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Atomic Bombs
The Atomic bombs were the main part of the Manhattan Project which got dropped on Japan to end World War II and is the date of what is shown above. The Manhattan Project became the AEC after this date. There was a threat between the US and the USSR in the Cold War with the threat of Nuclear Attack. Mutually Assured Destruction stopped all attacks here because if the US launched a bomb at the USSR, they would launch one right back and vice versa. -
Yalta Conference
In the Yalta conference, FDR, Winston Churchill, and Stalin all met to discuss their plans for postwar Europe. They also agreed to split Germany into four occupation zones and for Eastern Germany to have free self-ruling government. This conference made a bond between all the countries that attended. -
VE-Day
VE-Day was celebrated by the allies as a celebration of the unconditional surrender of Germany in WWII. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference happened following the official defeat of Germany, and this was the finalizing of the end divisions of Germany. Stalin, Truman, and Attlee were all at the conference and Truman hinted to Stalin that they had a new powerful weapon, but did not name it. Stalin distrusted Truman because of this and Truman was questioning Stalin because he had still not given up the Eastern countries he had promised to before. -
VJ-Day
VJ-Day was the day that marked Japan's surrender in the war to the allies. This was followed by many celebrations all over the world. -
Iron Curtain Speech
The Iron Curtain speech was given by Winston Churchill, and the term kept being used to describe the separation and lack of communication between eastern and western Europe. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a plan that gave generous funding to all countries to rebuild their economies as long as the money was spent on American goods. This did not make the Soviet Union very happy. -
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Berlin Blockade
The Berlin blockade happened when the Soviet Union blocked off all Allied travel to Eastern Berlin. They did this because they believed that the U.S. would have to give up either the west side of Berlin or Western Germany because of this. The Allies responded by having planes constantly dropping packages into Eastern Berlin from the air all throughout this year. -
NATO Created
The NATO was created by the United States, Britain, Canada, France, and many other western countries to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. -
Molotov Plan
The Molotov Plan gave assistance to eastern Europe countries by encouraging them to specialize in making certain things and buy from other states in the Eastern part of Europe that they do not produce. This was done because of the Marshall Plan, and it was to help convice other countries to come to the USSR. -
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Korean War
Deep tensions started when Southern Korea wanted to keep the existing anti-communist government when the Northern Korea pushed south trying to take it over. The UN condemned North Korea and they had the Allies going up to help the Southern Koreans push and fight the War Effort. Almost nothing was accomplished in this war and the border between the countries was made the 38th parallel. -
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Cuban Revolution
This period marks the revolution of Cuba by Fidel Castro against the United States. Many people in Cuba opposed Castro’s claim to power and preferred Cuba’s democracy. -
Warsaw Pact Created
As a rebuttal to the creation of NATO, the Warsaw Pact was created by the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, and many other east European countries for mutual defense. -
Sputnik
The launch of the satellite Sputnik by the Soviet Union brought fear to the Americans. This was because they proved they could launch something into space, and the next thing that they might launch into space was an intercontinental ballistic missile to destroy all enemies. This would be devastating because they could destroy anyone anywhere without even having to be nearby. This event lead to the Space Race. -
U2 Incident
The U2 incident happened when a spy plane was flying over the USSR when there was a supposed peace and a new leader for the Soviet Union. The finding of this plane and America’s excuses for it made the USSR not trust the US anymore and split them further apart. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs was a very embarrassing event for the U.S. in which the C.I.A. and Cuban rebels went against Castro. John F. Kennedy had just become president, and was pushed into doing the attack. He said yes, but then got cold feet because of a failed push toward rebels earlier to attack. All of the rebels that had been placed on the Bay of Pigs had been either captured or killed with no help from the U.S. military. -
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Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was built on this date with the Soviets being the builders of the wall. The former Allied countries were outraged with the Soviet Union for this. It stayed up until it was broken down in 1989. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban missile crisis was when Castro had an anger toward the United states for all of their attempts to overtake Cuba. Mad at the U.S, Castro befriended the Soviet Union and they gave missiles to the Cubans. The Americans, afraid of the possible launch of missiles, were fearful. -
Lunar Landing
Challenged by the USSR for putting the first artificial satellite in orbit (Sputnik), the US started chasing goals to get before the Soviets. After many years and achievements of the space race, the US researched and looked toward going to the moon. Much research was done, then they eventually got there before the Soviet Union.
