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Period: to
Cold War
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The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a policty established by President Truman that would provide military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey. The U.S. also wanted to prevent more countries from falling into Communism and Soviet expansion. Some people believe the Doctrine started the Cold War. -
The Marshall Plan
The American program to give the war-ravaged Europe aid to rebuild their economies. The U.S. wanted to remove trader barriers, modernize industry, and prevent the spread of Communism. The plan was named after Secretary of State, George Marshall -
Creation of NATO
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was formed because of the North Atlantic Treaty. It was a multination military alliance that allows for the mutual defense of all nations involved. The nations include Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. When the Korean War started, the alliance fought against the spread of Communism. -
China becomes Communist
After a near perfect victory over the Nationalist oposition, Mao Zedong announced the formation of the People's Republic of China. He created a Communist government that was based upon the Soviet Union centralized economy. This type of Government is still present today in China. -
The Korean War
North Korean troops invaded South Korean. America, for fear of Communism spreading to other Asian countries, supported the South Koreans. Douglas MacArthur was given the job of leading the troops. They successfully push back the North Korean troops across the 38th Parallel. However, Douglas MacArthur kept advancing forward until he reached the Yalu River. There Chinese forces intervened and pushed the U.S. forces back to the 38th parallel, essentially putting the borders back where they started. -
The Rosenberg's Trial
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were tried for conspiracy to commit espionage in a time of war. These charges were related to the passing of atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union. They were both executed for their crimes on June 19, 1953. -
Creation of Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was the mutual alliance of 8 Communist states established under the Soviet Union. The pact was in response to Western Germany being allowed to join NATO. It promised defense to all nations involved. -
Soviets Launch Sputnik
The Soviet Union successfully launches Sputnik 1, the first Earth satellite, into space. It was essentially a metal ball with a 4 antennas on it that could broadcast signals. The launch of Sputnik started the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union . -
U-2 Spy Plane Contorversy
The incident occured when an American U-2 Spy plane was shot down in Soviet airspace. The U.S. government first denied the reasoning of the plane's intentions but eventually came clean after it was revealed the pilot was alive. The plane was there to spy on the Soviets. This marked the degredation of relations between the 2 countries. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs was an attempt to invade Cuba by a group of Cuban exiles. This group was trained by the CIA and had the task to overthrow the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro The force was defeated by Cuban Armed forces under Castro, who had Soviet support. -
The Berlin Wall Goes Up
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the Eastern Germans to completely cut off the the two halves of Berlin. The gpal was to reduce the flow of refugees leaving East Geraman and heading into West Germany. This heavied the tensions of the war. -
The Cuban Missle Crisis
American U-2 planes captured photographs of Soviets secretly building missle bases on Cuba, some of which had missles ready to launch. United States responded by assembling an invasin force of nearly 200,000 in Florida. At this moment, the whole world "sat still." Nikita Kruschev offered to remove the missles in return that the U.S. promised not to invade Cuba. The crisis was over on Oct. 28th, 1962 -
The Vietnam War-U.S. Involvement
U.S. combat troops began arriving in South Vietnam. Their goal was to remove the Communist Vietcong from power in North Vietnam and liberate the Southern Vietnamesee. The Soviet Union supported the Northern Vietnamesse with medical and military supplies. U.S. Involvment ended on August 15, 1973. -
U.S. send man to the Moon
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people ever to walk on the Moon. They were sent up as part of the Apollo 11 space mission, which launched on July 16, 1969. The were successful in beating to Soviet Union to get a man on the moon first. -
Nixon visits China
President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon visited China to establish better diplomatic relations with the P.R.C. This vistied ended 25 years of separation between the 2 countries. The president had discussions with the P.R.C which included a meeting with Chairmen Mao Zedong. Pat toured schools. factories and hospitals of major cities. The visit marked a shift in the balance of the cold war, the PRC now siding with the U.S. over the Soviet Union. -
USSR invades Afghanistan
The USSR invaded AFghanistan to lead the Communist Afghan forces against the Nationalist mujahideen insurgents. The U.S. supported the insurgents and gave them supplies and funding. The invasion started the Soviet war in Afghanistan which lasted until 1989 when the failing Soviet Union pulled out. -
1980 Olympic Hockey Game
At the Olympics held in Lake Placid, New York, the United States Hockey team defeated the intimidating Soviet Union team. The Soviet team hadn't lost a major championship since 1954. This game, dubbed "Miracle on Ice," allowed the U.S. team to move on and defeat Finland for the Olympic Gold Medal. The Soviet Team went on to win the silver medal. -
U.S. Invades Grenada
The U.S. invaded Grenada in order to return the nation to a constitutional government. A coup had overthrown the governement in 1979, leaving them under Communism. There were both Cuban and Soviet influences on the island. The U.S. won on December 15, 1983. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
An announcement made by East German government official Günter Schabowski said that the checkpoints were now open to everyone. Eastern German soldiers allowed civilians to pass through to Western Berlin with little security checks. The wall itself was chipped away piece by piece. On October 3, 1990, Germany was reunified into a single state. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
This was the removal of the Communist heads of government from Russia. It allowed the 15 nations formerly under the USSR to become indepenedent nations. It also ended the Cold War.
