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Chinese Revolution (Part 1)
The Chinese Revolution began as a result of the Communists and Nationalists in China butting heads. The United States supported the Nationalists because of their views of Communists. For three years, the U.S. had to play peacemaker, while still trying to support the Nationalist party. However, Truman denied the Nationalist party American troops, but they sent $2 billion worth of weapons and supplies. -
Chinese Revolution (Part 2)
Unfortunately, U.S. support did not save the Nationalist party, their actions scared peasants to the Communist party instead. After the defeat, Chiang, the Nationalist party leader, fled to Taiwan. This impacted the Cold War because in the U.S. Truman was attacked for not doing enough to save China. The American public also began to fear communism even more now. On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong announced the new name of the nation, The People’s Republic of China. -
Korean War (Part 2)
The Korean War impacted the Cold War because it caused the United States to come face to face with the Communist troops that were situated in Korea. -
Korean War (Part 1)
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950. North Korea sparked the war by invading South Korea because they thought they deserved to control both countries. The United States went to the aid of South Korea because the North was a communist nation, whereas South Korea supported democracy. The troops that were defending South Korea were controlled by Douglas MacArthur. His counterattacks included the use of tanks, heavy artillery, and fresh U.S. troops. -
Uprisings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia (Part 1)
Uprising in Hungary was in 1956, and the uprising in Czechoslovakia was in 1968. Hungary revolted against The Soviet Union because Hungarians disagreed with Nikita Khrushchev and began fighting. The Hungarian rebels won the first part of the revolution and then a new leader, Imre Nagy was introduced. He promised to create a multiparty system. Then on November 1st, declared neutrality for the Hungarians, but the Western nations didn’t want to “risk a global confrontation.” -
Uprising in Hungary and Czechoslovakia (Part 2)
This caused the Soviets to invade Hungary and try to stop the revolution. Nay was executed and that type of government control was gone. Hungary finally began to evolve toward independence. Czechoslovakia had a similar experience several years later. The people of Czechoslovakia were unhappy with Communist rule and began to revolt, causing a Soviet invasion on August 20, 1968. -
Uprisingsin Hungary and Czechoslovakia (Part 3)
The troops remained in Czechoslovakia for quite some time, but on April 17, 1969, the leader was replaced and all affiliation with his party was stripped. However, the economy suffered until 1983. This impacted the Cold War because both of these countries stood up to communism and began to inspire other countries to do the same. -
Sputnik Launch (Part 1)
Sputnik was launched by the Soviets on October 4, 1957. In order tolaunch the satellite, the Soviets had to use an ICBM, or an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, to speed it up above the friction of the atmosphere. About 1.1 million pounds of thrust was used to launch the 200 pound satellite into orbit. That is more than enough power needed to deliver a nuclear warhead from the Soviet Union to any other part of the world. -
Sputnik Launch (Part 2)
Sputnik made its way around the world once every 96.2 minutes at 18,000mph. The Sputnik launch impacted the Cold War because it caused Americans to feel inferior and vulnerable to attacks. It also caused the U.S. to make changes in educational programs and had scientists working to catch up with the Soviets. Thus causing the Space Race. -
U2 Spy Plane Shot Down (Part 1)
A United States U2 spy plane was shot down on May 1, 1960 by a Soviet pilot named Igor Mentyukov. The plane was shot down after being in Soviet Union territory for about four hours; however, the pilot Francis Gary Powers did survive the crash. This all started after the “open skies” policy from Eisenhower was rejected at the Geneva conference. The CIA arranged some secret, high-altitude flights directly over Soviet territory to take pictures. -
U2 Spy Plane Shot Down (Part 2)
Eisenhower wanted to discontinue the flights after two years and wanted to hold a summit conference with the peacemaker, on May 15th. However, the conference was too late. This affected the Cold War because the USSR made an announcement about the attack to make it seem as though they were more advanced than they were, which in turn made the U.S. fear that the peacemaker’s reaction to the attack would keep him from being as effective as usual. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up (Part 2)
This affected the Cold War because the tensions grew and the wall and guards surrounding the wall limited East Germans access to the other half of the city. Soon, the wall became a symbol of Communist domination, causing showdowns between Kennedy and Khrushchev. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up (Part 1)
• Berlin Wall creation began on August 13, 1961. This began because of the Berlin Crisis. The Berlin Crisis led to the construction of the Berlin Wall because after the Bay of Pigs incident, President Kennedy went to a summit meeting to fight for Berlin. He fought for Berlin by threatening to isolate West Berlin. Khrushchev fought this by constructing the Berlin Wall, within several days the wall had split the city in half. -
Cuban Missile Crisis (Part 1)
• Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, promised that the Soviet army would defend Cuba. In the summer months of 1962, the Soviet Union's shipments of weapons and missiles to Cuba increased significantly. That caused President Kennedy to warn Cuba "that the U.S. would not tolerate the presence of offensive nuclear weapons on Cuba." -
Cuban Missile Crisis (Part 2)
After that, on October 14, President Kennedy gained evidence from U-2 planes that had taken pictures that showed the Soviets secretly building missile bases in Cuba, and some of those bases had missiles that were ready to be launched. This caused even more tension between Cuba and the U.S. because those missiles, if launched, could reach a city in the U.S. within minutes. Kennedy announced that “any attack from Cuba would trigger an all-out attack on the Soviet Union.” -
Cuban Missile Crisis (Part 3)
Then the next six days were tense with the possibility of a nuclear war. A couple of days later, the missiles were promised to be moved as long as “an American pledge was made not to invade Cuba.” President Kennedy did agree to the pledge and caused the end of the crisis. This affected the Cold War because President Kennedy believed that more countries were at stake than just Cuba. -
Cuban Missile Crisis (Part 4)
He also thought that if the U.S. showed any signs of weakness, Khrushchev, the peacemaker, might test the determination of America to try and contain the spread of communism in other parts of the world. -
Soviet Union Invades Afghanistan (Part 1)
Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979. They invaded to support the communist government when there was conflict between in and the anti-communist Muslims during the Afghan War. The troops stayed in Afghanistan until February 15, 1989. The war ended in a stalemate because of the Soviet troops lining the streets of Afghanistan. This war was causing the Soviet Union to fall apart because some many soldiers were killed and so many others injured. -
Soviet Union Invades Afghanistan (Part 2)
The Soviet Union signed an agreement with the U.S., Pakistan, and Afghanistan to send their troops back home. Once the Soviet troops were withdrawn, Afghanistan continued to be “nonaligned.” This affected the war because that meant that Afghanistan was neither communist nor anticommunist at this point, and there was still hope.
