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Period: to
Stalin Creates Satellite Countries
Stalin, leader of the soviet union, forcibly took control of Eastern European countries. Some of these counties were Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, And Poland. He used their factories and resources to expand his military. -
Potsdam Conference
A conference that was held in Potsdam where Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill made plans for the administration of Germany and Poland after World War II. -
The Cold War Starts
The Cold War was the time of great tensions and fear between the Capitalist United states and the Communist Soviet Union. It started somewhere after WW2 when the US dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese. The Soviet Union started developing atomic bombs as well, and the composition started from there. The next 50 years was a time of fear of each other super power and led to more development and testing of nuclear weapons. -
Berlin Airlift
The US supplied airdrops of food and other goods to Berlin to help survive the blockade. -
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was a defensive military alliance between the US, Canada, and western European countries. They agreed that if one country was attacked, all would retaliate. This ended US isolationism because it was the first time the US joined a military alliance in peace time. -
China Falls to Communism
Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) which changed china into a communist country. -
McCarthyism
The practice of making accusations of spying or treason for the soviet union without proper regard for evidence. -
Eisenhower Elected President
He was elected in 1953 and had a plan of massive retaliation against the Soviet Union. His plan was that if the Soviet Union attacked the US or any allies, that we would attack back with full force. He would also supply aid to all countries trying to resist communism. -
Khrushchev Controls Soviet Union
Khrushchev wanted to make the economy of the SU better and have less of a dictatorship. Wanted peace but was strong willed towards the US. -
Geneva Conference
A conference in Geneva Switzerland that attempted to solve conflicts in Korea and Indochina. Korean representatives couldn't come to an agreement. The conference also caused France to withdraw troops from Vietnam. -
Sputnik Launched
The Soviet Union launched the first satellite into orbit around earth. The US and SU were in a race to get a man onto the moon. Sputnik was the first major step towards that goal. It was meant to intimidate the US and demonstrate technological superiority. -
NASA Created
The National Aeronautics and Space Act (NASA), signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower, was created for the US to win the space race. -
Kitchen Debate
A series of impromptu exchanges between then U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. -
Cuban Revolution
An armed revolt conducted by Fidel Castro's Movement and its allies against the authoritarian government of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. -
U-2 Incident
A US U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying over Soviet air space. Khrushchev was furious and the US had to admit that they were spying on the soviet union. Majorly hurt relations with the US and SU. -
Soviet Union send first person to Space
The Soviet Union successfully sends the first man into space to obit the earth. -
Bay of Pigs
The unsuccessful invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles, supported by the U.S. government. -
Berlin Wall
Many people in east Germany controlled by the SU wanted out. They used west Berlin to leave the country. The SU wanted to keep people in so they built a wall in west Berlin and shot anyone trying to leave. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The SU built nuclear weapons in Cuba right next to the US. They had the power to bomb any US city. President Kennedy set up a blockade around Cuba until Khrushchev removed the missiles. He agreed, and what could have started a nuclear war was resolved. -
Warsaw Pact
The treaty between Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union, which strived for peace between the countries.
