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Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a conference held in Crimea, Russia, and was attended by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. Within the conference, the leaders discussed the future progress of World War 2 and the results of the war. Stalin also agreed to authorize free elections within Eastern Europe and enter the war against Japan. However, these promises were broken & the conference became controversial within the cold war. -
Iron Curtain Speech
The Iron Curtain Speech was a speech given by Winston Churchill during his visit in the USA. It was considered one of the many events that have announced the start of the cold war. In his speech, he states that Western and Eastern Europe had been separated, and that Eastern Europe had become a communist area. He also mentions that overall USSR had been the source of the problem. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was the U.S's containment policy during the Cold War. Within the Cold War, the U.S. would prevent communism all over the world, starting with the US providing military aid in Greece & Turkey to fight communists, and later on with the Berlin Airlift as well as the Asian wars in China, North Korea, and Vietnam. The Truman Doctrine also led to the Marshall Plan and it was also stated that the aggression of communism would not be tolerated anywhere globally. -
Marshall Plan
Also known as the Economic Recovery Act, the Marshall Plan was an act signed by President Truman promising that the U.S. would provide economic assistance for rebuilding and creating a stronger framework of Europe's allied countries, as well as repel against communism in the meantime. Not only did this plan aid Europe but it also promoted prosperity and democracy. -
Soviet Union tests Atomic Bomb
The USSR had tested their first atomic bomb & the explosion was nearly equal to U.S's first atomic bomb "Trinity". In order to observe the impacts of its explosion, civilian structures were placed, as well as caged animals to measure its radiation. With the help of a German physicist, the Soviets were able to learn about the U.S's atomic bombs & how they succeeded in bombing Japan. Both the USSR and the U.S. had possessed nuclear weapons, which would result in the first nuclear war in history. -
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Korean War
The Korean War was a war between communists (North Korea) and non-communists (South Korea). North Korea had invaded South Korea and the United Nations saw this as an act of aggressive communism. Under U.S. command, the United Nations decided to aid South Korea. This was the first act of military force within the Cold War to contain communism. -
Rosenberg Trial
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were tried for and accused of being low level Soviet Union spies living within the U.S. It was stated that they were part of the Communist party and had been releasing atomic bomb information to the Soviet Union and were eventually executed. However, it was later admitted that the two were falsely accused and were both innocent due to false evidence, information, and documents. -
Cease-fire in Korean War
Soon after the election, President Eisenhower had decided to visit Korea during wartime. From there, Eisenhower had decided that it was time for a change and Korea needed a break. Eisenhower had also thought that the U.S's nuclear weapons would make use of speeding up Korea's peace process. Eventually, an armistice was made & prisoners of war could decide whether or not they would stay where they were or go back to their homeland. A border between North & South Korea had also been the result. -
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Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference was a meeting held between representatives of the U.S, Soviet Union, China, France, and Great Britain. Its' focus was to bring peace within the war of French and Vietnamese nationalists. The conference would also allow the U.S. to be a lot more involved with Vietnam, such as providing military and financial aid, and promoting anti-communism in Southern Vietnam. -
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Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference was a meeting held between representatives of the U.S, Soviet Union, China, France, and Great Britain. Its' focus was to bring peace within the war of French and Vietnamese nationalists. The conference would also allow the U.S. to be a lot more involved with Vietnam, such as providing military and financial aid, and promoting anti-communism in Southern Vietnam. -
McCarthy Censured by Senate
McCarthy was known to accuse everyone of being a communist. Such accusations included accusing General Marshall of being a communist sympathizer, as well as accusing the army of consisting of many communist traitors. He strongly believed that if you criticized U.S. policy, you were a communist. Generally, these accusation ruined many peoples' reputations. His authority intimidated and harassed many, many innocent individuals, resulting in him being condemned by the U.S. Senate. -
Warsaw Pact formed
The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance between the Eastern Europe communist countries. These countries included Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. The military alliance was under the influence of the Soviet Union. It was established when Western Europe became a member of NATO and was in response to the membership as well. The pact was of course unequal & unfair for countries and instead became a political advantage to the Soviet Union. -
Hydrogen Bomb exploded in Pacific
The U.S. had dropped a newly improved hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean that was greatly more powerful than previous explosions. This first airborne test resulted to be successful and had proven that hydrogen bombs were indeed usable as airborne weapons. Due to this, the nuclear war had increasingly evolved -
Sputnik Launched
Sputnik was the world's first artificial satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union. America thought the launch was tested to see if it was possible for the Soviets to launch missiles and nuclear weapons from Europe to America, scaring/surprising many individuals. However, its' actual purpose was to observe and learn about outer space and the Earth's atmospheric layers. -
NASA Created
Due to the Sputnik launch, American citizens were fearful of the Soviets launching nuclear weapons from Europe to America. In response to the launch, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created to observe and keep track of America's activities. -
Nixon vs Khrushchev "Kitchen Debate"
During the Kitchen Debate, President Nixon argued with Khrushchev that capitalism allowed its people to become more revolutionized and was more accepting of new, better quality ideas and that communists should follow the same actions. However, Khrushchev angered by the statement, threatened to use more nuclear weapons on America and that communists would soon catch up to the capitalistic world. Khrushchev also stated that capitalists "knew nothing about communism-except the fear of it." -
U-2 Spy Incident
The U-2 Spy Incident was evoked when the Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 plane, and captured its' pilot. When confronted, Eisenhower was forced to admit that the CIA had been spying within the USSR. The Soviets then imprisoned the pilot and soon after the U.S. swapped a captured Soviet agent with the Soviet Union and the pilot. This was considered an embarrassing moment for the U.S. government, and raised much tension between the two countries. -
Soviet Union sends first person into Space
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was the first person to go into space. He was sent by the Soviet Union, along with the spacecraft "Vostok 1". This was considered to be intimidating and embarrassing for America because of how updated and improved communism's technology was compared to capitalism's. -
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Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was established by the Eastern German government to keep its' citizens within the communist side and prevent anyone from escaping to the Western capitalistic side. The wall was made of barbed wires and concrete and was impossible to cross due to the result of trying to cross it, which was getting killed. Many citizens wanted to leave because of communism's horrid living conditions and everyday lifestyle. It stands as one of the most dominant symbols of the Cold War. -
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Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis began when the Soviet and Cuban government placed nuclear weapons in Cuba. Eventually, United States discovered these weapons and decided to take drastic measures. However, the tactics used by the U.S. to contain the nuclear weapons within Cuba did not end well and instead resulted in dilemma. Such dilemma included a failed invasion by U.S. forces off the shore of Cuba.
