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The Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a series of revolutions in Russia during 1917, leading to the downfall of Tsarist Russia, the establishment of the USSR, and the beginning of ideological tensions between the western world and communist Russia -
Potsdam Conference
The tensions beginning the Cold War emerged in this conference, with disagreements between the Soviet Union and the western powers aggravating the tensions. The disagreements were over how the Soviets were attempting to assimilate eastern europe and establish communism and the west's natural opposition to this. -
The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The unforeseen power of the bombs and the willingness of the U.S to use them broke the relations between the Soviets and the west, with progressively growing tensions now being their relationship -
Iron Curtain
After WW2, the Soviet Union would assimilate the eastern european countries of Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and East Germany to form a "buffer zone" between itself and the western world out of fear from German invasion and western geopolitical influence -
Truman Doctrine
In response to the Soviet Union's attempts in geopolitical expansion, President Truman implemented the Truman Doctrine, a foreign policy that provided financial aid to countries that could be influenced by the Soviet Union, specifically at the time, Greece and Turkey -
Marshall Plan
To rebuild western europe after WW2, the U.S established the Marshall Plan, which provided financial aid to these western countries to both rebuild them and their economies -
Molotov Plan
With the assimilation of eastern europe, the USSR established the Molotov Plan to provide aid to rebuild it, reject the Marshall Plan, and cause these countries to be dependent on the Soviet Union -
Alger Hiss Case
In 1948, former Communist party member Whittaker Chambers denounced government official Alger Hiss as a Communist, resulting in Hiss being sent to prison and an acceleration in the American public's fear of Communism -
Berlin Blockade
After WW2, both Germany and Berlin were divided into 4 sections with the U.S, France, and Britain controlling the western part, and the USSR controlling a portion of the east. In doing this, the Soviets plundered all of East Germany to rebuild Russia, whereas the west introduced Capitalism, causing Stalin to feel threatened and implement a blockade on Berlin. -
Berlin Airlift
After Stalin implemented the Berlin Blockade, the U.S narrowly avoided military action by heavily resupplying West Germany, leading to it's permanent division of east and west Germany -
Hollywood 10
The widespread paranoia of Communism in America lead to many in Hollywood being called to hearings in regards to their political standing. Ten of these individuals refused to these questionings as they were a violation of their constitutional rights and were consequently "blacklisted" as Communists -
Korean War
With the ideological split of Korea, the Korean War emerged with the U.S allying it's self to the south and the Soviet Union and China allying to the North. As of today, the conflict has not been resolved and the two countries remain in a stalemate -
Rosenberg Trial
In response to the Soviet Union's conduction of their nuclear bomb, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted as Communists spies who gave secret bomb plans from the U.S to the USSR and were executed. -
Army-McCarthy Hearings
In 1953, Joseph McCarthy's committee began investigating supposed Communist infiltration of the U.S Army. The Army then accused McCarthy and his followers of attempt to pressure the Army into coercion, which led to the Senate investigating McCarthy. The subsequent investigation exposed McCarthy as a fraud and ruined his reputation -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The French colonization of Indochina would end in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, where the Viet Minh revolutionaries of Vietnam would defeat the French forces. This event ultimately lead to the division of Vietnam, which would come to greatly influence the Cold War -
1954 Geneva Conference
In order to resolve the issues of the Korean War and First Indochina War, the Geneva Conference was established and not only set an armistice to the Korean War, but established the division of Vietnam and the international supervision of democratic elections. It would be these two aspects set for Vietnam that would result in the Vietnam War. -
Warsaw Pact
In response to NATO, the Soviet Union created with it's satellite states the Warsaw Pact as a means of establishing their domain in europe and preventing further geopolitical influence from the west -
Hungarian Revolution
In 1956, the Hungarian People's Republic, (set up by the Soviet Union after occupying Hungary in WW2) experienced a nationwide revolution. The revolution intended to establish a new government, remove Hungary from the Warsaw Pact, and establish free elections. Despite early successes in the revolution, it was crushed by the Soviet Union, with numerous political repercussions -
U2 Incident
In 1960, the USSR shot down a U.S sent U2 Spy on a photographic reconnaissance mission. The pilot was captured by the Soviets and the U.S was forced to admit the true purpose of the mission after a failed cover-up, causing great embarrassment for the U.S government and further aggravating the Cold War -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Following the Cuban Revolution and the implementation of a new Communist government, the U.S government became weary due to the close proximity of the country. As a result, the CIA began planning a mission in which they would overthrow this new government, assassinate the country's new leader Fidel Castro, and train Cuban exiles to carry out this mission. The mission was ultimately a failure with the U.S involvement being exposed, and the relations of the Cold War being further aggravated. -
Berlin Wall
Prior to the construction of the Berlin Wall, the division of East and West Germany was by a barbed wire fence, and thus escape to west Germany was still possible. In 1961, the USSR began construction of the wall and for the next 30 years divided the east and west -
Cuban Missile Crisis
As part of a result of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and the presence of U.S missiles near the Soviet Union, missiles were planted in Cuba by the USSR, which produced enormous tensions between both sides, with the U.S placing blockades around Cuba and Germany, lack of communication creating dangerous possibilities if nuclear war, and late negotiations ending the crisis with the removal of the missiles -
Assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem
After nine years of dictatorial rule, a U.S backed coup d'etat was orchestrated by the South Vietnamese military, which like much of South Vietnam, was greatly exasperated with the regime and carried his Diem's arrest, killing of him and his brother. What followed was the increase of political instability in South Vietnam that would influence the turnout of the war. -
Assassination of JFK
On November 22, 1963, president John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, by allegedly a lone shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald. The event left a tremendous impact, defining not only american culture, but the direction of the Cold War as now a new administration would mold it -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
In response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident, the U.S congress passed a joint resolution that allowed the president authorization to use conventional military force in Vietnam, despite a lack of declaration of war. More specifically, it allowed the president to use "whatever necessary", which would define the entire course of the war. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
In an attempt to destroy North Vietnamese means of transportation, industry, and military aid, and boost the morale of the South Vietnamese, for three years, the U.S continuously bombed North Vietnam. The intensity of the operation was exacerbated when the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China supplied anti-air support to North Vietnam -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was planned by the North Vietnamese government to provoke the collapse of the South Vietnamese government. The attack originally pushed the U.S and South Vietnamese out of the major cities, but they soon managed to repel the N.V.A. Despite this, both sides received heavy casualties and the battle was perceived as a loss by the U.S public, permanently impairing U.S morale and support for the war -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King Jr, one of the most influential people of the twentieth century, through his endeavors for civil rights in America, was assassinated by James Earl Ray, which was detrimental to the future of the civil rights movement and black culture. The loss of such an influential leader would lead to not only a new direction, but social unrest that ravaged the nation -
Assassination of RFK
Robert F. Kennedy, brother of John F. Kennedy, who was running for president was murdered on June 5, 1968, after many successes in his campaign. He had been leading a promising campaign with the possibility of winning, and had proposals that could have shifted the direction of the cold war, including putting an end to the Vietnam War. With his death, not only did this possibility diminish, but american culture once again was traumatized by this bleak event. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
As a result of numerous progressive aspects in Czechoslovakia in comparison to other Soviet controlled countries, many countries in the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia. The ultimate results were a strict military presence in the country until the collapse of the USSR, changes in the country's government, and around 600 Czech civilian casualties -
Riots of the Democratic Convention
As a result of President Johnson's announcement that he would not be running for president, the Democratic national convention was held to nominate a new candidate. The event was marred by the great political unrest of the time, with police riots, news reporters being harassed, among other issues. It would also contribute to the ongoing decline in popularity for the Democratic Party at the time, which led to the Republican victory. -
The 1968 Presidential Elections
The 1968 presidential elections were marked by numerous historically dire events, including the King riots, the assassination of RFK, and the widespread opposition to the war in Vietnam. The election ultimately resulted in Richard Nixon's victory, which led to a new direction in the Cold War and also marked the beginning of predominantly republican presidents in office. -
Kent State shootings
During a mass protest in Kent State University in Ohio, 4 students were killed, 9 wounded, when the National Guard fired on them. The event resulted in massive outrage from the public, further contributed in a decline for support for the war and the U.S' failure in the war -
Nixon visits China
In 1972, president Richard Nixon visited the People's Republic of China and established diplomatic relations with the country of 25 years of political isolation with the country. The visit would be monumental as not only did it remove China from opposing the U.S in the scope of the Cold War, changing the balance of it, but lead to economic relations between China and the west that are still felt today. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
After several years of unsuccessful military operations in Vietnam, president Richard Nixon agreed to a ceasefire of american troops to Vietnam, which was followed by Peace Accords in Paris which would to end american involvement in Vietnam -
Fall of Saigon
The Vietnam War was ended with the North Vietnamese capture of the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, which in addition to marking the end of the war, also included the evacuation of all Americans, the unification of the North and South of Vietnam, and a major chapter of the Cold War -
Ronald Reagan is elected
The election of Ronald Reagan as president marked a shift in not only the Cold War, or American history, but perhaps that of the world. As president, he established a new stance within the Cold War, that in which america would not contain communism, but be responsible of it's defeat. It would be in his term that this became a reality. -
SDI is announced
The Strategic Defense Initiative or SDI was planned by Ronald Reagan as a missile defense system to stop missiles from the USSR. SDI specialized in developing the most advanced technology to do this, which resulted in the USSR attempting to follow suit in order to compete. This ultimately ruined the USSR economically as they were already spending much in Afghanistan and this led to the balance becoming uneven in the Cold War -
1985 Geneva Summit
U.S President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev met for the first time at the 1985 Geneva Summit, where they came to discuss limiting the Arms Race and diplomacy. Although they came to little consensus over these matters, they developed a healthy relationship that had been unseen between leaders in the past and would contribute to the thawing of the Cold War -
'Tear down this wall' speech
A symbolic moment in the Cold War would be when president Reagan made this speech, demanding that Soviet General Secretary, remove the Berlin Wall, which had represented the divide of the east and west of the Cold War. The speech came to not only inspire it's removal, but the eventual break away of Soviet controlled countries, further breaking the power of the USSR -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The symbolic end of the Cold War came with the removal of the Berlin Wall, which unified Germany after 30 years. The event also came to represent the end of the Soviet Union's sphere of influence, ushering a new era of world affairs being dominated by the western world
