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The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the primary plan of the US to create a stronger alliance of the Allied Powers of Europe and was named for the Secretary of State, George Marshall. The plan offered aid to the USSR and its allies, but they denied fearing they would "ask" them to change to Capitalism. The plan was only in operation for four years as one of the first elements of European integration. -
The Berlin Airlift
At the end of WWII, Germany was divided into four parts by the US, Soviet Union, France, and Britain. The Soviet Union placed a blockade on the allied side of Germany to starve them to the Soviet side. The Allies' response was to send an unbelievably massive air supply to fly night and day to feed the city of Berlin. -
Creation of NATO
NATO, which stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a regional defense alliance. In efforts to strengthen and help improve the well-being and freedom of its members through a system of collective security. The North Atlantic Treaty was signed on April 4th, 1949 at the beginning of the Cold War to help protect Western Europe against Communist influence and/or attacks. -
The Korean War
The Cold War turned brutal as North Korea invaded South Korea and activated the United Nation's aggressors. In a scrambling attempt to counteract North Korea's fast-moving army, this three year war was seen as a global military challange from the Communists. Communist countries joined together to push back the United Nation's efforts, but in the end negotiations were made and fighting ceased. -
Creation of the Warsaw Pact
Also known as the "Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance" or the treaty between Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union was signed in Poland in 1955. Similiar to NATO, it was a military agreement that established if any member were to be the victim of foreign aggression, the rest would get involved. The Soviet Union took advandage of the pact and it was eventually dissolved in 1991 after nations withdrew their support. -
Soviet Launch Sputnik
Sputnik was the world's first artificial satellite, which was the size of a beachball, and took about 98 minutes to orbit Earth. The launch surprised Americans as well as their government. The US feared the Soviet Union's success on the launch could carry into a missile launch. The US defense department then began work on the Explorer Project. -
Vietnam War
In another attempt to stop the spread of Communism, the United States paired with the South Vietnamese people fought a "war with no end" until April 30, 1975. It was a prolonged battle between Nationalists to try and unify Vietnam under a Communist government. President Johnson wanted no for the US to win the war, but to strengthen South Vietnamese defenses until they could take over. This war lost the support of citizens back home and showed what not to do for future US conflicts. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs was an unsuccessful attempt made by United States-backed Cuban exiles to overthrough their Cuban dictator, named Fidel Castro. With the invasion plan approved by JFK, 1,300 exiles landed on the Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) on the southern coast of Cuba with US weapons on April 17th, 1961. Within hours, the exiles were losing and Castro's army had killed 90 of the exiles and took the rest as prisoners. Because of this attempt, Castro became wary of the US, as well as the US. -
The Berlin Wall Goes Up
To seperate West Germany and East Germany, overnight a wall was put up a hundred miles long symbolizing the East as Communists and the West as Capitalists. The original wall of cinder blocks and barbed wire was later replaced three more times until eventually taken down. The wall divided Germany geographically as well as economically. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile crisis was the closest the world ever came to a nuclear war. In 1962, the Soviet Union was far behind the US in the arms race so they deployed missiles in Cuba to have a more direct shot at the US. Castro agreed to Khrushchev's plan and the Soviet Union started implimenting missiles in Cuba. After Kennedy quarentined the island, Khrushchev dismanteled the missiles in agreement with the US to not invade Cuba. -
US Sends a Man to the Moon
As part of the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. This placed the US before the Soviet Union in the Space Race and set a path towards future space exploration. -
Fidel Castro Comes to Power in Cuba
Castro came to power on a wave of popularity. He was originally not a Communist, with free medical treatment and universal education, but lost favor when he nationalised US owned assets and lost favor. -
German Reunification/Fall of Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was a divisionary wall between West and East Germany, as well as symbolizing the divide of Communisim and Capitalism. On the west side of the wall, West Germany thrived and the period was known as the "economic miracle". Quite the opposite happened in East Germany under the Soviet Union's rule. Stretching about 100 miles through Germany, the tearing down of the wall finally reunified Germany on November 9th, 1989. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union finally came to an end due to failed attempts to reform, an economy at a standstill, and the success of the US in the war in Afghanistan eventually led to discontent. The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, left the nation with greater social and political freedom that encouraged open critisism against Communism. That paired with low prices of oil and lack of foreign exchange reserves caused the Soviet Socialist Republics to resist central control and lean towards democracy. -
The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a document issued by US President Harry Truman in a speech confessing the US's support of Greece and Turkey's economic and military future. This was to prevent the fall of the "Soviet sphere". Some say this was the start of the Cold War. It was just another attempt to stop the movement of Communism.
