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Russian Communist Revolutions
The Russian Revolution is made of two separate overthrows of the government. The first overthrow sees Czar Nicholas II replaced by Alexander Kerensky and the Provisional Government for a brief period in 1917, before eventually being overthrown by the communist group, the Bolshevik, and their leader Vladimir Lenin. This connects to the Cold war because this is what allowed for the war of ideologies, as without this event, there would be no communist Russia. -
Treaty of Versailles
This ended the fighting between the Allied powers and Germany. It reassigned German boundaries and assigned liability for reparations. This connects to the Cold War because after World War II, the Soviet Union wanted Germany to pay for reparations (just like after WWI) but the U.S. knew it would start another war. -
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organisation founded on 10 January 1920 as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. At its greatest extent from September 28, 1934 to February 23, 1935, it had 58 members.
This connects to the Cold War because it ended up failing after the Axis powers left the organization during World War II, and the end of WWII left the U.S. and the Soviet Union the remaining superpowers, ultimately kickstarting the Cold War. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a meeting during WWII in which the leaders of the US, Soviet Union, and the UK, gathered together to discuss how post war Europe would be re-organized. This relates to the Cold War because Germany was split, and it was a main focal point of the Cold War. -
Nuremberg Trials
These were a series of military tribunals, held by the Allied forces after WW2, which were most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of Nazi Germany who planned, carried out, or otherwise participated in The Holocaust and other war crimes. -
United Nations
Because of the ability to veto, the United Nations was very ineffective because any act against communism proposed by the U.S. was vetoed by the Soviets, and anything against the against democracy would get vetoed by the U.S. This connects to the Cold War because it shows that the U.S. and the Soviets weren’t cooperative with each other during this time period. -
General Assembly
The General Assembly is one of 6 principle organs of the United Nations. The job of the General Assembly is to handle the budget, and that of a typical legislature branch. This connects to the Cold War because they would be the ones who would decide what to do in time of war such as Vietnam or Korea -
Iron Curtain Speech
In a speech on March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill condemns the Soviets policies and states,”From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Atlantic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.” This connects to the Cold War because this showed what Western Europe felt about the Soviet’s control over the majority of Eastern Europe. -
Truman Doctrine
This outlined the U.S. Cold War foreign policy, it stated the Soviet Union was the center of all communist activity, and that it could attack through outside invasion or internal subversion. This connects to the Cold War because it states that the U.S. needs to provide military and economic assistance to protect nations against communists. -
Marshall Plan
Europe was economically depressed following World War I, and the U.S. feared the growth of communism. Therefore, the sent $13B to help 16 European nations, but it had to be spent on U.S. goods. This connects to the Cold War because the U.S. is trying to gain support from Europe. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was when the Allies flew supplies into West Berlin. The need for the airlifts was caused by a Soviet blockade into the city against any non communist nation. This connects to the Cold War because it shows how the Soviets had extreme dislike for the entirety of Western Europe. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
This was created to provide other nations with more security against the Soviet Union.NATO was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered into outside of the Western Hemisphere. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
as a full scale civil-war between the Chinese Communist Party and The Nationalist Party. Which broke out soon after WW2 and had been lead by on and off conflict between the 2 sides since the 1920's. -
Joseph McCarthy Speech
He gave this speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, and this speech was warning America about communism and gave specific names of people working within the State Department and also listed their crimes. -
Korean War
Communist North Korea invades South Korea, who had democracy. The United States came to the aid of South Korea, due to the Soviets failing to attend a United Nations meeting. This connects to the Cold War because we support South Korea and the Soviets support North Korea, therefore, we are indirectly fighting. -
Warsaw Pact
This is a military agreement between Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia,and Bulgaria. It stated that Marshal Ivan S. Konev of the Soviet Union had military command of all countries in the treaty. This connects to the Cold War because it strenghtens the Soviet's communist power. -
Fall of Saigon
The fall of Saigon was the end of the Vietnam War, seeing the North Vietnamese capture the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon in 1975. This then reunites Vietnam into one nation, led by a communist government. This connects to the Cold war because it pits the U.S. vs the Soviets in an indirect war for control over Vietnam under communism, or democracy. This connects to the Cold War because it is the war of ideologies of North Vietnam (Communism) and South Vietnam (Democracy). -
Sputnik Launched
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. Weighing 183.9 lbs, Sputnik was the first artificial satellite, about the size of a beach ball. The satellite took 98 minutes to orbit Earth on an elliptical path. This connects to the cold war because this marked the start of the space race to see who had the superior technology between the U.S. and the Soviets -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed military invasion of Cuba undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506 on April 17, 1961. They attempted to overthrow communist leader Fidel Castro, however the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces defeated them within 3 days. This connects to the Cold War because this lead to the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is arguably the most tense time period during the Cold War -
Berlin Wall
Between the construction and tearing down of the Berlin wall, many people tried to escape West Berlin because it was was poor in comparison to East Berlin. The Berlin Wall relates to the Cold War because it was built in order to stop citizens of West Berlin from leaving and joining the Democratic East Berlin -
Building of the Berlin Wall
After building barbed wire to seal off free passage between East and West Berlin, the Berlin Wall was built to close off access to the West. This connects to the Cold War because Stalin didn't want the East (communism) to defect to the West (democracy). -
Fidel Castro Proclaims Communist Cuba
In december 1961, Fidel Castro states,”I am a Marxist-Leninist and shall be one until the end of my life.” This then confirmed what many U.S. officials already thought to be true. This connects to the Cold War because it gave the Soviets an ally very close to the U.S. and gave them the ability to attack us as we saw almost happen during the Cuban Missile Crisis. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
this was a 13 day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles away from the U.S. -
U.S. Sends Troops to Vietnam
President Lyndon B Johnson sent troops to aide the South Vietnamese Army. There were 543,000 troops there by 1969. Millions of U.S. dollars were used to help the South Vietnamese economy. This connects to the Cold War because like the Korean War, the U.S. and Soviet Union are supporting opposite sides in this war due to the Soviets spreading communism and the U.S. attempting to stop them. -
Apollo 11
This was a U.S. spaceflight that landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon. They spent about 2 and a quarter hours outside the spacecraft and collected about 47.5 pounds of lunar material to return to Earth. This connects to the Cold War because it basically ends the Space Race with a U.S. victory. -
Kent State Shootings
On May 4, 1970, college students were fired upon by National Guardsmen in Kent, Ohio, killing 4, and wounding 9 more. The armed guards fired 67 rounds in the time of 13 seconds. This event caused only more tension and discontent with U.S. activity overseas. This connects to the Cold War because this is a protest against the Vietnam War, which symbolized the discontent of our nation’s people wanting to not be involved in all these wars against communism. -
The Soviets invade Afghanistan
In the middle of the Cold War, Soviets 40th army invaded Afghanistan in order to prop up the communist government of the People's democratic Party of Afghanistan against a growing insurgency. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The East German government announced that citizens could visit west Germany and Berlin, which led to citizens climbing over the wall to get to the other side. Actual demolition of the wall didn't take place until 1990 and ended in 1992. This connects to the Cold War because this represents the end of it, due to the Soviets giving in and allowing free access across Berlin.
