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Truman Doctrine
This was a foreign policy established by Harry S. Truman. It states that the United States will provide military, economic or political assistance to any democratic nations that are under the threat of authoritarian forces. This was important because it became the foundation of American foreign policy and influenced the formation of NATO. Today it still influences the foreign relations. -
Berlin Blockade
As the French, USA, and UK occupied parts of Berlin, the USSR decided to implement a blockade. Which stopped all traffic in & out of the city. Many people faced starvation which lasted about a year. During this time the U.S & UK brought food and supplies to the Western Berliners which was known as the Berlin Airlift. This was the first international crises of the cold war and the response of the US/UK demonstrated the power & thoughtfulness of the nations. Which would continue to this day -
NATO Formed
It's known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and included members are: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, UK and the US. This was formed to create allies if the USSR suddenly attack a European nation. During the cold war this was a great option to combat the power of the USSR and today it still remains in place to defend nations aginst communist countries -
Korean War
During this time North Korea was supported by the USSR and China. They decided to cross the 38th parallel and invade South Korea. The South was supported by the United States. By the time the US go there the South was almost defeated by they were able to push back and past the 38 parallel into North Korea where they met Chinese forces. In the end, the 38th parallel remains the border for the two nations continuing to this present day. -
Warsaw Pact
To combat the NATO the communist countries also had an alliance system. The nations included: East German, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria and the Soviet Union. This showed that Communism was a force to be reckoned with and it became a symbol of Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe. The pact ended in 1991 when the USSR lost power and control over their former allies. -
VIetnam War
Although America and the USSR didn't directly go to war, they supported either side. This originated from the First Indochina War with France, in which they claimed Vietnam as a colony. About 150,000 troops were sent to aid Democratic South Vietnam as they were losing the battle. In the end, the Communists in the North signed a peace treaty. This was another nation that remained in a communist state after another war in 1975 when they took over the south, right up until this day. -
Space Race (First Human in Space)
Yuri Alekseyevich became the first human in space. He was from the USSR and they have so far, been leading this exploration compared to the US. Yuri orbited the Earth once and reached a maximum height of 203 miles. After about two hours, he touched back down to Earth. This proved that the Soviets had the technology to beat the Americans which worried them for future oncomings. Today he is still remembered as the first person is space. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Cuba became a communist nation after the Cuban revolution ended and overthrew President Fulgencio. The new government was under control of Fidel Castro. The Americans wanted to maintain it's containment policy and to turn Cuba back from a Communist party. A group of Cuban revolutionists along with aid from the US government. They led an invasion to try and overthrow Castro, which failed and they were captured.
This was a demonstration that the advisory board doesn't always have the best ideas. -
Berlin Wall
To contain the people under communist control, a wall was built between East and West Germany. It divided the Soviet bloc and the western democratic bloc. This also patched the loophole that thousands of East Germans used to flee the communist rule. It's important to remember this because it shows the immense power & dedication towards the spread of communism. That the USSR would go through anything for what they believe in. It's still a symbol of suppression of human rights -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A US spy plane saw the construction of a Soviet nuclear missile base in Cuba. This became a debated issue, some suggesting to bomb the place, set a blockade, and negotiate with the Soviets. President Kennedy decided to implement a naval blockade and demanded the removal of them. At the end, there was no war, the missiles were removed and the US promised not to invade Cuba. This was the first potential threat to the US during the cold war and makes Kennedy a national hero by avoiding war -
JFK Assassination
While JFK was visiting Dallas, he was touring the streets when Lee Harvey Oswald used a rifle and shot the president in the head. There is officially only one person who's held responsible for the murder. Some believe that Oswald wasn't working alone and that he had ties with the communist or the CIA. Since Kennedy proved to be a good president during the cold war, the enemies wanted him dead so he wouldn't be able to lead the country. To this day people talk about his assassination. -
Space Race (Moon Landing)
Apollo 11 became along with Neil Armstrong became the first man to land on the moon. This was a big step for mankind and it meant that the US had beat the USSR to the moon. It is probably one of the greatest achievements during the cold war, and it proved that America is still a dominant country. Today people still remember what happened on this date and they'll remember it was the United States who did this. -
SALT 1
This was a treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, there was SALT 1 and SALT 2 and both in the 1970s. These treaties were in place to slow down or eliminate the manufacturing of missiles carrying nuclear weapons. It was intended to restrain the arms race to limit the use of ballistic missiles with Nuclear warheads. SALT 1 discussed the idea of an Anti Ballistic Missile system. This was th first time during the war, both super powers agreed to limit the number of Nuclear missiles -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
As the cold war was decreasing in tension throughout Europe, East Berlin's communist party decided to have a policy change with the West. The wall came down and a year later the East and West Germany were reunified. The wall symbolized the lack of freedom people had and once it came down people knew things were changing. The cold war was coming to an end and the to this day Germany is a thriving capitalist & democratic state. -
End of the Soviet Union
A day after Gorbachev resigned, the Russians declared the end of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev plans to reform the USSR failed and it ended up collapsing the Union. Which broke up into 15 different countries. The new president, Boris Yeltsin became the president of the newly independent Russian state. This was the biggest turning point of the war, the world watched the USSR become no longer and it represented that they have lost the war. This year was the official date of the end of the war.
