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United Nations Formed
The United Nations was established after WWII in an attempt to maintain international peace and security to achieve cooperation among nations on economic, social, and humanitarian problems. Consisted of China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the Unites States. -
Truman Doctorine
President Truman pledged that the United States would help any nation resist communism in order to prevent its spread. This effectively reoriented U.S. foreign policy, away from its usual stance of withdrawal from regional conflicts not directly involving the United States, to one of the possible interventions in far-away conflicts. -
Hollywood 10
The Hollywood 10 was a group of members that refused to testify to an anti-communist committee hearing during the Red Scare era. The Red Scare was hysteria over the perceived threat posed by Communists in the U.S. during the Cold War. The Hollywood 10 was arrested and most of them served 4-12 months in prison. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a U.S. program of economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe following the devastation of WWII. For the United States, the Marshall Plan provided markets for American goods, created reliable trading partners, and supported the development of stable democratic governments in Western Europe. -
NATO Formed
NATO was formed to safeguard the Allies' freedom and security by political and military means. Consisted of Belgium, Canda, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. -
Korean War
The Northern Korean People's Army invaded South Korea in a coordinated general attack at the 38th parallel; the line dividing communist North Korea and non-communist South Korea. The United States entered the war on June 27, 1950, to help South Korea because the U.S. was also non-communist and saw North Korea as the aggressor. -
Space Race/Sputnik
The Space Race was an arms race between the respective militaries of the United States and the Soviet Union. The United State's goal was to land on the moon before the Soviet Union could. The U.S. succeeded. -
Bay of Pigs
An abortive invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs by the United States. This occurred because Fidel Castro, a Cuban political leader, was a soviet client posing a threat to all of Latin America. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
The Berlin Wall was built by the German Democratic Republic to prevent its population from escaping Soviet-controlled East Berlin to West Berlin. It stopped people from East Germany from going to West Germany, seeking freedom. It was a symbol of the division between communist and capitalist ideologies. -
U.S. Officially Enters Vietnam War
The U.S. entered the Vietnam War to limit Soviet power in Southeast Asia and stop the spread of communism. The effect of this led the U.S. to have a more cautious approach and avoid prolonged military engagements. -
Soviets Invade Afghanistan
The Soviets sought to prop up the country's communist government in its battle with anticommunist Muslim guerillas. This caused grave destruction in Afghanistan and some scholars say this was a specific event that contributed to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. -
Berlin Wall Comes Down
The fall of the Berlin Wall was Germany's first step towards reunification. Political changes in Eastern Europe and Civil unrest in Germany put pressure on East Germany (communist), causing their government to loosen some of its regulations of traveling to West Germany