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Stalin Makes Declaration
Joseph Stalin publicly declared that he believed that war between the East and West will happen. This caused British leader Winston Churchill to warn Europe that an "iron curtain" has been put in place by the Soviets and that this division was a very serious threat to peace. -
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War in Vietnam
The French announced they wanted to reestablish their colonial control over Southeast Asia, and in Vietnam, Communist rebels fought back. They fought for many years, and in May 1954, the French pulled out of Vietnam. In July of the same year, it was decided that Vietnam would be divided into two, and that there would be an election to rule both in 1956. The election never happened, and the partition became permanent. -
Worse Than Online Blocking
After hearing that Western leaders were planning to create a democratic government for West Berlin, which was deep inside the Soviet's territory, the Soviets blocked all land, water, and rail routes into West Berlin. Food, coal, and other vital resources could no longer come into the city. Soviets hoped this would force the West to leave Berlin. -
Berlin Airlift
The blocked roads did not stop Western leaders. They organized the Berlin airlift, a way to send supplies by air. It was massively successful, and Soviets eventually called off their blockade in May of 1949. -
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Korea Fights Itself
In June of 1950, North Korea, a communist nation, attacked South Korea. The United Nations sent military troops from 17 nations to defend South Korea. They were not initially successful, but after a risky invasion behind enemy lines, they effectively pushed back North Korean forces for a time. Favor was given back to them after Chinese forces joined their side and forced the UN out of North Korea. In 1951, the war reached a stalemate. Finally, in 1953, both sides agreed to an armistice. -
Seize Like An Egyptian
In 1956, Egypt took over the Suez Canal, which had been previously controlled by Great Britain and France. After Britain, Israel and France attacked Egypt, the Soviet Union threatened to fight on Egypt's side, causing the U.S. to demand its Western allies to halt their attack in order to avoid a large-scale war. -
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Communist Cuba
In 1959, rebels under leadership from Fidel Castro overthrew Cuba's dictator and established a communist government. Once in power, Castro forged close ties with the Soviet Union, bringing the Cold War alarmingly close to American territory. The U.S. in turn secretly trained 1,500 Cubans who'd fled the country, and in 1961 they launched the Bay of Pigs invasion. They were defeated. In 1962 the Cuban Missile Crisis came about, and after a 2 week standoff, both sides removed their missiles. -
Trump Isn't The First To Build A Wall
After Germany was split into two, West being democratic and East being communist, many East Germans left the country by crossing from East Berlin to West Berlin. By 1961, somewhere around 1,000 people a day were making a daily trip from their homes in East Germany to their jobs in West Berlin. To stop this, East Germany built a tall barrier known as the Berlin Wall, and anyone who attempted to cross it would be shot by East German guards. -
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The Price of SALT (I and II)
After Richard Nixon was elected U.S. president in 1968, he sought detente, or reduced tension between superpowers. A result was the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks, or SALT I, which led to agreements limiting nuclear weapons held by each side. That led to the ABM(Anti-Ballistic Missile) Treaty, preventing development of weapons designed to shoot down nuclear missiles, keeping both sides vulnerable. The two sides later began talks called SALT II, which resulted in an arms control treaty in 1979. -
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War in Africa
In 1975, the African country of Angola won independence from Portugal. However, civil war followed soon after, and The United States and Soviet Union again supported opposing sides. This conflict lasted until 1991. -
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An Improvement in Relations
Ronald Reagan was elected U.S. president in 1980, and used his newfound authority to take a stand against the Soviet Union. He spoke of developing a missile defense system, which seemed to violate the ABM treaty, but also began arms reduction talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1988, they both ratified the INF(Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) Treaty, which called for the removal of certain types of missiles. After years of conflict, the U.S. and S.U. relationship began to improve.
