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Cold War Begins
The Yalta Conference was held to decide the fate of the post-war Europe. Countries gathered here to divide Germany, create the U.N, and agree over the future of Poland. Their differences caused the Cold War to begin. http://www.funfront.net/hist/europe/coldwar.htm -
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The Cold War
The cold war began after World War II because of disagreements over Europe. United States, Britain, France and Russia each had their own ideas about how they wanted to rebuild Europe and they all thought their idea was better than the rest. The Cold War didn't begin from just one event, but because of the different ideas and interests between the Soviet Union and the West.
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The U.S uses the first atomic bomb in the war
The United States drop a bomb in Hiroshima. This was bomb was the first atomic bomb to ever be used in battle. The bomb weighed more than twenty kilotons and killed more than 80 thousand people. The bomb was named "Little Boy". Website -
U.S drops second atomic bomb
The United States drop their second atomic bom in the Cold War. This time the target is Nakasaki. This bomb weighed over 22 kilotons and killed over 70 thousand people. This bomb was nicknamed the "Fat Man". Website -
WWII Ends, Japan Surrenders (In Japan)
This was the last battle of World War II. At the end of this battle, most of the World War II hostilities had ended. Although Japan had lost, they secretly started planning to make peace with the Soviet Union, however, the Soviet Union had other plans. As the Japenese were planning a peace treaty, The Soviet Union was getting ready to attack them. Website -
End of World War II (In the U.S)
World War II was a global war meaning; about 70 nations took part in this conflict. Which meant even after the war ended there were still problems between countries that fought against each other, although it is not the only reason the Cold War started, it is one of the many. Website -
Winston Churchill Delivers "Iron Curtain" Speech
Website Winston Churchill delivered this speech at Westminister College in Missouri. He stated that there was a "curtain" between the West and East. The countries that lied on the East side of the "curtain" had no freedom and were under the control of Moscow. The countries that were on the West side of the "curtain" had a democracy and free enterprise and had freedom. He favored the West side, and said that this separtation was caused becuase of the USSR. -
Berlin Blockade Begins
Berlin was the center of the Iron Curtain, which caused it to be the hotspot for most of the dissagreements and war. Berlin was controled by the Soviet Union. The Soviet leaders decided to build a blockade so that nobody could leave or come in. The western countries had to secretly give the people of Berlin supplies. This blockade lasted more than 320 days. Website -
Berlin Blockade Ends
Many strikes occured over the blockade. The western countries also were against the blockade. After 320 days, the Soviet Union leaders finally decided to give into the western counties's pressure. They removed the blockade and Berlin was once again able to trade by ships. Website -
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Korean War
Korea divided into two (North and South Korea) when there was conflict between the communist and non communist forces. There were months of heavy fighting that lead to the split of the country.This relates to the Cold war because the Cold war was conflict between the communtists and the western world.
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President Truman Approves Developement of Hydrogen Bomb
After the making of the atom bomb, Americans were reluctant to make a bomb with a bigger explosion. However, that attitude changed when they recieved news that the Soviets had tested their first successful atom bomb. Knowing this, Truman said that it would not be long before the Soviets come up with their own hydrogen bomb. So in the sake of keeping the technological lead, The President allows developement of the hydrogen bomb.
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Sputnik Launched Into Orbit
Throughout the Cold War, the United States and Russia were competing to get to space first. Scientists from both sides worked day and night to launch the first satellite from their home country. Finally, on October 4, Russia won the race by launching the first successful satellite, Spuntnik I. http://goo.gl/BOuY1
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John F. Kennedy Elected President of the U.S.
On November 8, after a hard fought election, John F. Kennedy wins the Presidential campaign and becomes the youngest man to take the presidential office in the United States. His competitor, Nixon, was only a few years older than him, but criticized Kennedy for being to young and inexperienced. Later, this description showed when the Bay of Pigs Invasion occured, John F. Kennedy did not know what to do. Website -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The US and the Soviet Union became very close to a nuclear war. The tension between the two countries was at its highest. The Soviet Premier, Nikita S. Khrushchev, deployed missiles to Cuba. These missiles were targeted at the United States. The results were the removal of the Soviet Union's missles in Cuba, withdrawl of the United State's missles in Turkey, and the agreement witht the Soviets that the United States would never invade Cuba.http://goo.gl/BOuY1 Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSV9 -
President Nixon Visits China
From February 21-28, Nixon visited three major cities in China. In Beijing he had a meeting with the Ambassador of China. In this meeting, the Secretary of the State was excluded. This meeting was held to discuss the settlement of Taiwan. The result was peace between China, the U.S, and Taiwan.
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Ronald Reagan Elected President
Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States, and the oldest President to be elected in U.S history. In his two terms, he tried his best to raise the spirits of the depressed Cold War victims. He fixed the U.S government budget and would go on to make a truce with the Soviet Union later in his presidential career.
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Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
At this point, the tensions of the Cold War were not as high as it was in the beginning, and different countries were using nuclear material to power up the cities. However, on April 26, 1986, and incident occured that changed the whole world's thought about nuclear powers. What started out as a rountine maintainence in Chernobyl turned into a horrible disaster that is still remembered today. One of the nuclear reactors blew up, causing all the workers to die. http://goo.gl/SqPGO
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The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall that seperated East and West Germany fell, bringing happiness to the people of Germany. The people could now go to either side of the country, without the fear of getting killed. They could also go to a freer life in the western countries, such as the U.S, and the Soviets would not be able to stop them. The fall of the Berlin wall resulted in prosperity and good feelings in East and West Germany.
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Germany Reunited
As the Cold War was coming to a close, Germany started uniting together. The West and East came together to make major political changes to their government. A new conservative governor had been elected. However, the reunition cost had a major toll on the East side of Germany, and the economy drastically fell. Later, the economy would get better due to the conservative leader, Kohl. Website -
Fall of Soviet Union
To the world's surprise, the Soviet Union dissolved into fifteen different countries in the December of 1991. This marked the end of the Cold War and brought peace to lands in Europe and the Western countries. The people in the U.S threw parties, for the long, brutal war had finally ended between the United States and the Rusian Soviets.
http://www.coldwar.org/articles/90s/fall_of_the_soviet_union.asp
