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Russian Revolution
Vladimir Lenin led the Bolsheviks in a revolution against Tsar Nicholas II. This formed the new communist government in the Soviet Union. -
Potsdam Conference
U.S. President Harry Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin met to discuss topics including the control of Germany and peace in Europe. Opposing Churchill and Truman, Joseph Stalin wanted to dominate Europe and spread Communism. -
Atomic Bomb - Hiroshima/Nagasaki
On August 6th, 1945, the U.S. B-29 dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. On August 9th, another B-29 dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki. These bombs killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese. -
Iron Curtain
At the end of World War II, the Soviet Union restricted itself from the rest of the continent, casting an "iron curtain" across Europe. -
Molotov Plan
The Molotov Plan was the Soviet Union's alternative to the United States's Marshall Plan. The goal was to rebuild Eastern European countries, stopping them from relying on American aid. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine aided countries, primarily Greece and Turkey, financially and any other way they could, in attempt to stop the spread of Communism. -
Hollywood Ten
The Hollywood Ten was a group of Hollywood workers who refused to answer the HUAC's questions about Communist relations. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was America's program to economically aid Western Europe and rebuild its countries after World War II. -
NATO
NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is an alliance between North America and Europe, which was originally established to stop the Soviet Union from taking control. -
Berlin Airlift
In response to the Berlin Blockade, the U.S. organized the Berlin Airlift, defending from the Soviet Union. With nearly 300,000 flights, supplies were sent to Berlin for over a year, causing the blockade to fail. -
Berlin Blockade
The U.S. strengthened Berlin's economy with the Truman Doctrine. This drove the Soviet Union to blockade Berlin, restricting France, Great Britain, and the United States from their sectors of it. -
Soviet Bomb Test
The Soviets tested their first nuclear bomb, the RDS-1. This was a turning point in the Cold War, as it struck competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to create the first hydrogen bomb. -
Alger Hiss Case
Alger Hiss, an American government official, was accused of being a Soviet spy and convicted of perjury. This caused Americans to fear that many other officials were spies. -
Rosenberg Trial
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were accused of selling nuclear secrets to Russia. This was a very controversial case, ending with the couple being executed and killed in the electric chair. -
Korean War
The North Korean Communist army carried out the first invasion of the Cold War by crossing the 38th parallel. America entered the war in July, aiding South Korea. When the war ended in 1953, Korea was still split. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the first battle of the Indochina War. The French wanted to win the war and have it be over, so they sent 12,000 paratroopers into the valley. -
Army-McCarthy Hearings
The Army-McCarthy hearings took place when McCarthy was accused of using improper influence for preferential treatment. -
Geneva Conference
At the Geneva Conference, world leaders decided that Vietnam would be divided at the 17th parallel, with the north ruled by Ho Chi Minh and the south ruled by a western administration. National elections would be held in 2 years to reunite Vietnam and let the Vietnamese choose their own government. -
Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union signed with Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria to compete with NATO as a sign of Communist dominance. -
Hugarian Revolution
A speech by Nikita Khrushchev drove a revolution against Communist rule. -
U2 Incident
After the CIA had been flying over the Soviet Union for several years, the USSR shot down an American U-2 spy plane. Its pilot, Francis Gary Powers, served two years in prison before being released in exchange for a Soviet spy. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion was the CIA's attempt to remove Fidel Castro from power. The invasion resulted in the U.S. surrendering after less than 24 hours. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was built to separate West Berlin from the rest of the city. On November 9, 1989, it was announced that the border could be crossed freely, and the wall was swarmed and many people attempted to break it down. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day period in which the U.S. deployed missiles in Italy and Turkey and the Soviet Union deployed missiles in Cuba. It resulted in both countries withdrawing their missiles. -
Assassination of Diem
Diem was assassinated by the American military, as authorized by JFK. -
Assassination of JFK
JFK was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas. Oswald shot Kennedy from the Texas School Book Depository Building, and he died 30 minutes later. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was when congress allowed President Johnson to wage war in response from 2 attacks on the USS Maddox. This is known as "The Blank Check" because the second attack never occurred, yet Johnson still declared the war. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Johnson approved the sustained bombing of targets in North Vietnam. It was supposed to last 8 weeks, but continued for over 3.5 years. -
Tet Offensive
North Vietnam attacked over 100 South Vietnamese cities in an attempt to drive America out of the war and stop the south from rebelling. It became a turning point in the war and started America's gradual withdrawal from the south. -
Assassination of RFK
Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan in the Ambassador Hotel on June 5, 1968. He was pronounced dead the following day. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
The Warsaw Pact (Poland, Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary, and the Soviet Union) invaded Czechoslovakia to stop reform. The invasion was led by the Soviet Union. -
Riots of Democratic Convention
Many Americans thought U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War was unnecessary, causing anti-war riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 12,000 police officers were called in and the riots became very violent. This was the first time that such strong opinions against war were expressed. -
Election of Nixon
After being defeated in the 1960 election, Nixon strengthened his position in the Republican Party and won the 1968 presidential election. -
Fall of Saigon
Nixon introduced the idea of Vietnamization, lessening U.S. troops in South Vietnam. This weakened the South Vietnamese army and caused Saigon to fall to North Vietnam and their communist forces. -
Kent State
Members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire at a Vietnam War protest, killing four Kent State University students and injuring nine. -
Nixon Visits China
Nixon met with China's Prime Minister, Zhou Enlai in Beijing. He called it “the week that changed the world" because he was the first U.S. president to visit the People's Republic of China. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
The cease-fire in Vietnam went into effect in January 1973, but both sides violated it and continued to fight. -
Reagan Elected
Ronald Regan was elected president in 1981 after being an actor and a California governor. -
SDI Announced
Reagon announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which proposed a missile defense system to protect the U.S. from nuclear weapons. -
Geneva Conference with Gorbachev
Reagan met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and they held a summit conference, during which large agreements were not made but a close relationship was formed. This benefited Reagan because he wanted to avoid nuclear attack, and it benefited Gorbachev by putting him closer to achieving his domestic reforms. -
‘Tear Down This Wall’ Speech
Reagan gave a speech to urge Gorbachev to remove the Berlin Wall and maintain a better relationship with the West. -
Fall of Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall fell when the head of the East German Communist Party announced that the border could be crossed freely. Many people swarmed the wall that night and started breaking it down.
