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Russian Revolution
From March 8rd, 1917 to November 8th, 1917 , The Tsarist autocracy of Russia was overthrown by a little known party known as Communists led by a man named Vladimir Lenin. For a Brief period, Russia was a democracy but Lenin quickly seized control and instated the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or U.S.S.R. for short. Communists believed in stripping people of their personal rights and rather have everyone work collectively. -
The Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the border line that dividing the free western world and the Communist eastern zone. This placed a divide in the continent of Europe and didn't allow people to pass freely between most countries. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference, held on July 17, 1945, was a meeting between the leaders of the 3 biggest world powers; Russia, Great Britain, and the United States to discuss the division of Germany and the end of WW2. They struggled to find a plan they could all agree on due to the ideological differences between Russia and the U.S. -
The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima/Nagasaki
On August 6th, 1945, The first atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima in an attempt to get the Japanese to surrender. They did not believe the U.S. had another one to threaten them with so on August 9th, 1945, the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki. The Japanese, still slightly reluctant to surrender, agreed to the peace terms. Although, Joseph Stalin had known about the nuclear weaponry for some time, he was surprised at the U.S.'s willingness to use the bomb. -
The Molotov Plan
The Molotov Plan was the Soviet Union's response to the U.S.'s Marshall plan. The idea was providing aid the countries in the Soviet sphere of control to help rebuild them after the destruction of WW2. -
The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a foreign policy made by President Truman to prevent the spread of Communism in smaller countries like Vietnam, Laos, and Korea. Preventing the spread of the Communism helped slow Russia from growing in power. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an idea by the U.S. to help rebuild countries in Western Europe decimated by WW2 and restoring their economic and democratic prosperity. -
The Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was the first aggressive move done by the Soviet Union. On June 24th, 1948, The U.S.S.R. surrounded West Berlin and Cut off all trade routes and fuel supply lines along with turning off their electricity in an attempt to starve West German people. In most circumstances, this is seen as an act of war. -
The Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was America's direct response to the Berlin Blockade. Starting on June 24th, 1948, The United States began flying cargo planes over West Berlin and dropped supplies like food, water, clothes, and other necessities. This was part of the first large scale action taken in the cold war and showed that both sides were willing to push back against each other -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, was an alliance of free world powers in Europe and North America to protect each other from a possible invasion or attack -
The Soviet Bomb Test
The Soviet bomb test was the first open atomic test by the Soviet Union. This gave the U.S.S.R much more power because now they were on equal footing with the U.S. in terms of atomic power and now posed a threat to the U.S. -
The Korean War
The Korean War (or conflict) was the civil war in the country of Korea where the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (Northern) and the Republic of Korea (Southern) fought over territory. The United States assisted the Southern part in an attempt to stop the Northern part from falling to communism but inevitably failed. It proved that the U.S. was not an absolute ruling power and that they could be stopped, failing to do what they had promised. -
Alger Hiss Case
Alger Hiss was an American Official during the Cold War who was accused of being a Soviet spy and turning secrets over to the U.S.S.R. He was was convicted of perjury and put in jail for 5 years. -
Hollywood 10
The Hollywood 10 were 10 actors and actresses who, when accused of being communist by McCarthy, refused to confirm or deny being Communist or inserting Communist propaganda into their movies. Upon serving jail time for contempt, all directors blacklisted them and refused to hire them. -
Rosenberg Trial
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were a couple suspected of being Soviet spies during the Red Scare. They were put on trial and found guilty of providing Russia with nuclear weapon blueprints, as well as top secret information on radar, sonar, and jet propulsion. They were sentenced to death by electric chair and died on June 9th, 1953. -
Army-McCarthy hearings
The Army-McCarthy hearings were a series of hearings held by the U.S. senate to investigate accusations between the U.S. army and U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy believed there were Communist within the military and were sharing secrets. -
Dien Bien Phu
The battle of Dien Bien Phu, on March 15 in 1954, was a battle between the French military and Vietnam rebels. The French Launched paratroopers into the city in order to occupy it. Viet men then proceeded to bomb the city with artillery shells and eventually forced the French out of Vietnam, leaving the U.S. to deal with the Communist revolution. -
Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference was a discussion of world powers on what to do with Vietnam now that France had been pushed out. They settled on dividing it in half along the 17th parallel leaving the North Communist and the South Democratic. Ho Chi Minh became the leader of the north and America gave the south their leader named Diem. This showed the U.S.'s commitment to their containment policy. -
The Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was the Unification of the Soviet Union and its Communist satellite nations in an attempt to counter the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. -
The Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution was an uprising of Hungarian people against the Communist regime and the Soviet imposed policies of the U.S.S.R. It lasted 18 days with the Soviet Union maintaining control however it proved that countries were willing to resist communism and in effect, help America's cause. -
U2 Incident
The U2 incident occurred United States U2 stealth plane was collecting reconnaissance over restricted Soviet airspace and was subsequently shot down by Soviet anti-air guns. This showed the willingness of the Soviet Union to fight back against the U.S. without fear. -
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs was an attempt by the U.S. government to overtake and overthrow the Communist regime in Cuba by using Cuban refugees to invade through the bay of pigs. The president refused to give air support so the operation failed very quickly. -
The Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was a wall dividing the city of Berlin both physically and ideologically. it was very symbolic throughout the Cold war as it divided Berlin physically but divided Europe Ideologically. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile crisis was the closest the U.S. came to having nuclear weapons launched at it. A young communist revolutionary name Fidel Castro had allied himself with the Soviet Union and allowed them to place missile silos roughly 90 miles away from the Florida border. -
Assassination of Diem
The arrest and assassination of Diem, the president of South Vietnam, marked the culmination of a successful CIA-backed takeover led by General Duong Von Minh in November -
The Assassination of JFK
The assassination of JFK, on November 22, 1963 was a large event in the cold war as the U.S. was left with a lesser leader and was weakened. This gave Russia an upper hand. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was a resolution presented by president Lyndon B. Johnson to congress declaring that in reaction to the sinking of two U.S. naval ships by Vietnamese torpedo boats, America shall be prepared to repel any aggressive attack against U.S. forces and to maintain international peace in southeast Asia. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the title of the sustained bombing of high value Vietnamese targets. The bombing campaign was only meant to last 3 months but lasted 3 years instead. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet offensive was a North Vietnamese attack on on major cities in South Vietnam on the first night of the lunar new year, the most sacred holiday for the Vietnamese. Eventually the U.S. and South Vietnamese army regained control of every city. Even though it was technically a victory for the U.S. and South Vietnamese, in the eyes of the media the U.S. lost because they lied that the war in Vietnam was going well. -
Assassination of MLK
On April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine motel in Memphis, the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was shot by an unknown assailant and was rushed to the hospital. He was pronounced dead a few hours later. -
Assassination of RFK
On June 5, 1968, The Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy was mortally wounded at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles around midnight. He was declared dead 21 hours later. This exposed a weakness for America because their prime candidate for the Presidency was killed. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, officially known as Operation Danube, was a joint invasion of Czechoslovakia by five Warsaw Pact countries – the Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria, East Germany and Hungary -
Riots of Democratic convention
At the democratic Convention in 1968, Riots broke out outside the convention after a reporter, attempting to interview a delegate, was pushed and shoved by a security guard. Another example of the turmoil happening in America at the time showing their weaknesses and problems. -
Election of Nixon
In 1968, after the assassination of Robert F Kennedy left the spot for the next president rather difficult to fill. Richard Nixon in the end beat out Hubert Humphrey. -
Kent State
The Kent state shootings was the attack and killing of 4 innocent Kent State college students by the Ohio national guard during a mass protest of the U.S. army bombing of Cambodia. -
Nixon visits China
U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China was an important strategic and diplomatic overture that marked the culmination of the Nixon administration's resumption of harmonious relations between the United States and China. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
The Paris Peace Accords, officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam, was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War -
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of the South Vietnamese capital Saigon by the NVA and the Viet Cong in 1975. The end of the Vietnam war was a massive global event that had a large impact on the cold war because the U.S. "lost" in Vietnam and were unable to prevent the spread of Communism. -
Reagan Elected
In 1981, B-list actor Ronald Reagan was elected president on a landslide victory after serving 3 terms as California's governor. A new and promising leadership gave hope to Americans during the Cold War. -
SDI announced
The Strategic Defense Initiative was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons. The concept was first announced publicly by President Ronald Reagan on 23 March 1983. The Soviet Union, trying to stay level on the arms race, spent a lot of money on trying to make it. -
Geneva Conference with Gorbachev
The Geneva Summit of 1985 was a Cold War-era meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. It was held on November 19 and 20, 1985, between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. The two leaders met for the first time to hold talks on international diplomatic relations and the arms race. They both agreed to lower their arms count -
"Tear down this wall" speech
"Tear down this wall!" is from a speech made by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in West Berlin on Friday, June 12, 1987, calling for the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to open up the barrier which had divided West and East Berlin since 1961. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
In November of 1991 , the fall of the Berlin wall began, Citizens and Soldiers alike took pickaxes, hammers, and any other tool they could to destroy the wall. This marked the end of the Cold War and the end of the Soviet Union.
