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Harry Truman
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United Nations Founded
The United Nations Charter was first signed. At its founding, 51 nations joined, but over the years enough countries have joined to bring the member count to 193. It is an organization dedicated to maintaining peace and human rights. -
Truman Doctrine
A foreign relation policy set forth by president Truman, in which he stated that help would be given to countries who would otherwise fall within the "Soviet Sphere". -
Signing of the Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a proposition to aid the European countries by giving out $13 billion in total, providing for a more stable economy in every country who recieved aid. Russia opted out, claiming that they did not want America to have any control over them in the slightest. -
NATO Formed
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed, which has, over the years, garnered 28 members. Among other actions, it practices collective defense, which states that if one of its members is attacked, all of its members are attacked, and thus all of the members shall retaliate against the attacker. -
McCarthy Begins Accusations
Senator McCarthy, in order to hold office, began, in essence, a witch hunt against communists in America. He accused several people of being communists based off either flimsy or nonexistent sources or evidence. This is also known as the Red Scare, as it caused the public to panic because of the communist accusations. -
Korean War
North Korea became communist and overran South Korea, taking Seoul. The US intervened and sent in troops, who swiftly pushed the North Koreans north after a failed attempt. However, China intervened and pushed American troops south, when another general took command and pushed north again, leading to a stalemate that lasted for two years before an armistice was signed. -
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Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Vietnam War
Northern Vietnam became communist and attempted to overrun Southern Vietnam, when the UN intervened. US troops were sent over, despite the cries of the public to end the war before it got out of hand or started at all. Eventually, the war was lost, as the communist Northern Vietnam overran Southern Vietnam and even Cambodia, their neighboring country. -
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John F. Kennedy
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Bay of Pigs
An invasion force made up of Cuban exiles attempted to get into Cuba and incite rebellions, but failed miserably when the Cuban forces caught and defeated them. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba, pointed at Florida, in response to missiles placed in Turkey, directed at the Soviet Union. The situation was diffused when JFK ordered Cuba blockaded, and both JFK and Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles from their respective areas. -
JFK Assassinated
President John F. Kennedy was shot in the head and rushed to the hospital, but was proclaimed dead despite several attempts to save his life. -
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Lyndon B. Johnson
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Richard Nixon
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Ronald Reagan
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George H. W. Bush
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Revolutions of 1989
Revolutions in Eastern Europe which started in Poland and began spreading to other countries swallowed up by the Soviet Union. All but Romania overthrew communism peacefully through protests and popular opposition. -
Collapse of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union
The Berlin Wall was officially invalid, and thus people were free to cross the border, though they had to climb the wall to do so. Over the next few weeks, the physical wall was torn down by equipment and souvenir collectors.
This brought about unrest in the eastern European nations and they rebeled, overthrowing the Soviet Union, which soon collapsed. -
Gulf War
War waged on Iraq by the entire UN and led by the US for invading Kuwait. Lasted until February 28th, 1991. -
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William Clinton
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NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement was signed by Canada, the United States, and Mexico, creating a trilateral trade bloc. -
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George W. Bush
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9/11
19 terrorists boarded 4 airplanes and hijacked them. 3 of them found their target' two hit the Twin Towers, and one hit the Pentagon. The Pentagon's west side crumbled, while the entire World Trade Center collapsed. The fourth plane failed to hit its target, as the passengers attempted to regain control of the plane from the hijackers. In all, almost 3,000 people were killed. -
War in Afghanistan
Operation Enduring Freedom launched, began the war in Afghanistan in order to wrest control from Al-Queda and the Taliban. -
War in Iraq begins
An invasion force led by American troops enters Iraq. Shortly afterwards, an insurgency arose.
