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Dwight Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890 and was a five-star general and Allied Commander during the D-Day invasion of France in 1944. In 1952, He became president of the U.S. and stood on a simple platform of anti-communism, anti-corruption, and anti-big government. In 1954, Eisenhower articulated the ‘domino theory’ – The idea that if Communists were allowed to prevail in one country, it would soon spread throughout the region. Eisenhower died in Washington, D.C. on March 28, 1969.
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John F. Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 and came from an illustrious political family. Before America joined World War 2, John joined the navy and saw action throughout the Pacific theatre. He was America’s second youngest elected president. He oversaw the Cuban Missile Crisis and was able to get the Russians to remove their nuclear weapons from Cuba. John F Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and put on trial for his murder.
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Fidel Castro was born at his father's farm on August 13, 1926. He adopted anti-imperialist politics while studying at the University of Havana. Castro converted Cuba into a one-party socialist state under Communist Party rule, the first in the Western hemisphere. He retired in 2008. In December 2014, he was awarded the Chinese Confucius Peace Prize for seeking peaceful solutions to his nation's conflict with the U.S. and for his post-retirement efforts to prevent nuclear war.
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The U.S.S.R. was trying to reach out to expand communism as much as possible. According to this picture, the U.S.was not much of a threat to the Russians.
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This picture is Castro and Kennedy are fighting about the Missile Crisis. Kennedy is about to invade Cuba if Castro did not surrender. They are sitting on the missiles there would have launched at each other. Castro was nervous and he knew if America invaded Cuba it would destroy the country and some of communism. Castro promises Kennedy to withdraw if Kennedy did not invade.
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1937 cartoon by Joseph L. Parrish in the Chicago Tribunes warning FDR's executive branch reorganization plan is a power grab.
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Allies of World War 2 divide Germany into four occupation zones. Free elections are to be held in all countries previously occupied by Nazi Germany. United nations to replace League of Nations.
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Truman informs Stalin that the U.S. has nuclear weapons. The allied powers split up Germany in four zones. Nuremberg trials against Nazi war criminals begin.
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The United states drops a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Two days later, the Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria. The U.S. drops another bomb on Nagasaki and Japan surrenders.
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Enver Hoxha declares the People's Republic of Albania as the first European communist government.
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The U.S. president Harry Truman announces the doctrine first by giving aid to Greece and Turkey to prevent them from falling to the Soviet Union.
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NATO FOUNDED (4 APR 1949) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an organization meant to resist communist expansion. It contains Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
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The Soviet Union tests it's first atomic bomb. The Soviet Union is now the world's second nuclear power.
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The communist North Korea invades the democratic South Korea. This causes tension between the United Nations and the Soviet Union.
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The Castle Bravo was an American Hydrogen Bomb, which became the most powerful weapon to be tested in the United States. The Castle Bravo was dropped over Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, After-effects of the bomb spread past the testing sight and began to affect civilians. This began to worry others of the negitive effects of testing.
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The Warsaw Pact is founded in Eastern Europe and includes East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union.
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The Soviets launch the world's first man made satellite, Sputnik. This allowed the USSR to track the united states and a leader in technology advancements.
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Fidel Castro becomes the Leader of Cuba but refrains from officially declaring the country communist.
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The Soviets have been secretly installing military bases in Cuba. Kennedy orders a naval blockade of the island. This brings the US and the USSR to the brink of war. Both sides reach a compromise. The Soviets withdraw their missiles from Cuba and the Americans withdraw their missiles from turkey.
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The United States builds up their military in Vietnam to defend the South. United States begin bombing of North Vietnam.
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Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty and SALT agreement. The United States and Soviet Union agreed to limit the number of nuclear missiles in their arsenals.
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The United States and its allies boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
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This music video, "Cold War" by Marsha Ambrosious, relates to the actions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. because of its lyrics. The song talks about struggles during a relationship in the terms of a "Cold War," but it ironically mirrors the ideas of the actual Cold War -
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