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Britain and the United States merged their German occupation zones to form Bizonia. The National Coal Board took over the British coal mining industry.
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Foreign Affairs publishes Kennan's "X" Article on the "Sources of Soviet Conduct," publicizing his containment theory.
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President Truman announces the Truman Doctrine, informing Congress, "I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."
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Secretary of State George Marshall, in a commencement address at Harvard University, announces a package of economic assistance to aid in European recovery. Though not "directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos," the Marshall Plan further divides Europe into two spheres of influence.
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Congress passes the National Security Act, which creates a civilian Secretary of Defense (the first was James Forrestal), a National Security Council, a Central Intelligence Agency--but does not call for universal military training.
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Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia
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Truman's Loyalty Program created to catch Cold War spies
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Berlin Blockade begins lasting 11 month
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NATO ratified
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Russia tested its first atomic bomb
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Communist Mao Zedong takes control of China and establishes the People's
Republic of China -
Joe McCarthy begins Communist witch hunt and loyalty tests
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Truman approved H-bomb development
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Korean War begins. Stalin supports North Korea who invade South Korea equipped with Soviet weapons
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Chinese soldiers capture Seoul.
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Federal Civil Defense Administration established
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Truman fires MacArthur
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A-bombs developed by Britain
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Greece and Turkey join NATO.
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The Treaty of San Francisco, signed by Japan
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Nuclear Arms Race atomic test series of 11 explosions at Nevada Test Site
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RAND report on the "Vulnerability of U. S. Strategic Air Power"
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Ike's Atoms for Peace speech
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The U.S. launches the world's first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus.
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H-bomb Castle-Bravo test
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U.S. and Japan Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement is signed by the United States and Japan.
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The USS Nautilus becomes the first operational nuclear powered submarine.
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The Baghdad Pact is founded by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
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Warsaw Pact
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USSR sent tanks into Poznan, Poland, to suppress demonstrations by workers
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USSR sent military aid to Afghanistan
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Suez Crisis began with Israeli attack led by Moshe Dayan against Egyptian forces
in the Sinai -
Vostok rocket launched 1st ICBM
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Sputnik launched into orbit
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Sputnik II launched - Laika died in space
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NASA began Mercury project using Atlas rocket
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Khrushchev demands withdrawal of troops from Berlin
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Explorer I launched
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Cuba taken over by Fidel Castro
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Khrushchev visits United States; The Kitchen Debate
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The Soviet Union demands that all foreign troops should be withdrawn from Berlin.
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Soviet Union reveals that U.S. spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory
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John F. Kennedy elected President of USA
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Cuba openly aligns itself with the Soviet Union and their policies.
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Bay of Pigs invasion see Cuban Missile Crisis Timeline
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Berlin border is closed
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Construction of Berlin Wall begins