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Chinese Communist Revolution
The Chinese Communist Revolution was a social and political revolution that culminated in the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Mao divided land that the Communists won among local farmers in order to gain support of peasants not just bankers and business people. The revolution lasted from 1927-1949. -
Formation of the Eastern Bloc
The Eastern bloc originated at the end of World War II and existed during the Cold War. It was the union of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were aligned with the Soviet Union. The purpose of the Eastern bloc's formation was primarily to protect Soviet military interests. -
Postwar occupation and division of Germany
After the Potsdam conference, Germany was divided into four occupied zones; Great Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Berlin was also divided into four occupied zones. Joseph Stalin wanted to divide these areas to sabotage them from being able to make a come back. -
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was due to divisions within Greece during World War II between the communist dominated resistance organization and anti-communist resistance forces. It later escalated into a major civil war between the Greek state and the communists. The United States committed vast amounts of military, economic, and logistical support to the Greek government in order to prevent Greece from falling into the Soviet sphere of influence. -
Enactment of Marshall Plan
The US government feared that a hungry, devastated Europe might turn to communism. To stabilize the European economy, US Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed a plan to provide Europe with $13 billion in economic aid. On April 3, 1948, President Truman signed the act that became known as the Marshall Plan. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
Soviet forces blockaded rail, road, and water access to Allied-controlled areas of Berlin. The United States and United Kingdom responded by airlifting food and fuel to Berlin from Allied airbases in western Germany. As a result of the blockade and airlift, Berlin became a symbol of the Allies' willingness to oppose further Soviet expansion in Europe. -
Korean War
The Korean War was fought between North Korea and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. It began when North Korea invaded South Korea in a coordinated general attack at several strategic points along the 38th parallel. On July 27, 1953, they ceased and came to an Armistice Agreement and ended with a wall between the countries. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was a military and political effort to overthrow the Cuban government. The revolution began with a failed assault on Cuban military barracks on July 26, 1953.The revolution's leader, Fidel Castro, went on to rule Cuba from 1959 to 2008. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. China had become communist in 1949 and communists were in control of North Vietnam. The USA was afraid that communism would spread to South Vietnam and then the rest of Asia. It decided to send money, supplies and military advisers to help the South Vietnamese Government. -
Hungarian Uprising
Hungarian Uprising was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic and the policies caused by the government's subordination to the Soviet Union. Soviet troops moved against Budapest with great force and crushed the remainder of the rebellion. Over the course of the next several days, thousands of Hungarians were killed by Red Army troops. Hundreds of thousands more fled to the West, seeking asylum. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed military landing operation on the coast of Cuba. It consisted of Cuban exiles who opposed Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution. The CIA underestimated the strength of the Cuban military and the level of popular support for Fidel Castro's government. -
Building the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was built by the German Democratic Republic during the Cold War to prevent its population from escaping. The barrier surrounded West Berlin and prevented access to it from East Berlin and adjacent areas of East Germany. The original wall was built of barbed wire and cinder blocks. It was then replaced by a series of concrete walls that were topped with barbed wire and guarded with watchtowers, gun emplacements, and mines. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union. American deployments of nuclear missiles in Italy and Turkey were matched by Soviet deployments of nuclear missiles in Cuba. An agreement was eventually reached between Kennedy and Khrushchev stating publicly that the Soviets would dismantle their offensive weapons in Cuba. -
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The most notable cause for this period being a growing desire to address the lack of freedoms available to citizens of Czechoslovakia. This is because it was under the tight ideological control of the Soviet Union, a powerful Communist superpower. -
Solidarity Movement in Poland
The Solidarity Movement in Poland was a broad anti-authoritarian social movement, using methods of civil resistance to advance the causes of workers' rights and social change. The Government attempted in the early 1980s to destroy the union through the imposition of martial law in Poland and the use of political repressions. Lech Wałęsa was the Polish leader at the time who led the movement. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
The Tiananmen Square Massacre was series of protests and demonstrations in China that culminated on the night of June 3-4 with a government crackdown on the demonstrators. The Chinese Government has asserted that injuries exceeded 3,000 and that over 200 individuals, including 36 university students, were killed that night. However, Western sources are skeptical of the official report and most frequently cite the toll as hundreds or even thousands killed. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall came down on the evening of November 9, 1989, during a hastily arranged international press conference in East Berlin. By October 1990, Germany was reunified, triggering the swift collapse of the other East European regimes. People celebrated the fall of the Berlin Wall. -
Soviet War in Afghanistan
The Soviet War in Afghanistan began after the Soviets launched an invasion of Afghanistan to support the local pro-Soviet government that had been installed during Operation Storm-333. There was fear that the growing Muslim population in Soviet Central Asia threatened the Soviet control. The war lasted ten years, and the Soviet Union received a devastating defeat. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was dissolved by Declaration № 142-Н of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. It formally established the dissolution of the Soviet Union as a sovereign state and subject of international law. Eight more republics joined their declaration shortly thereafter. -
9/11 Attacks
The 9/11 attacks were four coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks carried out by Al-Qaeda against the United States. 19 terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners scheduled to travel from the East Coast to California. Two planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, causing both towers to collapse. A third plane was crashed into the Pentagon, just outside Washington, DC.