on April 17th, 1961 and it was a failed military invasion of Cuba by the United States to overthrow the communist Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. With the U.S. army there was a counter-revolutionary military group made of mostly Cuban exiles and were trained by the C.I.A. and U.S. military personnel. The reason why it is important with the Cold War is because the U.S. was humiliated with the failure of the invasion and trying to have redemption with further events. -
Building of Berlin Wall Begins
The Berlin Wall was built on August 13th, 1961 and it divided Berlin into two half's (Communist East Berlin and Capitalist West Berlin). As the wall was built, East Germany claimed that it was building the wall to stop Western spies, but the wall was actually built to keep citizens from leaving the east section of the city for West Germany, but West Germans were still able to enter East Germany via permit. The Berlin Wall was also part of the Iron Curtain to separate the communist Eastern Block. -
Berlin Wall
Construction for the wall started on August 13th, 1961 by
by East Germany and it dived Berlin into two sections. The wall included guard towers that and an area known as the "death strip" that contains anti vehicle trenches and many other defenses. The wall served to prevent massive emigration and defection to West Germany. 100,000 people attempted an escape only 5,000 succeeded with a death toll ranging from 136-200. The Berlin Wall was demolished on June 13th 1990 and was finished in 1992. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviets brought missiles into Cuba which made the U.S. very fearful of another war starting. Even though the U.S. had proof of their missiles in Cuba, then Soviets kept denying it. The cold war is what made this worse because the U.S. and Soviets practically hated each other. However, they eventually made an agreement which averted war from happening -
U.S. Sends Troops To Vietnam
In 1965, the U.S. sent the first American Troops into Vietnam to fight to stop North Vietnam from spreading communism into South Vietnam. Just like the Korean War, Vietnam was divided into two different countries with the communist North and capitalist South. By 1969 more than 540,000 American troops were sent to Vietnam. As more troops were sent, it was a very bad idea because of how many people wanted the U.S. out of the Vietnam War. It is known as a proxy war during the cold war. -
Non-Proliferation Agreement
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament .As well as limit escalation of the ongoing Cold War -
Apollo 11
The Apollo 11 mission was one of the most significant events in the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. After the USSR launched Sputnik, the first satellite, and successfully sent a man into space, America rushed to develop the technology that the Soviets already had. This race was started because of the cold war rivalry between them -
Kent State Shooting
The Kent State shootings were the shootings on May 4, 1970 of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio during a mass protest against the bombing of Cambodia by United States military forces. the Kent State Shootings became the focal point of a nation deeply divided by the Vietnam War. -
SALT (I/II)
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union that were aimed at curtailing the manufacture of strategic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The first agreements, known as SALT I and SALT II, were signed by the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1972 and 1979, respectively, and were intended to restrain the arms race in strategic ballistic missiles armed with nuclear weapons. -
Fall Of Saigon
The Liberation of Saigon, was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam on 30 April 1975. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period to the formal reunification of Vietnam under the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. it marked not only the end of the Vietnam War, but the beginning of the formal reunification of Vietnam under Communist Rule. -
Deng Xiaoping
Deng was a Chinese politician. He was the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China from 1978 until his retirement in 1989. Deng led his country through far-reaching market-economy reforms. While Deng never held office as the head of state, head of government or General Secretary, he nonetheless was responsible for economic reforms and an opening to the global economy He also worked to enhance diplomatic ties with neighboring countries like Japan, the Soviet Union -
Pope John Paul II
John Paul served as Pope and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 to 2005. John Paul II is recognized for helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. He upheld the Church's teachings on such matters as artificial contraception and the ordination of women. -
Soviets invade Afghanistan
invasion of Afghanistan in late December 1979 by troops from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union intervened in support of the Afghan communist government during the Afghan War and remained in Afghanistan until mid-February 1989. The Soviet Afghanistan War was fought between Afghanistan rebels called the Mujahideen and the Soviet supported Afghanistan government.The United States supported the Afghanistan rebels in order to overthrow the communist government and prevent the spread of communism. -
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She was the longest serving British prime minister and the first woman to have been appointed. She implemented policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism. Thatcher helped bring change and tear down the Iron Curtain.She was able to achieve mutual understanding with the soviets, and this contributed to a change in the atmosphere between the USSR and the West which helped end the Cold War. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall took place on November 9th, 1989 when the head of the East German Communist Party announced that the people of East Germany could cross the border whenever they wanted to. On that night, crowds swarmed the wall. Many crossed into West Berlin and some brought hammers and picks to chip away at the Berlin Wall. It was completely removed in 1992. The importance of the fall of the Berlin Wall is that it remains one of the most powerful symbols after the Cold War. -
Lech Walesa
He co-founded and headed Solidarity (the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union) and served as President of Poland. The leadership of Lech Walesa helped bring down the Communist government in Poland, which influenced reforms against Communism throughout Eastern Europe. Walesa led an anti-Communist organization, formed in 1980, which fought for political, economic and civil rights to improve conditions. -
START (I/II)
START was a bilateral treaty between the U.S. and USSR on the limitation of strategic offensive arms. signed in 1991, The treaty stopped the deployment of more than 6,000 nuclear warheads and a total of 1,600 intercontinental ballistic missiles and bombers. START 2 was signed by U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin banning the use of multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles on intercontinental ballistic missiles. It never entered into effect.
