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The Marshall Plan
Truman named General George Marshall the be the Secretary of State. In June, Marshall and a few others who had helped construct the Marshall Plan announced it to the public. It was specifically made to help bring the economy of Europe up to a more stable state and the bring the spirits of the people back up as well. Under the Marshall Plan, the econonies in Europe began to climb back up for about 4 years. -
Creation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established as a back-up system for the nations who signed into it. If was an order of defense in which the nations involved in NATO would respond anywhere an attack would occur. The signing of the Treaty of Brussels is what is thought to have officially pushed towards the founding of NATO. -
China becomes Communist
In October 1949, Mao declared China a communist nation. The county was greatly suffering from economic downfall due to the long war with Japan. Land reforms, annimals, adn machinery were given were given to peasents to try and produce more food for the country. -
The Korean War
North Korea and South Korea went to war in the summer of 1950. The United States became involved along with the UN and tried to keep up and stop the North Korean army from advancing south. China and the Soviet Union were on the side of North Korea and China was eventually contained and forced to back out of the war.The war unexpectadely lasted for three years. -
Warsaw Pact
Leaders from the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania all met in Warsaw to sign a kind of freindship agreement that was thought to be the Soviets version of NATO. The pact stated that the religions of each nation wouldnt interfere with the alliance and respect would of the independance of each country should remain. -
The Vietnam War
After the French had left Vietnam, the coutry split into a communist north and non-communist south. The US became involved to stop the spread of communism to the south. Also, the US refused to agree with an election to reunite the county because they feared to communists would win. An attack on two US ships by North Korea led to the increased involvement of American forces in Vietnam. The US's goal wasnt to win the war, but to aid South Vietnam and build them up until they could take over. -
Soviet Union Launches Sputnik 1
The Soviet Union shocked the world when they had sent the very first artifical satellite into orbit around the Earth in 1957. Some feared that this capability could lead to the ability of the Soviet Union to launch nulcear missiles. The launch of Sputnik 1 led to new military, technological, scientific, and political developments around the world. -
Invasion of the Bay of Pigs
Cuban-Americans who fled to America when communism was put into force in Cuba were sent back to Cuba under the order of President Roosevelt as an invasion tactic to attempt the overthrow of Castro. The invasion failed due to over 20,000 Cuban soldiers who marched to the beach and put a stop to the attempted invasion -
The Berlin Wall Goes Up
Ulbricht made a speech declaring that a wall would be put up for the protection of East German citizens from the west. Krushchev threatened to sign a peace treaty with the East germans that would end end power with the west. When the wall went up, no one was allowed to bross into either side until the wall was torn down. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
This was the closest tha the world ever came to a nuclear war. Kennedy had put together the EX-COMM when he found out about Soviet missile construction in Cuba. A U-2 was shot on October 27 over Cuba and Khrushchev sent the US a letter demanding the removal of missiles from Turkey. Krushchev announced he would remove Soviet missiles from Cuba, trusting that he US would not attack Cuba. -
Six Day War
This war was between Isreal and Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. Isreal was convinced that it was only a matter of time before the 3 Arabic nations attacked it and when Egyptian forces were orders to go to the same place that the UN was in the middle East, Isreal thought for sure that it was an attempted attack. The egyptian forces, however, were moving there to get the UN out of the Middle East. Isreal launched an immediate and devestating attack on the Arabic nations. -
Man on the Moon
8 years after the Soviet Union had landed Sputnik 1 on the moon, the US was no longer behind "the race to space" and sent a man, Neil Armstrong, to the moon for the first time ever. -
1980 Olympic Hockey Game
The US and the USSR were matched up to play agains eachother in the 1980 Olympics. The USSR was at the top, dominating in the NHL. The US were considered "under-dogs" compared to the USSR and the US coach believe that they could get, at best, a bronze medal. At the end of the first half, a questionable shot was confirmed made by the US and anded up winning the game 4-3. -
German Reunification/Fall of the Berlin Wall
After the Berlin Wall was brought down on November 9, 1989, the unification between East Germany and West Germany went into place. The East German government had announced to its people that they would be allowed to visit West Germany. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
The entire Soviet Union began to sperate into 15 different countries. For decades, the Soviet Union had a hard time staying unified due to economic failures, the extreme degree that non-Russians opposed assimilation, and the general idea of communism. The fall of the Soviet Union was looked at as a victory to the west.
