-
Yalta Conference, Cold War Begins
Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt meet in Yalta to discuss the goals for postwar Europe. They decided that Poland, Bulgaria and Romania would hold free elections.
PRIMARY SOURCES: "This war is different from all earlier ones; the conqueror of a region imposes his own social system on it" -Joseph Stalin.
"The American people desire, and are determined to work for, a world in which all nations and all peoples are free to govern themselves" -Harry Truman
These quotes show the differences addressed. -
U.S Uses First A-bomb in War, Japan Surrenders, End of WWII
With continuing advancements in the Manhattan Project, Albert Einstein conclude with FDR that it was indeed the highest priority to continue its building. In early August, the US dropped two A-bombs in order to stop WWII and save American lives.
PRIMARY SOURCE: political cartoon -
Winston Churchill Delivers “Iron Curtain” Speech
After Churchill was defeated in his attempt at re-election, he was invited to speak at Westminster College in Missouri, where he applauded the US for being “the pinnacle of world power” while explaining how divided Europe was. PRIMARY SOURCE. Winston Churchill explains, "The Communist parties, which were very small in all these Eastern States of Europe, have been raised to pre-eminence and power far beyond their numbers." -
President Truman Declares an Active Role in Greece & Turkey- Truman Doctrine
A promise from President Truman that the United states would help nations struggling against communist movements. This allowed the United States to send aid with the goal of supporting free people fighting subjection to protect the peace of the world. -
Communists take over Czechoslovakia
The Soviet Union gain control over Czechoslovakia. This marked the fall of the last democracy in Eastern Europe. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
The Blockade was the first attempt at trying to keep accessibility to the sectors of Berlin that the US, France, and Britain occupied. Eventually, the US decided to organized an airlift in order to get supplies to their section. -
U.S announces Marshall Plan
To help Europe recover, Congress approved the Marshall Plan. The U.S eventually spent $13 billion in loans and grants. This lead to an increase in American trade, good relationships and worked against the expansion of communism. -
NATO established
The North Atlantic Treaty organization was formed to give military resistance to soviet expansion. There were 12 Western European and north American nations involved. It was decided that should one of the members be attacked, the rest would support them. -
Soviets develop and test A bomb
During a flight over Alaska an American aircraft detected unusual radiation. After analyzation, scientists concluded that the Soviet Union had developed an atomic bomb. This marked a sudden shift in power as Americans realized how advanced the Soviets really were and now it was the U.S that was at a disadvantage. -
Communists under Mao Zedong take over China
Communists led by Mao Zedong fought with nationalists led by Jiang Jieshi for China. The communists easily won due to unrealistic promises and corruption in the nationalists. This victory for communism shocked the U.S as ⅓ of the world’s population was now under communist control.
PRIMARY SOURCE: "The unfortunate but inescapable fact is that the ominous result of the civil war in China was beyond the control of the government of the Unites States" -Dean Acheson, "White Paper on China" -
Wisconsin Senator McCarthy begins Communist Witch Hunt
Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed that the State Department was infested with communist agents. After he was re-elected, he gained such political power that would cause people to lose their jobs just by McCarthy accusing them of following communism.
PRIMARY SOURCE: political cartoon -
Korean War is Fought
After the communists won in China, the focus shifted the Korean battles and the uneasiness of that conflict. However, after North Korea invaded South supplied with Soviet arms, Truman decided that the US would aid South Korea in order to avoid the aggression of WWII -
Rosenbergs Tried and Executed for Espionage
Internal Security became a concern when two Americans were charged with helping the Soviets build an atomic bomb.The Rosenberg's were charged with passing on private information about nuclear science to the Soviet Union. They were executed on June 19th, 1953.PRIMARY SOURCE:"The defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death after searching records for some reason they would be innocent. The Rosenberg's were in fact employed by the Soviets, as were many others that have yet to be found." -
Warsaw Pact Formed
Military alliance of the Soviet Union and its satellite states. This pact was formed in response to the formation of NATO, and greatly added to American-Soviet tension. -
Hungarian Rebellion Put Down by Soviets
After nearly two weeks of fighting and conflict in Hungary, Soviet tanks and troops marched in to break up the revolt. Thousands were killed and wounded, while another quarter-million people fled Hungary. -
Sputnik Launched- Start of Space Race
The Soviet Union launched a small satellite named Sputnik 1, and then later launched a larger satellite that carried a dog, to see how a living creature would react. These launches, although mostly unsuccessful, shocked the US and caused them to join the Space Race. -
Cuba Taken Over by Fidel Castro
Cuban leader by the name of Fidel Castro established the first communist nation in the Western hemisphere after he organized an overthrow of Fulgencio Batista. The US and Cuban relationship was always unstable up until 2015, where they finally met an agreement. -
U-2 Incident: American Spy Plane Shot Down Over USSR
While a routine fly-over occurred,U-2 was shot down over the Soviet Union.The CIA assured Eisenhower that the plane would deconstruct and the pilot was to kill himself.However, the USSR produced the mostly intact plane, and the pilot alive.PRIMARY SOURCE:"Mr. Khrushchev declared that there had been two incidents involving intrusions by United States planes during the last month.Another plane crossed the southern borders and on delivered orders from the highest authority in Moscow, was shot down" -
John F. Kennedy Elected
After Eisenhower held presidency for 8 years, candidate John F. Kennedy defeated Richard M. Nixon. JFK wins narrowly, but worked to continue the ideas and principles for the Cold War as were previously set by Truman and Eisenhower. -
Khrushchev Demands NATO Withdraw Troops from Berlin
Premier Khrushchev delivered a speech in which he demanded the Western troops of the US, France, and Great Britain to leave West Berlin within six months. However, Berlin remained in power of the western powers while constantly fighting off the attacks of communism, as Berlin was located deep in Soviet territory. -
U.S sends “advisors” to Vietnam
President Kennedy’s aggressive stand against communism in Vietnam. By sending Special Forces troops as “advisors” to help the South Vietnamese citizens. These troops eventually plotted with anti-Diem generals and overthrew Diem’s government. -
Bay of Pigs invasion
To confront communism in Cuba, Ike planned an invasion of Cuba to overthrow the Cuban leader. When Kennedy gained office, he chose to implement Eisenhower’s plan. The invasion was an epic failure and resulted in a huge casualty rate, probable strengthening of Castro’s control in cuba and some Americans changing their views on Kennedy. -
Berlin Wall Built
Ordered by Khrushchev, the Berlin Wall was built in response to the United States refusal to surrender West Berlin. The wall added tensions and became a symbol of the great division of Germany and differences between communism and democracy.
PRIMARY SOURCE: image showing how the wall effected citizens of Berlin by separating families. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Conflict between the U.S and the Soviet Union resulting from the Soviet installation of nuclear missiles in Cuba. Ended with agreement that both nations would remove missiles from opposing bases.
PRIMARY SOURCE: political cartoon -
President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas
The greatly respected President Kennedy was fatally shot during a motorcade procession. The assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald would later be decided as the “lone killer” in the incident. This senseless murder deeply affected the nation as millions of families grieved.
PRIMARY SOURCE: videos of Kennedy's funeral show how loved he was, and how much the country grieved his loss:
https://youtu.be/pKetKeYo8ns
