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The Truman Doctrine
On this day, Harry Truman made a speech that promised to support Greece and Turkey with any economic or military aid in order to keep them from falling under the wing of communism. The Truman Doctrine is often considered to be the start of the Cold War. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was put into place with the intention of rebuilding the economy and hopes of western Europe. George Marshall saw the Marshall Plan as an oppurtunity to not only return political stability to Western Europe, but to also stop communism. -
Creation of NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The reason that NATO was created was to arrage military defences for member nations againt any possible soviet attacks. The countries included were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United States, who all agreed to that an attack on one was an attack on all. -
The Korean War
North Korea bombed South Korea with a surprise attack, right as the spread of communism began. The US immediately became involved with their military. The Korean War lasted for three years, and ended in compromise. -
Rosenberg Spy Case
(^^ date of the arrest) Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg and Julius Rosenberg were US citizens who were convicted of being spies for the Soviet Union. The two of them were charged for passing information about the atomic bomb over the the Soviet Union. A year after they were convited, they were both executed. In 2008, the case was confirmed to be true. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a war between nationalist forces to try and stop the spread of communism and unite the country of Vietnam, along with the help of the United States. -
Creation of the Warsaw Pact
Originally called 'The Treaty of Friendship', the Warsaw Pact was a treaty between Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. The Warsaw Pact was a military treaty which stated that each country would come to the aid of one another, should any of them be a victim of foreign aggression -
Bay of Pigs
The United States attempted to invade and overthrow Cuba. The US wanted to overthrow Castro, but were defeated by his army. Before the invasion, Castro took over the US's oil refineries in Cuba, and in response, the US stopped buying Cuban sugars, eventually leading to the planned Bay of Pigs Invasion. -
The Berlin Wall Goes Up
On this day, East Germany started building a border between East and West Berlin. The wall started as just barbed wire, but eventually turned into a massive barrier. At the wall, guards were always on watch, and anyone who tried to get across was executed. The wall was put into place because Ulbricht wanted to "provide security for East German citizens." -
Cuban Missile Crisis
On October 15, 1962, an American plane photographed nuclear missile sites on the island of Cuba. In response, President John F. Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade around Cuba, meant to prevent the Soviet Union from shipping Cuba supplies. For 13 days, the world waited, knowing that there was a great possibility that they were on the verge of a nuclear war with Cuba -
US sends a man to the moon
On this day, as part of the Apollo 11 mission, the US sent Neil Armstrong into space. By landing the first man on the moon, the United States was set ahead of the Soviet Union in the Space Race, giving people around the world excitement about what was to come in the future of space exploration. -
Nixon visits China
When Nixon was elected as president, one of his goals was to be on better terms with China. When he visited China, the American public was able to view images of China for the first time in a few decades. During his stay, he had many meetings with the Chinese government, which in turn significantly shifted the balance of the Cold War. (turning CHina against the Soviet Union) -
1980 Olympic Hockey game
Often referred to as the "Miracle on Ice" this hockey game was the medal-round men's ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics. The US beat the Soviet Union 4-3, and the game forever went down in sports' history. -
German Reunification/Fall of Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was first set up to seperate West Berlin and East Germany. As communism began to crash and burn, an announcement was made by the East German government official that the Berlin Wall was to be abolished. After the wall came down, East and West Germany once again became one. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
On this day, the Soviet Union split into fifteen different countries, which for the west, was a sign of victory and freedom, democracy over totalitarianism, as well as capitalism over socialism. The fall of the SU marked the end of the Cold War.
