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The Red Scare was the fear of the communist countries who were growing in power in the wake of the second World War. The Soviet Union being the main one. The spread of communism was going on throughout Eastern Europe as well as China. The people of the United States feared that communism would come to the U.S. The Red Scare was important because it tested Democracy and reminded people of its importance. The U.S government had to resist temptation from communism and people wanted their freedom. -
U.S program that provided aid to Western Europe after the devastation left from World War 2. In order to win the peace the United States aided the European Nations with $13 billion for them to reconstruct and recover post war. By helping these nations the European economy would recover and Europe would be in good terms with the U.S. This good relationship would increase U.S goods to European countries boosting the American economy. -
The Berlin Blockade was an approach by the Soviet Union to try and limit the ability of the Allied powers to travel to West Berlin. The Soviets blocked off highways, railroads, and canals from west-occupied Germany to west-occupied Berlin. However, the Allied powers did not retreat from Berlin instead they supplied their sectors of the city from the air. This led to the start of the first major conflict of the Cold War. Tensions between the U.S and the Soviet Union would continue to rise. -
NATO was a created by Canada, the United States and several Western European Nations. It was made so that these nations would be secured and protected from the Soviet Union. This was significant to the Cold War because it provided the United Sates with the protection from other Nations if the Soviet Union were to attack. If the Soviet Union invaded the U.S they were invading everyone who was included in that contract and would be fighting a war against them too. -
In 1949 after a successful test of RDS-1, the Soviet government was inspired for the development of the hydrogen bomb. This would be a high-priority program to develop the hydrogen bomb. They had to create this bomb in order to be able to counter the American threat which could be acted on later on. The impact this event had on the Cold War was that now both the Soviet Union and the United States were battling and racing one another to perfect and test their hydrogen bomb. Chaos began to rise. -
After seeing the Soviet Union's success on the atomic bomb the United States accelerated their program to develop a weapon that was even more powerful. The Hydrogen was a thermonuclear bomb which was which was approximately 1,000 times more powerful than other nuclear weapons. The impact of this event was that the Soviet Union and the United states began developing deadlier weapons to use against each other. This new nuclear technology would bring a lot of damage and causalities if war sparked. -
The 38th parallel refers to the war the began when around 75,000 North Korean soldiers crossed the 38th parallel into the pro-Western Republic South of Korea. This became the first military action of the Cold War and was the beginning of the Korean war. This was significant because it was the first action of military taken upon one of the nations. One part of Korea backed Soviet Ideals and the other backed U.S ideals. War sparked between these nations who had different views, it was the start. -
The battle of Dien Bien Phu was a decisive confrontation of the First Indochina war. It was fought between the French Union's colonial Far East Expandatory corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The French ended up in defeat and short after the Geneva Accords were signed. This battle was important because the retrieval of the French from Vietnam would lead to the United States involvement in Vietnam. The communist revolutionaries would later face the United States in the Vietnam war. -
The Geneva Peace Accords ended the fighting of the French and Vietnam after eight years. The French retreated from Vietnam and the Peace accords were signed outlining a road map for the reunification of Vietnam. The Peace accords led to the United States involvement in Vietnam. The impact of the Accords may have ended one war but it set the stage for the Second Indochina war, well known as the Vietnam War. -
The Bay of Pigs was a failed attack by the CIA to push the Cuban Leader Fidel Castro out of power. The invasion did not go well. The invaders of Castro's army were highly outnumbered and in less than twenty-four hour of fighting the surprise attack army had surrendered to Castro's troops. This was significant because this incident would later spark the Cuban Missile crisis. The U.S involvement in Cuba would not be appreciated and Cuba would make efforts to drive the U.S away from Cuba. -
The Berlin Wall was built by the German Democratic Republic in efforts to prevent its people from escaping Soviet-controlled East Berlin to West Berlin, controlled by the Allied powers. The wall divided the city into two physically and ideologically different zones. The Berlin was important because it represented the two sides fighting in the Cold War. It showed the two split sides and ideals fighting. Democratic Western countries and the communist countries of Eastern Europe. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. The Soviet Union promised to protect Cuba and in doing so they set missiles along Cuba which were able to reach the U.S within minutes of their launch. The U.S threatened to take military action if needed but the Soviet withdrew their missiles. This was the closest the U.S and the Soviet Union had come to Nuclear War. Tensions were high and fear of the use of Nuclear weapons also were high. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized President Johnson to take any action he though was necessary to retaliate and to keep peace and security in southeast Asia. By any means necessary meant that if military action was needed and the armed forces were needed to keep the peace, Johnson was allowed to do so. This event was significant in the Cold War because it expanded the U.S involvement in Vietnam. This Resolution would mean more fighting between communist North Vietnam and the U.S. -
The Tet Offensive was a coordinated series of attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese. Many casualties were suffered both from the South Vietnamese and the U.S troops. It was important because it was a major turning point in the war. The North Vietnamese believed that with this attack the United States would question if they could even win the war. It would potentially make it so the United States backed out and left South Vietnam unprotected. -
The My Lai Massacre was the mass murder of South Vietnamese civilians, during the Vietnam War. The unarmed citizens ranging from children, men, and women were all brutally killed during the My Lai massacre. The U.S officers covered up the event and did not report it until a year later. The outcome of this event was that it brought The U.S and Vietnam more apart during the Vietnam War. The antiwar sentiment was fueled up and no sympathy would be shown for the U.S's horrific actions. -
During the Kent State University shooting four students were killed and nine were left wounded. The Ohio National Guard had opened fire on a crowd who was grouped up together to protest the ongoing war in Vietnam. The shooting in outcome led to temporary closures of colleges and universities across the country. It was significant because it was a crucial point that deeply divided the nation as one because of the Vietnam War. -
The Pentagon Papers were in article published by the New York Times. They papers revealed that the United States had expanded its war with the bombing of Cambodia and Laos, coastal raids of Vietnam, and Marine Corps attacks. This was significant for obvious reasons that being that the U.S in response to Vietnamese raids and bombings expanded its war with Vietnam. Many thought that the U.S should not be involved in the War and expansion to war simply did not help the divided nation of the U.S -
The Paris Peace Accords was a treaty that was signed and designed to establish peace in Vietnam and finally bring the war to an end. The Treaty stated that the United States would withdraw all of its troops, advisors, and bases set up in Vietnam. In return U.S prisoners of war would be set free by the Vietnamese. The Vietnam war however did not formally end. The result of the Paris Accords was the U.S restraining from direct combat in Vietnam however not ending the war. -
The War Powers Act was a law that was passed in order to keep in check the President's power in committing the United States to an armed conflict without consent of the U.S congress. President Nixon had vetoed this law but he had been overruled and the bill was approved by the Senate. This was significant because the President would no longer be able to use armed forces to any extent. He would now be limited to making decisions approved by congress. It limited the President's power. -
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of the Capital of Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong. The South Vietnamese forces collapsed up against the rapid advancement of the North Vietnamese. With the reduction and help of U.S forces, South Vietnam was left to defend themselves. This was a very important event as it marked the end of the Vietnam War. After numerous years the war had finally come to an end between North and South Vietnam.
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