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Harry Truman
Harry Truman was President of the United States of America from 1945-1953. -
The United Nations
Nearing the end of World War Two, the United Nations was created to solve international conflicts and keep peace more effectively than the League of Nations. The United Nations still exist today. -
The Red Scare
As the Cold War intensified between the United States and the Soviet Unions, many people started to fear the communists in the United States. This hysteria,in the late 1940s through to the late 1950s, became known as the Red Scare. -
The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine declared that the United States would provide political, military, and economic assistance to democratic countries threatened by communism. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was also known as the European Recovery Program and was announced by George C. Marshall on June 5, 1947. It came into effect on June 3, 1948 and provided millions of dollars to European countries to help their economy recover after World War Two. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed by the U.S. and 11 other Western countries to try to contain communism and Soviet aggression towards Western Europe. -
McCarthyism
McCarthyism was the practice of making accusations of treason without any evidence. It was popularized by Senator McCarthy who made many accusations against supposed communists in the United States. It ruined the reputation and careers of many people. -
The Korean War
The Korean War started when about 70,000 North Korean soldiers tried to invade South Korea. The U.S. joined the war in July to fight back against the spread of communism. The war ended in July 1953, with North and South Korea still divided by the 38th parallel. -
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Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight Eisenhower was President of the United States of America from 1953-1961. -
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a long armed conflicted between the communist North Vietnam and their allies the Viet Cong, and South Vietnam and their allies the United States. More than 3 million people were killed and the communist forces eventually gained control of all of Vietnam in 1975 after the U.S. forces withdrew. -
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John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was President of the United States of America from 1961-1963. -
The Bays of Pigs Invasion
The Bays of Pigs invasion was an invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles who were trained by the U.S. The invasion failed and they surrendered within a day. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day political and military standoff between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The Soviets had installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, and many people feared they were about to enter nuclear war. The missiles were eventually removed after the U.S. agreed to remove missiles in Turkey and not to invade Cuba. -
Kennedy's Assassination
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while traveling in Dallas, Texas. Vice President Johnson was sworn in as President of the United States later that day. -
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Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson was the President of the United States of America from 1963-1969. -
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Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon was the President of the United States of America from 1969-1974. -
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Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States of America from 1981-1989. -
Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe
Between 1989 and 1991, communist governments began to lose power, starting in Poland where free elections were allowed. Romania and Bulgaria's communist governments were overthrown, and East and West Germany were unified. -
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George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush was the President of the United States of America from 1989-1993. -
The Persian Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War began when Iraqi forces invaded and occupied Kuwait in 1990. The U.S. joined the war to protect their oil interests in the region and launched Operation Desert Storm. A ceasefire was declared on February 28, after most Iraqi forces had surrendered or fled. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
On Christmas Day, 11 of the 12 remaining Soviet republics announced that they were leaving the Soviet Union and creating independent states. The Soviet Union had fallen, mostly because of the many reforms that Mikhail Gorbachev had made. -
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William Clinton
William Clinton was the President of the United States of America from 1993-2001. -
NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a trade pact, signed into law by President Clinton, between the United States, Canada, and Mexico that removed tariffs and trade restrictions between the three countries. The pact took effect on January 1, 1994. -
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George W. Bush
George W. Bush was the President of the United States of America from 2001-2009. -
September 11th Terrorist Attacks
On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists associated with al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks in the U.S. Two planes flew into the World Trade Center tower, one hit the Pentagon and the fourth crashed in a field. -
War in Afghanistan
The Afghanistan War started with the plan of defeating the Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan and provided sanctuary for al-Qaeda.The war ended up lasting 13 years, becoming the long war the United States has ever fought. -
War in Iraq
In 2003, the United States and forces from the United Kingdom began the war against Iraq to "disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger." The U.S. withdrew in December 2011.
