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Russian Communists Revolution
The Russian working class and peasants revolted against the government under Tsar Nicholas II's control. Vladmir Lenin and the Bolsheviks led this group. This lead to the creation of the Soviet Union, which later became one of the world superpowers along with the US. These two super powers were the one's who had nuclear weapons later on, leading to the cold war. -
Treaty of Versailles
After WWI, the participating nations got together and created a Treaty to prevent another World War. The problem being, it put all the blame on Germany, who wasn't even the biggest participant. they not only were hurt by the treaty's conditions, but by trying to abide by them. This ended up starting the second world war, which lead to more conflicts, including the cold war. -
League of Nations
This was an international group created after WWI to provide a place for meetings to be held peacefully in Geneva, Switzerland. This group tried to keep the peace between nations, but WWII still happened, and the league of nations was taken down with it. Again, this world war leading to the two superpowers, leading to the cold war. -
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg trials were a series of trials held between 1945 and 1949 where Allied countries were brought to court: German military leaders, political officials, industrialists, Great Britain, France, and financiers for crimes they had committed during World War II. The Soviets wanted to give cruel deaths to these people while America wanted them to have a fair trial, leading to further conflict between the two superpowers. -
United Nations
The United Nations is an organization established in 1945 to create a group of nation to cooperate with each other. It was founded to replace the League of Nations. This ended up becoming a battleground for the cold war between communist and non-communist countries. The UN's mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a wartime meeting from February 4th to 11th. The meeting included the heads of governments from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union ended up gaining control over Eastern Europe. This led to the West feeling that the USSR was spreading communism easily, leading to the cold war. -
Iron Curtain Speech
Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII. He spoke of how communism was tearing Europe apart. Churchill stated, “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.” This was one of the biggest events during the cold war. -
General Assembly
Established in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly occupies a central position as the chief deliberative, policy making and representative organ of the United Nations. -
Baruch Plan
The Baruch Plan was a proposal by the United States government, written largely by Bernard Baruch but based on the Acheson–Lilienthal Report, to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission (UNAEC) during its first meeting in June 1946. Bernard Baruch, and presidents from Woodrow Wilson to Harry S. Truman, coined the term “Cold War” to describe the increasingly chilly relations between two World War II Allies: the United States and the Soviet Union. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy whose stated purpose was to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was created to reduce influence of Communist in Western Europe by the U.S. and also aided them with $13 billion in economic assistance. The communist weren't very happy about this because it gave the USA even more allies and much more strength. -
Berlin Airlift
The Soviet Union set up a blockade around West Berlin to get them to submit to communism. The United states and United Kingdom responded to it by airlifting supplies of food, water, and medicine to the citizens inside. This angered and embarrassed the USSR badly. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
This began after the Sino-Japanese war. It is considered to be the second part of the Chinese Civil war. Their communist leader, Mao Zedong, announced his creation of "the People's Republic of China" -
NATO Created
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to protect each other against the Soviet Union. This was the first "peacetime" military alliance the US was apart of outside of the Western Hemisphere. This lead to a more dangerous domino effect and the creation of the Warsaw pact. -
Joseph McCarthy Speech
During a speech given in Virginia, McCarthy expressed his disapproval of communism and how he believed that their were soviet spies working for the U.S. government. This ended up creating a major panic all throughout the US -
Korean War
The Korean War began when over 75,000 soldiers from North Korea invaded across the 38th parallel, the separating boundary between the communist (Soviets), which was South Korea, and democrats (U.S), which was North Korea. This was the first major conflict of the cold war. The Soviets supported North Korea while America supported South Korea. -
Warsaw Pact
To answer to the NATO, this military alliance of communist nations was organized. It included Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. This gave the soviets even more allies and power during the war. -
Sputnik Launch
On January 1957, The Soviet Union launch the world's very first satellite into space. This gave them a huge upper hand in many things-spying, technology, etc. -
Nuclear Deterrent
Deterrence theory holds that nuclear weapons are intended to deter other states from attacking with their nuclear weapons, through the promise of retaliation and possibly mutually assured destruction (MAD). During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union each built a stockpile of nuclear weapons. The United States adopted nuclear deterrence, the credible threat of retaliation to forestall enemy attack. -
MAD
(Mutually Assured Destruction) a military strategy adopted during the cold war arms race. This war tactic was created to keep both sides from launching nuclear weapons because if they did the other side would retaliate. -
Fidel Castro Proclaims Communist Cuba
Under the rule of Fidel Castro, the nation of Cuba underwent significant economic, political, and social changes. In the Cuban Revolution, Castro and an associated group of revolutionaries toppled the ruling government of Fulgencio Batista, forcing Batista out of power. -
Building of Berlin Wall
In the beginning years of the Cold war, the Berlin wall was used as a barrier between East and West Berlin, in response to refugees trying to leave East Berlin. During the early years of the Cold War, West Berlin was a geographical loophole through which thousands of East Germans fled to the democratic West. In response, the Communist East German authorities built a wall that totally encircled West Berlin. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Planning to overthrow Fidel Castro's revolution, a group of 1500 Cuban exiles trained and launched an invasion of Cuba from the sea in the Bay of Pigs. This also happened during the cold war. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a direct confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. This was when both superpowers came the closets any nation has to engage in nuclear conflict -
U.S. Sends Troops to Vietnam
These forces would soon transition from defensive missions to direct combat operations. As the war escalated, more and more U.S. combat troops were sent to South Vietnam. By 1969, there were over 540,000 American troops in Vietnam. -
Non-Proliferation Agreement
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Signed on July 1st 1968 by the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, which are countries fighting in the cold war. -
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 is the most known space mission in history. Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins were the three astronauts to travel in the Apollo 11. This was not only the first spacecraft in America, but the first in the whole world to reach the moon. As Neil Armstrong said, it was "One small step for man....One giant leap for mankind." -
Kent State Shootings
Four Kent State University students were killed and nine were injured on May 4, 1970. Members of the Ohio National Guard began to fire upon a group protesting the Vietnam War. -
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese communist leader, who was the most powerful figure in the People's Republic of China from the late 1970s until his death in 1997. -
SALT(I/II)
SALT 1 and 2 were 2 conferences that involved both the Soviet Union and the U.S. addressing the issue of arms control. -
Fall of Saigon
Saigon is the capital city of South Vietnam. During the Vietnam war, Saigon fell to North Vietnam forces. This event marked the end of the Vietnam War. -
Pope John Paul II
Helped contribute to the fall of communism by influencing people to believe that communism is wrong and starting a "peaceful revolution". -
Soviets Invade Afghanistan
The Soviet Union came into Afghanistan to support the communist Afghan's government in their feud with the anti-communist Muslim's during the war and remained there until February. -
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher became Britain's Conservative Party leader and in 1979 was elected prime minister, the first woman to hold the position. During her three terms, she cut social welfare programs, reduced trade union power and privatized certain industries. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
After the Cold war began to thaw and it was announced that citizens were free to cross the boarder, the wall was demolished. -
Lech Walesa
President of Poland who was the leader of the solidarity movement, he helped to start Poland's first independent trade union. -
START(I/II)
(Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) treaty between the U.S. and Soviet Union in an attempt to reduce strategic offensive arms.
