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Period: to
The Cold War
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The establishment of the United Nations in San Francisco
Over 50 nations met in San Francisco to make new principles for the United Nation. They wanted to handle matters peacefully and solve international problems. Countries like The United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, and China had permanent seats in the council. They also had veto powers. It was meant to promotw justice in the world and cooperation. -
The Yalta Conference
President Roosevelt, Stalina and Churchill met at Yalta to discuss what they would do with Germany and Poland. They divided Germany into four occupied zones. France, Great Britain, and the United Nations combined their zones to make West Germany. The Soviet zone was called East Germany. The United States wanted the Soviets to declare war on Japan and the Soviets wanted the Germans to pay for their war damages. -
The Potsdam Conference
This was where Truman first met with Stalin. Winston CHurchill had been suceeded by Clement Attlee who was also at this conference. It was held in a suburb of Berlin. The two new representatives/ Truman told Stalin that the new atomic bomb was in development but Stalin just said he hoperd it would be put to good use. -
The Army-McCarthy Hearings
In early 1954, when one of his assistants was drafted, McCarthy charged that even the army was full of Communists. Army officials, in turn, charged McCarthy with seeking special treatment for his aide. As charges and countercharges flew back and forth, the senator's subcommittee voted to investigate the claims. -
The Launch of Sputnik
The Soviets launched the first artificial or man made satallite on this date. It was the first one of the satallites to orbit Earth. The Americans realized that this could carry a hydrogen bomb and became fearful it would go over their shores. This proved there was a technology gap between the US and the SOviets. -
The U-2 Incident
The Soviets launched missiles in 1960 which shot down an American spy plane. The plane was over Soviet territory when it was shot. It was also 15 miles high so they had thought it would not be attacked. This destoryed their confidence. After the incident, many Americans were willing to expand resources to catch up with the Soviets
