-
Iron Curtain
The iron curtain was a symbol of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the allies, but mostly the United States. The Iron curtain was an imaginary borderline put between communist controlled Europe in the East and the non-communist allied states areas in West. A line of actual physical defenses were erected between the Soviet Union controlled or influenced areas and the allied areas. The Iron Curtain finally fell in 1989. -
USSR: East Germany
The GDR, or German Democratic Republic, was a state in Eastern Europe during the Cold war. It was controlled by the Soviet Union, but eventually the USSR gave some power to the German communist leaders. The Soviet Union gave aid to the GDR during uprisings, and eventually as many Germans tried to go over to West Germany, the USSR and the GDR suppressed them and built a wall to keep them from leaving. -
Zhdanov Doctrine
The Zhdanov Doctrine was created by Soviet Secretary Andrei Zhdanov. It was a cultural doctrine that stated the world was divided into 2 groups: imperialistic and democratic. Under this policy artists in the Soviet Union had to conform to what the government wanted or risk being persecuted. -
Truman Plan
The Truman Doctrine is frequently considered to be the beginning of the Cold War, and was the start of the containment policy. It was an international relations policy set in place by President Truman that said the U.S. would give Turkey and Greece military and economic aid to keep them from being forced into the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence. Great Britain had been supporting Greece before the Truman Doctrine, but they were in financial troubles. When they could no longer support Greece, -
Containment
Containment was a U.S. policy to “contain” the Soviet Union and stop the spread of communism. It was started after the Soviet Union started to try and increase communist influence in Eastern Europe, China, Korea, Africa, and Vietnam. Some examples of containment strategies were the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Truman Doctrine, and the Marshall Plan. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan, also called the European Recovery Program, was a program created by the U.S. as another form of containment. The Marshall Plan allows the U.S. to give financial support to European countries to help rebuild their economies. This was done to stop them from falling to the Soviet Union and to stop the spread of Communism. -
USSR: Cominform
Cominform was the first international communist since “Comintern.” It was a group of communist parties largely led by the Soviet Union. The purpose of Cominform was to coordinate actions between the different communist parties, under the direction and guidance of the Soviet Union. -
Apartheid
Apartheid was a system of segregation by race put in place in South Africa by the National Party Governments. It separated black people from white people and made white people superior to black people. Under the Apartheid, segregation education, medical care, beaches, etc. was made between whites and blacks, and all the services to blacks were made inferior to those of whites. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was an airlift started by the U.S. and Great Britain. The airlift gave food and supplies to the people of West Berlin. The airlift also shipped in raw materials to keep West Berlin’s factories running, and even shipped out the finished products. The Soviet Union never really tried to stop the airlift, and eventually gave up and lifted the blockade in May in 1949. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first main international emergencies. The U.S. had started to try ad revive democracy in West Berlin, which the communists couldn't stand. The Soviet Union decided to blockade the German border in the East from all water and land traffic from the West, which blocked any supplies from coming into West Berlin, whose began to starve. -
America: NATO
NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was formed between 12 western nations including the U.S. and England. All the countries who signed the NATO treaty agreed to take action against any country in NATO was attacked, namely by the Soviet Union. It was mainly set up as a system of defense against the Soviet Union and its allies. -
USSR: Nuclear Bomb Test
After the U.S. developed the first atomic bombs, the nuclear arms race began with the USSR also wanting atomic bombs. They had spy groups and spies, like Ethel and Julius Rosenbergt the secret of the atomic bomb from the U.S. They had their first atomic bomb test called First Lightning on August 29, 1949, and the bomb was very similar in design to the U.S. Fat Man. -
Domino Theory
The Domino Theory was a theory supported by the U.S. The Domino Theory said that if one country became influenced by communism, then the countries surrounding it would to in a “domino effect.” The U.S. used this theory to justify American intervention in many countries during the Cold War. -
Korean War
The Korean War was a war between United Nations supported South Korea (Republic of Korea) and Soviet Union supported North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea). After the occupation of North and South Korea by the Soviet Union and the U.S., the border between them was known as the 38th parallel. South Korea established a Right-Wing Government, while North Korea established a Communist Government. The war officially began when North Korean troops invaded South Korea. After the invasion t -
America: 22nd Amendment
President Roosevelt had been the only U.S. president to serve for more than two presidential terms, instead serving four consecutive terms. Some presidents before him, like Ulysses S. Grant and Grover Cleveland, had tried to serve more than two terms but had not been reelected for a third term. The 22nd amendment barred presidents from ever serving more than two presidential terms. -
America: Polio Epidemic
Polio paralyzed or killed over half a million people worldwide every year, but in the 1950’s it was especially bad. Polio had formerly affect infants to children 6 months old, and would be very mild and make them immune to the disease. In the 20th century, however, the peak age moved to ages 3-9, and over 1/3 of the cases were those over 15. This later aged polio increased the chance of the person affected becoming paralyzed. 1952 was the U.S.’s worst outbreak ever, with 57,628 cases of polio. -
USSR: Joseph Stalin Dies
Joseph Stalin died on March 5, 1953 from complications from a stroke. Even so, some people think that he was poisoned by members of his own party. Even after Stalin’s death the Cold War continued. -
America: Brown vs. Board of Education
Oliver Brown was an African American man who joined the law suit Board of Education of the City of Topeka, Kansas, because his friend’s daughter had to travel one mile away to go to a segregated school when the white school was only 7 blocks away from her house. The Supreme Court reviewed the case. They ruled that segregated schools were unlawful, and called for the desegregation of schools. -
USSR: Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was the Soviet Union’s response to West Germany joining NATO. It was formed between eastern nations and was a 20 year mutual defense pact. The Warsaw Pact troops outnumbered the NATO troops, but the Western Powers had nuclear weapons. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was fought between communist supported North Vietnam, and the Government of South Vietnam, supported by the U. S. and other anti-communist nations. The U.S. helped in the war as a way to contain and prevent the spread of communism. The government of North Vietnam and the Viet Cong communist rebels in the South Vietnam were trying to unite the county under communist control. -
America: Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott started when African American U.S. citizen Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. She was arrested and taken away to prison for a time. On December 20, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court decision declared the Alabama and Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses were unconstitutional and that had to be desegregated. -
USSR: Hungarian Revolution of 1956
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was a random nationwide revolt against the government of the Hungary controlled by the Soviet Union. It was the first major threat to Soviet rule since driving out the Nazi’s at the end of WWII. The revolt was started by students and spread quickly until the Hungarian government collapsed. The Soviet government eventually suppressed the revolution and all public opposition. -
USSR: Sputnik 1
The Soviet Union was the first nation to successfully launch a satellite into orbit. Sputnik’s diameter was 23 in. and it had four radio antennas on the outside of it. The launching of Sputnik greatly alarmed the Americans and started the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. -
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward was a campaign of the Communist Party of China, whose aim was to change China from an agrarian economy into a communist common wealth. It was led by Mao Zedong, who had supported a communist revolution of the peasants when Chiang Kai-shek opposed communism. The Greta Leap Forward was meant to modernize and industrialize China, but instead ended in a massacre and famine. -
USSR: Luna 2
The Soviet space program was directed by Sergei Korolev, an expert on rockets. After successfully launching Sputnik and other crafts into orbit, the USSR tried to Launch Luna 1 to the moon. Luna 1, however, missed the moon. Luna 2 actually landed on the moon though, the first craft to ever do so. Before Luna 2 landed, it collected valuable data about the moon. -
USSR: Animals Alive in Space and Back
Many nations had been trying for years to get into space. For the few that managed that feat, the next step was to launch animals in space and bring them back alive, but no one could do it for many years. The Soviet Union was the first to launch two dogs, Belka and Strelka, into space and bring them back alive. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Before the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Fidel Castro, a young Cuban Nationalist, had taken his troops and had overthrown U.S. backed Cuban president Fulgencio Batista. The U.S. then launched an invasion of Cuba by 1,400 U.S. trained Cubans, who were defeated in 24 hours. After the failed invasion, Castro started to openly proclaim Cuba’s intention to adopt socialism and strengthen ties with the Soviet Union. This led to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1961. -
America: Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the major confrontations in the cold war, one that nearly escalated into nuclear war. After the Bay of Pigs, Cuba wanted to make sure the U.S. would not try to invade again. Castro met secretly with the USSR, and they agreed to plant some nuclear weapons in Cuba as a deterrent to the U.S. The U.S. was alarmed and put a military blockade around Cuba. Eventually the crisis ended, the USSR took their nuclear weapons back, and the U.S. promised to never invade Cub -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a military campaign launched by communist North Vietnam and communist rebels in South Vietnam called the Viet Cong. North and South Korea had agreed on a two day break where there would be no fighting during the Tet Lunar New Year celebrations. Even with this agreement in place, the Communists started an attack during the first day of the Tet, and the next day the whole country was being struck by well-coordinated Communist troops. -
America: Kent State Shootings
The Kent State Massacre happened at Kent state University in Kent, Ohio. Many of the college students had been protesting the Cambodian Campaign, but were not causing any damage and were unarmed. The National Guard were there trying to control the protests but were outnumbered and did not know what to do. They opened fire on the students and tossed tear gas at them, killing four students, leaving one severely paralyzed, and many other injured. -
America: 26th Amendment
President Dwight Eisenhower was the first president to publically state his support for people eighteen and older to vote. However, Student protests in the Vietnam War were what really caused the 26th to be adopted. The 26th amendment states that all U.S. citizens eighteen and older are allowed to vote. -
Water Gate Scandal
The Watergate Scandal was a political scandal that happened in the U.S. during the reelection campaign of President Nixon. It was when some burglars were caught trying to steal secret documents and tap the phone lines at the office of the Democratic National Committee. The FBI soon discovered that Nixon was involved and had tried to cover the whole thing up. Knowing he would probably be impeached, Nixon became the first president to resign. -
1972 Olympics: Munich Massacre
The 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany are known for having a massacre occur during them. The Israeli and Palestinians were fighting during this time, so tensions were very high. During the Olympics, the Palestinian group Black September took 11 members of the Israeli team hostage, and eventually killed them. -
OPEC
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was in 1960 because of concerns of the unequal relationship between rich and poor states. OPEC hoped to make industrial economies that relied on oil vulnerable to the pressures of third world countries. OPEC quadrupled the price of crude oil, which caused increased inflation and recession in the West. -
USSR: Soviet Constitution
The third and last Soviet constitution was adopted on Oct, 7, 1977. It said that the Soviet state had become the state of the people. The new constitution also stated that the gov. no longer just represented workers and peasants, but all the people of the Soviet Union. -
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were peace accords between Egypt and Israel, and were signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat, and U.S. president Jimmy Carter signed as a witness. The Camp David Accords stated that Israel would withdraw their forces from Sinai Peninsula so that Egypt could gain full control of it, and that Israeli ships could pass through the Suez Canal. Israel was also supposed to allow self-rule to the Palestinians in Israeli controlled West B -
America: Jonestown Massacre
The Jonestown massacre was the most deadly non-natural disaster in the U.S. until 9/11. Jim Jones crated the People’s Temple, which was a church that focused on helping people in need. He had many people join, and eventually moved the People’s Temple to Guyana. Things went wrong when the U.S. gov. started to investigate Jonestown and found out that bad things were happening. It was then that Jim Jones forced the people at Jonestown to drink Cyanide poison, killing 918 people. -
USSR: Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty
The Soviet Union always tried to from alliances and get the support of the countries surrounding it. But, pro-Soviet regime was extremely unpopular in Afghanistan. The way they thought to prop up the regime was to sign a friendship treaty with the Afghan government, under which they agreed to provide economic and military aid for Afghanistan. -
Ayatollah Khomeini
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was the religious and political leader of the Iranian Revolution. He overthrew Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, who was supported by the U.S. even though he was a dictator hated by his people. When he was allowed in the U.S., the Iranians were afraid he might return, and took 52 Americans hostage, which became known as Iran Hostage Crisis. The Iranian and U.S. government eventually reached an agreement, and the hostages were set free. -
Perestroika and Glasnost
The Soviet Union faced many economical and other problems. When s Mikhail S. Gorbachev became secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, he began to democratize the Soviet Union. His programs of “Perestroika" ("Restructuring") and "Glasnost" ("Openness”) drastically changed the Soviet Union. For example, price controls were lifted and people had a slight say in the government. He also ended the Communist government in Eastern Europe, which ended the Cold War. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
The Tiananmen Square Protests began in April of 1989 when liberal reformer Hu Yaobang died. College students came to Tiananmen Square to mourn him and to oppose inflation, corruption of the government, etc. They said they wanted freedom of the press and speech, government accountability, and worker control over industries. As the protests spread to over 400 cities, the government declared martial law and injured and killed thousands of unarmed protestors with rifles and tanks. -
NAFTA
NAFTA stands for the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA was and is the largest free trade area NAFTA includes the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
