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The Marshall Plan
The United States proposed to rebuild Europe in the interest of a healthy world economy. Secretary of State George C. Marshall first called for American assistance in restoring the economy of Europe. It resotred European agriculture and industry. -
Formation of NATO
NATO is a formal alliance between the countries within North America and Europe. It's main purpose was to defend each other from the communist Soviet Union taking control of their nations. Those nations include: Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, Iceland, Luxembourg, United States, Canada, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Portugal. General Dewight D. Eisenhower was nominated and appointed as the first supreme allied commander. -
Korean War
The United Nations came to the aid of South Korea after North Korea, with the help of the USSR and communist China, invaded; the war ended in a military stalemate. -
Creation of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was basically the communist version of NATO. It included the countries of: Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Romania, the USSR, and Czechoslovakia. -
Vietnam War
The United States supported the southern-based, Republic of Vietnam (RVN) against the Vit Cong, which were a revolutionary movement based in South Vietnam. They were supported by the Communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam (the DRV, or North Vietnam). The war lasted from the mid-1950s until 1975. -
Soviet launch of Sputnik
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the world’s first artificial satellite. It was about the size of a basketball, weighed only 183 lbs, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth. The launch of Sputnik 1 sparked the beginning of the Space Race between the USSR and the United States. -
Fidel Castro comes to power in Cuba
Fidel Castro takes complete political control over Cuba. Castro's nationalization of all agriculture and business put a strain on the relationship between the U.S and Cuba. -
Bay of Pigs
The U.S attempted to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro. 1,300 exiles landed on the southern coast of Cuba, hopping to gain support from the population, but were quickly defeated by Castro's army. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
With the approval from Castro, the Soviet Union began building secret missle bases in Cuba. The U.S got wind of these missle bases being set up, and responded by televising an address stating that the discovery of these weapons would be treated as an attack from the Soviet Union and would be treated as such. As a result, a naval blockade was set up around Cuba. -
The Six Day War
Israel's neighbors were hostile because Israel was located in the area that they had previously marked as thier homeland. Palestinian troops were seen attacking Israeli civilians. Israel responded with counter-attacks such as shooting down Syrian fighter planes. The U.S backed up the Israels, while the USSR supported the Arab Nations. -
Apollo 11
The Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first humas on the moon on July 16, 1969. It was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, with a crew of 3: Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin. They landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, with the famous words from Neil, "the eagle has landed". -
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT)
Two rounds of talks between the Unted States and the Soviet Union took place in Helsinki, Finland in November of 1969 on the issue of arms. -
USSR invades Afghanistan
The Soviet Union looked to intimidate the United Nations by invading Afghanistan only to be met by the mujahideen; a group of rebels stationed in the dessert. The Soviet Union was stopped and forced to retreat. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
An economic, monetary and social union between East and West Germany was formed, and all confrontations were dropped. The Berlin Wall was destroyed and a line was drawn where the wall previously stood. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
With their control over West Germany ceased and their supporters disintigrating the Sovet Union became the country we know today as Russia