-
Period: to
Cold war 1947-1966
-
Truman Doctrine
The U.S. committed to support free peoples resisting communism, starting with aid to Greece and Turkey. This marked the beginning of America's containment policy. -
Marshall Plan
An act where the U.S. offered massive financial aid to rebuild European economies that were broken by the war. It aimed to prevent the spread of communism by fostering economic stability -
Hollywood Ten Testify Before HUAC
The House Un-American Activities Committee investigated communist influence in the U.S. film industry. Ten screenwriters and directors refused to answer questions which then were cited for contempt, and blacklisted. -
Takeover in Czechoslovakia
The communist party in Czechoslovakia was able to take full control of the nation's government in February 1948 thanks to support and aid from the Soviet Union. The communist party then rigged the ensuing elections in May. -
The Brussels Treaty
Britain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands ratified the Brussels Treaty, which established a broad defensive alliance, to protect western European countries from communism. In the end, NATO and the Western European Union were established as a result. -
Soviet Union Blockades West Berlin
The Soviet Union made the decision to blockade West Berlin's entrance points in an effort to take control of the entire city. The US replied by sending 2.3 million tons of supplies for West Berlin via the Berlin Airlift. -
NATO was informed
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, was established to defend numerous European nations against the Soviet Union and other potential invaders. Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States were among the founding members. -
Berlin Blockade Ends
The Soviets dropped the blockade on land access from West Berlin after discovering that the Berlin Blockade had been rendered meaningless because the west had been able to get around it by flying the supplies in. -
Soviet union bomb test
In August of 1949, the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb, which was known in the west as Joe-1. The bomb was tested at Semipalatinsk Test Site, in Kazakhstan. -
SOviet union Atomic bomb test
After the Soviet Union successfully tested its own atomic bomb, Truman wanted to reinstate U.S. superiority. He approved the development of a new Hydrogen Bomb which was shown to be over a hundred times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. -
Joe McCarthy anti-communist speech
During a time period in the U.S, known as the Red Scare, many were afraid of communism spreading throughout the country. Joe McCarthy, or McCarthyism, were set on catching communists and putting them on trial for working for the Soviets. Dozens were put on trial for treason, including some higher-up officials. -
Korean War Begins
In June of 1950, with aid and support from The Soviet Union, North Korea invaded South Korea over the 38th parallel, hoping to conquer the South and reunite with Korea under the North Korean regime. This prompted the United States and the UN to get involved and send aid to the south. -
Communist Party
The Australian High Court declares the Communist Party Dissolution Act, passed the previous October, to be unconstitutional. Prime minister Robert Menzies promises to seek a referendum on the matter. -
William oatis arrested
Famous American foreign correspondent in Prague, is arrested by Czechoslovakian authorities and charged with espionage. The charges are based only on information published in Oatis’ news reports. -
treaty of San francisco
The US and 47 other nations sign the Treaty of San Francisco, resolving World War II hostilities with Japan. The Soviet Union and several Soviet bloc countries do not sign, opting to sign their own treaty with Japan. -
Greece and Turkey Join NATO
Greece was formally welcomed as one of NATO's first new members since the creation of the Alliance in 1949, along with Turkey. His Majesty King Paul I, king of the Hellenes, signs the Instrument of accession for Greece in Athens on 11 February 1952. -
The US Detonates ‘Ivy Mike’
The US detonates a thermonuclear weapon called ‘Ivy Mike’ in the Marshall Islands. Its yield is 10.4 megatons, more than 400 times more powerful than the atomic devices used against Japan in World War II. -
Eisenhower Is President
Former World War II military commander Dwight Eisenhower is elected president of the United States. Eisenhower defeats Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson, carrying 39 states to Stevenson’s nine. -
Asian Socialist Conference
The first meeting of the Asian Socialist Conference begins in Rangoon, Burma. It is attended by socialist party leaders from nine Asian nations. -
Stalin's Death
He died suddenly in early March 1953 after a short illness, which was described in a series of medical bulletins in the Soviet newspaper Pravda. Based on both the clinical history and autopsy findings, it was concluded that Stalin had died of a massive hemorrhagic stroke involving his left cerebral hemisphere. -
East Berlin Strike
Construction workers in East Berlin go on strike, protesting increases in their work quotas. Their strike grows into a public demonstration and protest involving around 50,000 East Germans -
Dulles Speaks at Dinnner
US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, speaking at a Council of Foreign Relations dinner, says the US will protect its allies with “massive retaliatory power”. Many consider this the starting point for the doctrine of ‘mutually assured destruction’. -
Viet Minh Defeat French
The Viet Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu. France withdraws from Indochina, leaving four independent states: Cambodia, Laos, and what became North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The Geneva Accords calls for free elections to unite Vietnam, but none of the major Western powers wish this to occur in the likely case that the Viet Minh (nationalist Communists) would win. -
The Taiwan Crisis
The Taiwan Strait Crisis begins with the Chinese Communist shelling of Taiwanese islands. The US backs Taiwan, and the crisis resolves itself as both sides decline to take action. -
The Asia-Africa Conference
Representatives from twenty-nine governments of Asian and African nations gathered in Bandung, Indonesia. They did this to discuss peace and the role of the Third World in the Cold War, economic development, and decolonization. -
Geneva Summit
President Dwight D. Eisenhower of the United States, Prime Minister Anthony Eden of the United Kingdom, Premier Nikolai A. Bulganin of the Soviet Union, and Prime Minister Edgar Faure of France, known as the 'Big Four', attend the Geneva Summit. Also in attendance was Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union. -
Diplomatic relations restored between West Germany and the Soviet Union
The resumption of diplomatic relations between the FRG and the USSR and the Hallstein Doctrine (1955) In 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the Soviet Union establish diplomatic relations in exchange, notably, for the liberation of the final German prisoners of war detained in the Soviet Union. -
The Soviet Union abolishes the Cominform
Cominform was officially dissolved on 17 April 1956 in a decision by the Central Committee of the CPSU, prompted by the Soviet rapprochement with Yugoslavia and the De-Stalinization process following the rise of Nikita Khrushchev as Stalin's successor -
Wladyslaw Gomulka Gets More in Polan
Wladyslaw Gomulka returns to power in Poland. He was a polish communist politician. He was the de facto leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948, and again from 1956 to 1970. -
Imre Nagy is appointed prime minister of Hungary
He served as Interior Minister of Hungary from 1945 to 1946. Nagy became prime minister in 1953 and attempted to relax some of the harshest aspects of Mátyás Rákosi's Stalinist regime, but was subverted and eventually forced out of the government in 1955 by Rákosi's continuing influence as General Secretary of the MDP. -
Eisenhower Special message
Eisenhower on January 5, 1957, within a "Special Message to the Congress on the Situation in the Middle East". Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a Middle Eastern country could request American economic assistance or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression -
Zhou Enlai visits the Soviet Union
He helped devise policies regarding disputes with the United States, Taiwan, the Soviet Union, India, Korea, and Vietnam. Zhou survived the purges of other top officials during the Cultural Revolution. -
Gaither Report
President Eisenhower receives a report from his scientific advisory committee. The Gaither Report, as it becomes known, announces a ‘missile gap’ and recommends the construction of more missiles and a network of nuclear shelters. -
Van Cliburn Wins the Inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition
American pianist Van Cliburn wins the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. The judging panel declares Cliburn the winner only after consulting Khrushchev. -
The Taiwan Straits Crisis
US warships are sent into the Taiwan Strait after the People’s Republic of China bombards the island of Kinmen and Taiwanese forces return fire. The fighting continues for a month and claims almost 3,000 lives. -
The Berlin Crisis
In November 1958, Khrushchev issued an ultimatum giving the Western Powers six months to agree to withdraw from Berlin and make it a free, demilitarized city. Later on the US and its allies reject Khrushchev’s ultimatum to withdraw from Berlin. -
US Secretary of State Resigns
US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles resigns, after receiving a diagnosis of terminal cancer. He dies on May 24th. -
The Kitchen Debate
The Kitchen Debate was a series of impromptu exchanges through interpreters between U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon, then 46, and Chairman of the Council of Ministers Nikita Khrushchev, 65, at the opening of the American National Exhibition at Sokolniki Park in Moscow. -
Khrushchev Meets Mao Zedong
After his visit to the US, Khrushchev meets with Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Beijing. However the final face-to-face meeting between Mao and Khruschev took place in October 2, 1959, when Khrushchev visited Beijing to mark the 10th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution -
Kennedy Announces He Is Running
John F. Kennedy announces his intention to run for the United States presidency in November. The 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy, then junior United States senator from Massachusetts, was formally launched on January 2, 1960, as Senator Kennedy announced his intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 1960 presidential election -
Eisenhower Endorses CIA Plan
US president Dwight Eisenhower endorses a CIA plan to overthrow the Castro regime in Cuba by supporting an invasion by Cuban exiles. This gives rise to the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961. -
First Televised Debate
On September 16, 1960, Kennedy and Nixon took part in the first televised debate between presidential candidates. Kennedy looked and spoke better than Nixon. Journalist Russel Baker said, “That night, image replaced printed word as the national language of politics." -
Eisenhower Gives Farewell Address
Outgoing US president Dwight Eisenhower delivers his farewell address and warns of the growing influence of a “military-industrial complex”. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. -
John F. Kennedy Is Sworn In As President
John F. Kennedy is sworn in as US president. In his inauguration speech, Kennedy warns that the US will “bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend [and] oppose any foe” to ensure the continuation of freedom. -
Tsar Bomba
The Tsar Bomba's yield was 50 megatons: ten times more powerful than all of the ordnance exploded during the whole of World War II. The mushroom cloud was 25 miles wide at its base and almost 60 miles wide at its top. At 40 miles high, it penetrated the stratosphere. -
Cuba and the Soviet Union Sign Trade Agreement
Cuba and the Soviet Union sign a trade agreement. Cuba and the USSR had signed a trade agreement by which the USSR had extended $100 million in trade credits. 2 The two countries had also agreed to collaborate in the UN and would probably resume diplomatic relations soon. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis Starts
In 1962 the Soviet Union began to secretly install missiles in Cuba to launch attacks on U.S. cities. The confrontation that followed, known as the Cuban missile crisis, brought the two superpowers to the brink of war before an agreement was reached to withdraw the missiles. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis Ends
The next morning, October 28, Khrushchev issued a public statement that Soviet missiles would be dismantled and removed from Cuba. The crisis was over but the naval quarantine continued until the Soviets agreed to remove their IL–28 bombers from Cuba and, on November 20, 1962, the United States ended its quarantine. -
Stig Wennerstrom Is Arrested
Swedish air force colonel Stig Wennerstrom is arrested for espionage, after passing secret documents to the Soviets. He is later sentenced to life in prison but paroled after serving 11 years. -
Limited Test Ban Treaty
On August 5, 1963, the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed by the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. After Senate approval, the treaty that went into effect on October 10, 1963, banned nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. -
Kennedy is Assassinated
US president John F. Kennedy is assassinated in the streets of Dallas. Kennedy’s vice president, Lyndon Johnson, becomes president. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident
The Gulf of Tonkin incident: North Vietnamese torpedo boats allegedly fire on the American warship USS Maddox. As a result of this incident the US becomes directly involved in the Vietnam War. -
Alexsei Kosygin becomes prime minister of the Soviet Union
When Khrushchev was removed from power in October 1964, Kosygin replaced him as Premier in a collective leadership that included Leonid Brezhnev as general secretary and Nikolai Podgorny who ultimately became Chairman of the Presidium. -
China Explodes First Atomic Bomb
China exploded an atom bomb at 1500 hours or 3 P.M.—3 A.M., New York time on Oct. 16, 1964, and thereby conducted successfully its first nuclear test. -
NLF Attack
A U.S. helicopter base and advisory compound in the central highlands of South Vietnam is attacked by NLF commandos. Nine Americans are killed and more than 70 are wounded. President Johnson immediately orders U.S. Navy fighter-bombers to attack military targets just inside North Vietnam. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
US and South Vietnamese planes commence Operation Rolling Thunder. This was an ongoing bombing campaign against military and industrial targets in North Vietnam. -
Limited Test Ban Treaty
On August 5, 1963, the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed by the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. After Senate approval, the treaty that went into effect on October 10, 1963, banned nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. -
Charles De Gaulle calls for United States forces to leave Vietnam
French president Charles de Gaulle urges the United States to get out of Vietnam. In a speech before 100,000 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, President Charles de Gaulle of France denounces U.S. policy in Vietnam and urges the U.S. government to pull its troops out of Southeast Asia. -
France Withdraws Troops from NATO
Asserting French independence: De Gaulle sought to reassert France's global stature and independence after the humiliations of World War II. He believed that NATO undermined French sovereignty and limited France's ability to pursue an independent foreign policy. -
United States air raid on Hanoi kills over 100 North Vietnamese civilians
here was a great fear that such bombing or an invasion of North Vietnam would escalate the conflict from being a merely a proxy war to a major escalation in hostilities between the superpowers of the US and both China and the Soviet Union. In fact it was feared that China would actually cross the border.