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The Iron Curtain Speech
A speech given by Winston Churchill. It announced the beginning of the Cold War. However, Churchill also used it as a platform to deliver his hope that the United States and Great Britain could work more closely together to police a post-war world. -
The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy created to challenge Soviet geopolitical spread during the Cold War. It was first announced by President Harry S. Truman when wanting to get support for Greece and Turkey. -
The Molotov Plan
The Molotov Plan was a plan created by the Soviet Union in order to provide aid to rebuild the countries in Eastern Europe that were politically and economically aligned with the Soviet Union. -
Hollywood Ten Hearings
10 members of the Hollywood film industry publicly denounced the tactics employed by HUAC, an investigative committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.The Hollywood Ten received jail sentences and were banned from working for the major Hollywood studios. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an American strategy in which the United States gave money to achieve a working economy to help rebuild Western European economies. This policy was directed against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. -
The Berlin Blockade
The Soviet Union was determined to force the Western Allies out of West Berlin and starve its people into submission. After receiving help for the U.S, the Soviets relented and lifted the blockade. -
The Berlin Airlift
After the Berlin Blockade, the U.S orchestrated the Berlin Airlift to resupply the city. Planes would bring food, medical supplies, and coal. -
Alger Hiss Case
Ex-communist Chambers accused Hiss, a former state employee of spying for the Soviet Union. Some people saw him as a victim and others saw him as a conspiracy to destroy the United States. He was later convicted of perjury. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an international organization set by the North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of collective security. It sought to create an equivalent force to Soviet armies in central and eastern Europe after World War II. -
Soviet Atomic Bomb Test
The Soviet Union conducted its first weapon test of an implosion-type nuclear device. With the success of this test, the Soviet Union became the second nation after the United States to detonate a nuclear device. -
The Korean War
It began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations sent troops to help South Korea. China, with help from the Soviet Union, helped North Korea. Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the closing days of World War II. -
Rosenberg Case
An espionage case, involving Julius and Ethel. They were indicted for conspiracy to transmit classified military information to the Soviet Union. Both Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty and received the death sentence. They became the first U.S. civilians to suffer the death penalty in an espionage trial. -
The battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French and the communist-nationalists. The French defeated the communist-nationalisrs. This influenced negotiations over Indochina at Geneva. -
Army-McCarthy Hearings
A series of hearings held by the United States Senate's Subcommittee on Investigations between April 1954 and June 1954. The hearings were held for the purpose of investigating conflicting accusations between the United States Army and Senator Joseph McCarthy. -
Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference was a conference that took place in Geneva. Its purpose was to find a way to settle issues in the Korean peninsula and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina. -
1st Geneva Conference
Between Reagan and Mikhail, a Soviet leader, there was an agreement to limit nuclear weapons if he abandoned Starwars, Reagan refused, but they created a relationship, in private, later on, that would provide a historic breakthrough. -
The Warsaw Pact
A mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. The Soviets saw NATO as a threat and decided to come up with the Warsaw Pact. -
The Invasion of Hungary
Soviet tanks went into Budapest to restore order and they acted with immense brutality even killing wounded people. Tanks dragged round bodies through the streets of Budapest as a warning to others who were still protesting. -
U-2 Incident
A United States U-2 spy plane was shot down while in Soviet airspace. The aircraft, flown by pilot Francis Gary Powers, was performing photographic aerial reconnaissance. The United States government tried to cover up the plane's purpose but was forced to admit its military nature when the Soviet government came forward with the captured pilot and remains of plane. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
A failed military invasion of Cuba undertaken by the CIA. A counter-revolutionary military, trained and funded by the United States government's CIA, intended to overthrow the increasingly communist government of Fidel Castro. Launched from Guatemala & Nicaragua, the force was defeated within three days by the Cuban Forces, under the direct command of Fidel Castro. -
The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. The Berlin Wall was officially referred to as the "Anti-Fascist Protective Wall", implying that the NATO countries and West Germany were considered equal to "fascists". -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A 13-day (October 16–28) confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. Along with being televised worldwide, it was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war. -
Assassination of Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem was a South Vietnamese politician. He was named Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam in 1954. He made himself president in 1955. President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother were captured and killed by a group of soldiers. The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam, but also lead to political chaos in the nation. -
Assassination of JFK
John F. Kennedy was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. He was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald while traveling with his wife in a car. His death left meny shocked. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. It was meant to begin military involvement in South Vietnam and open warfare between North Vietnam and the United States. -
China Atomic Bomb Test
China successfully exploded its first atomic bomb.However, this brilliant success was achieved under extremely difficult conditions. In July 1960 Chairman Mao Zedong called on Chinese scientists to rely on their own efforts and develop China's atomic bomb within eight years. On the same day, the Chinese government made a promise that it developed nuclear weapons only for the purpose of self-defense and safeguarding national security. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
An operation designed to boost the morale of the Saigon regime in the Republic of Vietnam, to persuade North Vietnam to cease its support without taking any ground forces into North Vietnam, to destroy North Vietnam's transportation system, industrial base, and air defenses, and to halt the flow of men and material into South Vietnam. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. 70,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched the Tet Offensive, a coordinated series of attacks on more than 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King Jr.was an American leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He was best known for his role in the advancement of the civil right using no violence and his Christian values. Before being murdered, MLK was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize. -
Assassination of RFK
RFK was previously the 64th U.S. Attorney General. He served under his older brother, President JFK. Robert Kennedy was shot in Los Angeles. He was shot several times by Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. He died a day later. -
The Invasion of Czechoslovakia
A joint invasion of Czechoslovakia by four Warsaw Pact nations. Approximately 250,000 Warsaw pact troops attacked Czechoslovakia that night. 108 Czechoslovakian civilians were killed and around 500 wounded in the invasion. -
Riots at Democratic National Convention in Chicago
The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, from August 26 to August 29. President Lyndon Johnson had announced he would not seek re-election. This convention was held to select a new presidential nominee that would take Johnsonsh place. -
Election of Richard Nixon
The United States presidential election of 1968 was the 46th. Richard Nixon won the election against Hubert Humphrey. He ran a campaign that promised to restore "law and order".Nixon would later leave behind a number of great achievements as president. -
Kent State shooting
The Kent State shootings occurred at Kent State University and in the United States. College students were shot at. Four students were killed and nine were wounded. -
Nixon visits China
President Richard Nixon's visit to the Communist People's Republic of China was important, in hopes to form a good relationship with China.It was the first time a president from the United States had visited China. China was, at the time, seen as one of its foes. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
The South Vietnamese Army continued to receive U.S. aid after the cease-fire. South Vietnamese forces continued to take back villages occupied by communists in the two days before the cease-fire deadline. Both sides violated the cease fire. -
Fall of Saigon
North Vietnamese forces attacked Saigon, suffering heavy artillery bombardment. This bombardment killed the last American servicemen in Vietnam. North Vietnamese troops raised their flag over the South Vietnamese presidential palace. The city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. -
Election of Ronald Reagan
Ronal Reagan was elected on November 4, 1980. The contest was between Jimmy Carter, John B. Anderson, and Ronal Reagan. After winning, he would later focus on destoying communism for the independence of the people. -
Announcement of SDI ('Star Wars')
SDI, a concept like science fiction,satellites patrolling the heavens, zapping incoming Soviet missiles with lasers. SDI was announced on March 23rd. It scared the Soviet Union, they saw it as an immediate threat. -
'Tear Down This Wall' speech
The "tear down this wall" speech was not the first time Reagan had brought up the issue of the Berlin Wall. "Tear down this wall!" is a part of the speech made by President Ronald Reagan in West Berlin. During the speech, he called for the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to open up the barrier that divided West Berlin and East Berlin. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
On November 1989, the Berlin Wall finally came to a fall. East Germany's Communist rulers gave permission for the wall to be broken after many had protested. After decades of partition, East Berliners were filled with joy, all gathering and hitting the wall with hammers and anything they could.
