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Russian Revolution
March 8, 1917 to November 7, 1917
The breakthrough event for communism, Vladimir Lennon, and Joseph Stalin in Russia after a period overwhelming poverty and oppression. -
The Iron Curtain
March 5, 1945 to March 24, 1991
The Iron Curtain was the boundary separating Europe into two separate areas from WW2 in 1945 to the end of the Cold War in 1991, -
Postdam Conference
July 17, 1945 to August 2, 1945
The last meetings between President Truman, Prime Minister Churchill, and Russian leader Stalin before the end of WW2. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
The United States dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, instantly killing between 60,000 and 80,000 people. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The United States dropped a second atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki days after the attack on Hiroshima. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman doctrine is announced, stating that the United States would give political, military, and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from authoritarian (communist) forces. -
The Molotov Plan
The system the Soviet Union created in 1947 to provide aid to rebuild countries that were politically and ethically alligned with the Soviet Union -
Hollywood 10
During the red scare in the United States, the ten actors and producers in Hollywood that were put on trial for supporting communism became known as the Hollywood 10. -
The Marshall Plan
The act that stated the United States would provide any help to recovering European countries after WW2. -
The Berlin Airlift
June 24, 1948 to May 12, 1949
The period of time when France, the United States, and England had to supply the city of Berlin via the air because Russia was blocking off the city. -
The Berlin Blockade
June 24, 1948 to May 12, 1949
The Soviet Union's attempt to limit the ability of France, England, and the United States to travel to their sections of divided Berlin, which fell under Russian occupied East Germany. To get around the blockade, western powers air lifted supply's and relief to the city. -
Signing of NATO
NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and is a military alliance based off of the North Atlantic treaty. -
The Soviet Bomb Test
The Soviet Union's first explosion of an atomic bomb. -
Alger Hiss convicted
Alger Hiss, former state department official, was convicted of having purged himself in regards to previous testimony about his alleged involvement in a Soviet spy ring before and during WW2. -
The Korean War
June 25, 1950 to July 27 1953
The first military action of the Cold War and the war between democratic South Korea and communist North Korea. -
Rosenburg trial
The trial where Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of espionage and were sentenced to the electric chair -
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu
March 13, 1954 to May 7, 1954
A battle between the French and the Vietnamese nationalists that was a turning point in the first Vietnamese war -
Army-McCarthy Hearings
April 1954 to June 1954
The hearings that tried Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy of using improper influence to win preferential treatment for Pvt. G. David Schine, a former member of the senator’s staff who had been drafted. -
The Geneva Conference
April 26, 1954 to July 21, 1954
At the Geneva Conference, world powers met to discuss and resolve several problems in Asia, including the war between the French and the Vietnamese nationalists. -
Warsaw Pact
A political and military alliance established between the Soviet Union and several communist Eastern European nations -
Hungarian Revolution
The nation wide revolt against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic and it's Soviet imposed policies, lasting from October 23 until November 10 1956. -
U2 Incident
The Soviet Union shot down a US U2 spy plane, which was used to spy on the Soviet Union -
Bay of Pigs
April 7, 1961 to April 19, 1961
The US launched a secret mission to regime change Cuba and rid of Fidel Castro. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
October 16, 1962 to October 28, 1962
The Soviet Union began building missile construction sites and placed missiles in Cuba, and almost cause all out nuclear warfare. -
Berlin Wall
Communist East Berlin built a wall to keep citizens from leaving. -
Assassination of Diem
The assassination of South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem. -
Assassination of JFK
The assassination of US president John F. Kennedy while he was campaigning in Dallas. He was shot in the head by Lee Harvey Oswald, who was arrested and convicted. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution stated that congress gave US president Lyndon Johnson power to make decisions without having to go to congress to win the Vietnam war -
Operation Rolling Thunder
The war strategy used in Vietnam which utilized large scale bombing runs on Northern Vietnamese civilian and military targets. These types of missions were used from 1965 to 1968 -
Tet Offensive
The surprise attacks North Vietnam committed on South Vietnam cities during the agreed Vietnamese holidays when the two sides claimed the war would not be fought. -
Assassination of MLK
The assassination of SCLC leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis Tennessee. He was shot for his beliefs on civil rights and racial equality. -
Assassination of RFK
The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles, California. He was shot at the Ambassador Hotel during his presidential campaign. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
The alliance of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country of Czechoslovakia to crush a brief period of liberalization in the communist country. -
Riots of Democratic Convention
The riots that broke out across Chicago during the Democratic Convention that lasted from August 26-29 in 1968. -
Election of Nixon
After Lyndon Johnson, republican Richard Nixon was elected US president, who made ending the war in Vietnam one of his primary goals as president -
Kent State
During the war in Vietnam, many protests advocating for anti-war broke out across the United States. It is believed that some protesters threw rocks at the National Guard, and because of this the guards shot and killed 4 students. -
Nixon Visits China
In the first step towards a positive relationship between the United States and the communist People's Republic of China, US president Nixon visited China for a week for talks. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
After a long fought war, on January 28, 1973 a ceasefire was finally commenced between the Northern Vietnamese and the Southern Vietnamese. -
Fall of Saigon
Communist North Vietnam attacked Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam and claimed it communist. The United States then began the largest helicopter evacuation in history, evacuating South Vietnamese families from the now communist controlled city. -
Reagan Elected
After President Jimmy Carter, republican Ronald Reagan was elected president of the United States. He was president from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989. -
SDI Announced
During his presidency, Ronald Reagan first initiated the Strategic defense Initiative on March 23, 1983. The intent of this program was to protect the United States from foreign missile attacks via lasers and satellites. -
Geneva Conference with Gorbachev
For the first time in eight years, the leader of the United States and the Soviet Union met for a summit conference. While no real problem solving progress was solved, the leaders began to form a strong personal connection that led to positive changes in the future. -
"Tear down this wall" speech
As one of the most famous presidential speeches, when president Reagan spoke to the people of West Berlin, he asked the leader of the Soviet Union to tear down the wall separating communist East Berlin from democratic West Berlin. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
After years of high political tension between the United States and the Soviet Union regarding Germany's Berlin Wall, the head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens could cross the border freely. Upon hearing this, many civilians physically brought parts the wall down using hammers and picks.
