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Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution took place between March 8th, 1917 and June 16th, 1923. It started with the abolishment of monarchy and ended with the establishment of the Soviet Union, appointing Vladimir Lenin as the dictator. The Russian Revolution played a major role leading up to the Cold War, due to the USSR being one of the two super powers in the war. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference took place between July 17th, 1945 and August 2nd, 1945. President Truman and the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, were eager to establish democratic governments and political freedom throughout post war Europe. Their partner, Joseph Stalin had a desire to take over Europe and integrate a Communist regime in Europe. -
Atomic Bombs
On August 6th 1945 the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb developed by Eisenhower onto the city of Hiroshima in Japan after receiving the "ok" from president Truman. After this destruction of a major Japanese city it was expected they would surrender, however they had refused. This encouraged the U.S. to drop another Bomb onto the city of Nagasaki, which had ended the war for good. Stalin felt the necessity to have his red army develop their own bomb to stay level with U.S. forces. -
The Long Telegram
An American diplomat stationed in Moscow named George F. Kennan had written an eight thousand word telegraph to Washington. It soon became known as the "Long Telegraph" it proposed the idea of containment and spoke of deciphering the Soviets riddle. -
The Iron Curtain
A non-physical boundary between Eastern-Communist Europe and the Western Democratic countries of Europe. It began after Winston Churchill stated "an iron curtain has descended on this continent" -
Molotov Plan
The Molotov Plan was a system created by the Soviet Union in 1947 to help aid in the reconstruction both physically and economically, as long as they had alignment with the Soviet Union. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy that was expected to halt the geopolitical expansion of the Soviet Union. It was proposed to congress by President Harry S. Truman on March 29th, 1947. -
Hollywood 10
The Hollywood 10 were some of the few people who refused to answer the questions congress asked during the HUAC trial. Due to this they were convicted of contempt and black listed and believed to be communists. This prohibited the employment of any of them due to there connection to communism or the sympathy of it. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall plan was enacted in April of 1948, its intention was to aid western Europe in preventing poverty, hunger, desperation, and chaos. The overall purpose of it was the revival of a working economy of political and social conditions where free institutions can exist. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade took place between June 24th, 1948 and May 12 1949. The Soviet Union has blocked the Western Allies’ railway, road, and canal access to western controlled sectors of Berlin. The soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche Mark from West Berlin -
The Berlin Airlift
The US and Great Britain started the Berlin airlift after Stalin had blockaded the city. This allowed for all supplies necessary for life to be delivered to the city. -
NATO
NATO, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an international alliance that 29 countries are involved with. It was established to help maintain peace especially in the west Europe region. -
The Alger Hiss
Alger Hiss was an American government official who was accused of spying for the Soviet Union in 1948. The House Committee was eager to rule the case inconclusive due to the lack of evidence against Hiss. However Nixon had pressured the case to be carried on. -
First Soviet Bomb Test
The first Soviet Bomb test happened on August 29th 1949. The test and development of these bombs were ran by two soviet physicists, Andrei Sakharov and Igor Kurchatov. Without these tests the cold war would have quite possibly never happened. -
The Chinese Communist Revolution
The Chinese Communist Revolution was led by Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong. This event resulted in the proclamation of the Peoples Republic of China. The forming of this communist state contributed to the spread of communism which ultimately contributed to the cold war. -
The Rosenberg Trial
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were arrested after suspicion that they could be passing US bomb secrets to the Soviet Union. They claimed that it was prejudice and a hate crime due to their Jewish ethnic background. They had been convicted and sentenced to death by the electric chair. -
The Korean War
The Korean War took place June 25th 1950 to July 27 1953. This was one of the few major physical conflicts the US had during the cold war. It was fought between north and south Korea backed by the Chinese and the Russians, as well as the US and UK, respectively. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a treaty between the Soviet Union and seven other parts of the continent of Europe. The Warsaw Pact was a direct counter-reaction to Western Germany joining NATO. The Warsaw pact caused a mass increase in military force. -
Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution was a nationwide revolt against the Soviet-like policies imposed by the Hungarians People's Republic. It was started October 13rd 1956, and ended November 10th 1956. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed attempt by the US military to invade Cuba. On April 17th 1961, Brigade 2506 invaded Cuba through the Bay of Pigs in northern Cuba. The invasion lasted three days, ending in a Cuban victory. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a concrete barrier separating East and West Berlin during the Cold War. The construction of the wall was ordered by German Democratic Republic in east Germany. It was constructed in 1961 and was a physical ideological division between West Berlin (non-communist), and East Berlin (communist). It lasted 28 years before being taken down. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day conflict between the United States and The Soviet Union. It was initiated by the US when it was discovered that there were Nuclear Weapons being deployed into Cuba by the Soviets. -
Assassination of JFK
On November 22, 1963, President John F Kennedy was assassinated while riding through Dealey Plaza in Dallas Texas. Former US marine Lee Harvey Oswald had shot Kennedy from a nearby building. Kennedy was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital and was pronounced dead 30 minutes after the shooting. Oswald was convicted of the murder, but was later shot and killed by Jack Ruby. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
In August 1968 Czechoslovakia was invaded by five Warsaw pact countries, the Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria, East Germany, and Hungary. The invasion lasted two days. The invasion was successful in maintaining a communist regime in the country. -
Nixon Visits China
On February 21st, 1972 President Richard Nixon became the first US president to visit the Peoples Republic of China. This concluded the 25 year span of zero communication with the country. This was an incredibly important step to creating a relationship with China. -
Reagan Elected
Ronald Reagan defeated the democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter in 1980. He campaigned on the idea of increasing national defense and integrating supply-side economic policies. His winning of the election was heavily influenced by democrats being unhappy with Carter, the Iran Hostage Crisis as well as a plummeting economy. -
SDI Announced
SDI is the Strategic Defense Initiative which was proposed to be a missile defense system to protect the US from ballistic missile attacks by the Soviets. It was soon given the nickname "Star Wars" after the film by George Lucas. -
Geneva Conference With Gorbachev
The Geneva conference was held on November 19th and 20th, 1985. Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev met with US president Ronald Reagan. The two officials had conversation about creating peace between the two super powers. -
'Tear Down This Wall' Speech
The "Tear Down This Wall" Speech was given by President Ronald Reagan on June 12th, 1987. He called for Gorbachev to open the Berlin wall which had separated east and west Berlin since 1961. -
Fall of Berlin Wall
On November 9th 1989, the Iron Curtain that separated East and West Berlin. In 1990 the reunification of Germany took place, reuniting the country.
