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Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” Speech:
In this speech, Winston Churchill spoke about the metaphorical “iron curtain” formed in Europe. It symbolized the difference between the communist side of Europe and non communist side. It was a physical boundary described as an “iron curtain”. -
The Truman Doctrine/Containment:
The goal of containment was to stop the spread of communism. The United States would work in both military and nonmilitary ways to complete these actions. The Truman Doctrine promised to help and aid people who were struggling to resist threats to democratic freedom. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was introduced in 1947 and put into action in April of 1948. It was made to help aid and rebuild Europe’s economy after WWII. They did this to prevent the spread of communism. The goals of the United States were to rebuild a war-devastated region, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, and make Europe prosperous again. -
Creation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, was formed in 1948. It included the United States, Canada, and ten Western European nations. The event that led to the formation of this group was the fear of communist control over Eastern Europe. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
Stalin blocked access to Berlin. In response, the United States would fly over food, fuel, and equipment for the city. After about a year, Stalin called off the blockade. -
Korean War
The Korean War started because North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea. The United Nations then got involved to stop the spread of communism into South Korea. The UN then chased North Korea back across the border. -
Vietnam War/ Domino Theory:
The domino theory was the strategically idea of the US about containment. This was also the reason the US became a part of the Vietnam War. The domino theory said that if one country in Asia went communist, it would have the "domino effect," and all the other countries would follow. The US was afraid that Japanese- Americans would follow their "homeland's beliefs," and become communist within their homes, and cause uprisings in the community. -
Launch of Sputnik
Sputnik was the first "artificial earth satellite." It was a bomb launched by the Soviet Union into an "elliptical low earth orbit." It was visible and detectable all around the earth. This attack motivated the US to rethink and create new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. -
Building of the Berlin Wall
The German Democratic Republic constructed a barrier that cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and East Berlin. The goal of this was to isolate West Berlin and supposedly "protect its population from the spread of fascism." The wall prevented extreme emigration, and separated the communist from the noncommunist part of Germany during the WWII period. -
Cuban missile crisis/ MAD
The Cuban missile crisis was a thirteen day "confrontation" of the Soviet Union and Cuba versus the United States. This was a big part of World War Two, and was the point in the war when nuclear conflict became something the US began worrying about. MAD stands for mutual assured destruction, which is exactly what it sounds like. Each side threatened to cause mass destruction among the other side, and there was no doubt that they couldn't accomplish it. MAD was an issue that was later contemplate -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The wall was built, and about three decades later, it had fallen. Communist countries had failed at their attempt to make the rest of the world communist. The communist block was weakening, and this was the first sign of the falling of the Berlin Wall. As communist governments began faulting all over Europe, more and more people began to leave the West. The governments had debated about this issue on multiple occasions, and eventually just opened the borders completely. This shocked people, but -
Fall of the Soviet Union
The fall of the Soviet Union was officially final on December 26, 1991. The declaration showed that all twelve republics of the soviet union were independent. The day before this, the Soviet leader resigned. He also gave the Soviet nuclear missile launching codes to the Russian president.
