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Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech
With tensions mounting between the US and the USSR, Churchill makes a speech in a small college town in Missouri. This speech is important because it explained the status of Europe at the time especially, between East and West Europe where there was a clear line between USSR occupied countries and democratic countries. -
Stalin Seals Off West Germany
The USSR and US had differing opinions on the future of Germany. Because of these contrasting beliefs, Stalin blockaded West Germany and all talks between the US and USSR broke down. This event is important because this was the start of high tensions between the two countries and hostility increased at an all time high. -
Berlin Airlift
With the blockade of West Germany, the US was concerned for food shortages and lack of resources for the people trapped in the blockade. The US government came up with an amazing idea that helped the people immensely. They would airlift, medicine, food, resources, and other aid to ensure chaos wouldn't ensue. This would continue on until May 12, 1949 when the USSR lifted the blockade. This is important because it showed the strength of the US and gave the USSR a bad image. -
Creation of the NATO Alliance
Due to extreme hostility between both countries, the US created the NATO Alliance with several other countries in order to protect itself in case an attack from the Soviet Union came unexpectedly. The treaty was signed by Truman in Washington D.C. This was important because the treaty protected the US but also posed a risk for another World War if the Soviet Union decided to attack. -
Chinese Revolution (China Becomes Communist)
On October 1st, 1949, Mao Zhedong declared China as the People's Republic of China. The country had officially became a communist country and defeated the nationalist leader Chiang Kai Shek and his nationalist party after years of civil war. This is important because it heightened the concern that the US had on the influence of the USSR. Many politicians and Americans criticized the president for allowing China to be communist. This encourage to US to start a policy of containment. -
Korean War
This war started when the North Korean government unexpectedly invaded South Korea. They gathered the courage to attack after China and the USSR promised protection if they needed it. The US got help from the United Nations as the two Korean countries fought brutally. This was important because it was the biggest indirect conflict between the USSR and the US. They used North Korea and South Korea to fight a conflict for them. -
Death of Stalin
Joseph Stalin died on March 5th, 1953. He was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev. This is important because the transition of power from Stalin to Khrushchev was sensitive in the perspective that the US did not know Khrushchev as much as they knew Stalin. They were going against someone who might not follow Stalin's ideology and posed a risk for extreme actions. -
Warsaw Pact
In response to the NATO Alliance, the Soviet Union made a pact with other countries, including with the USSR occupied territories. This shows the amount of tension that was building up at the time. It's important because these alliances proved the uneasiness of both leaders and posed an even greater risk for a world war because the treaties would drag all of the countries into a global conflict. -
Suez Crisis
The British and French troops invaded the Egypt in order to regain control of the Suez Canal. This action was heavily criticized by world leaders, especially by America because the USSR offered help to Egypt's prime minister. The US forced Great Britain and France to stand down and threatened to put sanctions on both nations. This is important because it shows the amount of power and influence that the US had at the time. -
Sputnik and Laika (Space Race
The Russian space program successfully sent Sputnik 2 and Laika the dog into space. This is important because Laika was the first living creature to go into space and it made the US look like an embarrassment, now that the US had to catch up to the Soviets. This space race helped create NASA in the US and advanced space technology tremendously. -
U-2 Spy Plane Incident
All talks between Eisenhower and Khrushchev completely broke down when Soviets found an American U-2 spy plane flying over restricted territory and shot it down. The Soviets publicly announced the actions of the US. This is important because it gave the US a bad reputation and destroyed any chances for peace talks. Eisenhower was also heavily criticized for being involved with the mission. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The US felt concerned that a communist country was only 90 miles away from Florida and felt threatened by the existence of Cuba. John F Kennedy listened to the advice of his military advisers and trained Cuban exiles and sent them back to Cuba to start a coup. Castro captured them and the mission was a failure. This is important because it gave the US a bad reputation and made the USSR look like the hero which was a big embarrassment for the US. Kennedy was heavily criticized for this incident. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A US spy plane flying over Cuba found that missiles sites were being created. The US government eventually found out that these missiles at the sites were provided by the USSR and were capable of hitting anywhere in North America. This led to heightened tensions at its peak. This is important because the tension between the US and the USSR was at its peak. The possibility of war was very probable and the US had to make a very tough decision in order to prevent another world war from happening. -
Unification of East and West Germany
Germany was divided for almost 45 years after World War 2 ended. The division served as a symbol of the endurance of the Cold War. The Communist Party in East Germany started to lose power, prompting the USSR to start negotiation talks about the unification of the country. This is important because this event was one of the last events of the Cold War and many claim that this unification officially ended the war. -
Dissolution of the USSR
On December 26th, 1991, the USSR was officially dissolved. Gorbachev's loose hold on the eastern European countries allowed for the countries to demand independence and start different movements. This led to the instability within Moscow as the hardcore Communists wanted to thwart Gorbachev's agenda while the pluralist movement advocated for democracy. Gorbachev resigned from his leadership position later on. This is important because the dissolution of the USSR officially ended the Cold War.
