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The Truman Doctrine
Was a fato declaration of the Cold War. Stated that the United States would support Greece and Turkey with any economic or militaristic aid to prevent them from falling into Soviet Union's power. -
The Marshall Plan
Was also called the European Recovery Act. It gave over 13 billion in aid to finance the recovery in Europe. The United States saw it as a generous thing. However, the Soviet Union wanted no part in the Marshall Plan because they didn't want to feel obligated to give back. The Soviet Union also kept Poland and Czechoslovakia out of the plan. -
The Berlin Airlift
"The Berlin Blockade" Russians were worried about a unified West Berlin. The highway Autobahn was closed and blocked off due to "repairs". America began to send in food and fuel and other goods to those in the western part of the city. This became known as the Berlin Airlift. -
Creation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, made up of the U.S and 11 other Western nations, was made on April 4th, 1949 in Washington D.C. It was a security pact with Article 5 stating that "A military attack against any of the signatories would be considered an attack against them all" -
Korean War
War began when 75,000 soldiers from North Korea went across the 38th parallel. This marked the first military action of the Cold War. America joined by July, on the South Korean side. -
Rosenburg Spy Case
Julius and Ethel Rosenburg convicted and executed for committing espionage during the war. They passed information about the atomic bomb onto the Soviet Union. In history this was the only record of executing a civilian for espionage. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War started over several different years with different countries entering at different times. The United States first sent troops to Vietnam in 1954. By the peak of the war for the United States, in 1969, more than 500,000 military troops and volunteers were involved. The war ended in 1975. -
Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact signed. It created a coordinated defense among the nations. Members of the pact were the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. It was a response to Germany joining NATO. -
Bay of Pigs
Was an unsuccessful invasion on Cuba by the United States. The plan was approved by John F. Kennedy. However the U.S. was stopped by Castro's army. By the end of the fighting, 90 exiles were killed and the rest had been captured. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
The Berlin wall starts being built in Germany. To keep Western "fascists" from entering East Germany was the main purpose. It served mainly however, as the focus of stemming mass defections from the East to the West. A 12-foot tall, 4-foot wide concrete wall separated friends and family, and was nearly impossible to climb. An estimated 171 people were killed trying to get over the wall. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
During the month of October, the United States and the Soviet Union took part in a military and political standoff over the Soviet Missiles installed on Cuba. Americans were warned that the United States was ready to take military action if necessary. However, crisis ended in exchange to the U.S. not invading Cuba. -
Six Day War
Fought between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Began when Israel launched surprise bombs on Egypt. After 6 days, Israel had won a decisive land war. Israel had seized the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the West Bank of the Jordan River, and the Golan Heights. -
Detente
Meaning "relase from tension" referred to improved relationship between the U.S and the Soviet Union when President Nixon met with the general of the Soviet Union, Leonid I. Brezhnev in Moscow in May 1972. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Announcement made on this day by East Berlins communist party that citizens of the GDR were allowed and free to cross the borders. People from both sides of Berlin rushed to the wall with champange and loud cheers. It is said to be the greatest street party in the history of the world. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
Representatives from the 11 Soviet Republics met a few days earlier to declare that they would no longer be apart of the Soviet Union. Only 1 of the 15 republics, Georgia, remained. The Soviet Union had fallen due mainly
