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Chinese Revolution
Communism began to take over China, and eventually the People's Republic of China formed to create a new government. Mao Zedong formed the People's Republic of China, and the People's Liberation Arrmy helped purge communism from the country. -
Korean War
After Japan's surrender in WWII, American administrators divided Korea with the 38th parallel. North Korea established a communist government, and South Korea established a right-wing conservative government. Warfare began, and the North invaded the South. The UN intervened and aided the South. China entered the war, siding with North Korea. South Korea's Allied troops retreated to the 38th parallel. An armistice was signed, restoring the border and creating a Demilitarized Zone. Ended July 1951 -
Uprisings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia
In October of 1956, Hungarian citizens began to revolt against their oppressive government. The Soviet Army was forced to leave, and Hungarians began to fight for more freedoms. In November, Soviet tanks killed many Hungarian protestors. The United States responded by sending food and supplies to Hungary and allowing refugees into the country. -
Sputnik Launched/Space Race
On October 14, the Soviet Union launched the world's first satellie(called Sputnik) into space. This caused the United States to feel technologically inferior and made them fear that the Soviets would launch a nuclear attack. The first US attempt to launch a satellite was unsuccessful, and it wasn't until January 31st, 1958 that the US successfully launched a satellite. -
U2 Spy Plane Shot Down
An American U2 spy plane flown by Francis Gary Powers is shot down over the Soviet Union. The plane was equipped with self-destruct mechanisms that would render wreckage unrecognizable, and the pilot was instructed to commit suicide if anything went wrong. The US fabricated a cover story that a weather plane had veered off course and crashed in the Soviet Union. Khrushchev produced the mostly-intact wreckage of the plane and the captured pilot, who was still alive and confessed to his espionage. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
On August 13th, East German troops began building a wall that divided East and West Berlin. East Berlin was controlled by the Soviet Union as a communist nation, and West Berlin was controlled by Democratic Allies. The Wall began as a simple structure built overnight but eventually grew to be over 200 feet long and tore families apart. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet Union sent nuclear weapons to Cuba in 1962, and Kennedy sent a warning to the Soviets to remove the weapons. The US made the discovery that Cuba had weapons ready to be fired, so they made a deal with the Khrushchev that they would not invade Cuba if they would remove the missiles. The Cuban Missle Crisis was the closest the US ever came to beginning nuclear warfare. -
Russia Invades Afghanistan
Russia invades Afghanistan in December of 1979. As a result of this invasion, Carter refuses to fight for the Salt II Agreement, which provided limits on the number of weapons and nuclear weapons each side could have. The Salt II Agreement dies.
