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The Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution began on March 8, 1917 and ended on June 16, 1923. The revolution started when the Russian government lost power and control of Russia, due to the abolishment of monarchy. The revolution was the political and social disagreements between two different social groups, which lead to a civil war between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. -
Potsdam Conference
A meeting in Germany which included Joseph Stalin, Harry S. Truman, and Winston Churchill, talked about post war Europe and what will happen to war effected countries and Germany. -
The Atomic Bomb - Hiroshima/Nagasaki
The Atomic bomb was first used on the Japanese on August 6, 1945, followed by another deployment three days later. The father of the bomb was J. Robert Oppenheimer, who said that he is death, and the destroyer of worlds. The allies issued atomic bombs to be used on four different cities in Japan. But only two bombs were dropped before Japan surrendered. The bombs destroyed many cities along with 90,000 to 146,000 deaths in Hiroshima and 39,000 to 80,000 deaths in Nagasaki. -
Long Telegram
Soviets were acting more like enemies, not allies.The Allies were not sure what Soviets were doing. But the best answer came from George F. Kennan, an american diplomat stationed in Moscow. An 8,000 word dispatch to Washington, known as the Long Telegram, proposed an answer to the question of the Soviets. Kennan thought that the soviets didn't necessarily want war with the west. The proposal was a long term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was a non physical boundary that divided Europe in half that represented the Soviets intentions to remove or block itself from other countries. On the east was the Soviet Union and other communistic influenced countries, and the west was NATO members. The beginning of the Iron Curtain started in 1945 and ended with the end of the Cold War in 1991. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
Mao Zedong prevailed in a decade long Chinese civil war. 500,000,000 Chinese fell under communist rule. His help with countries in revolution almost caused WWIII. -
Molotov Plan
The Molotov Plan was a system the Soviets used in aiding Eastern Europe satellite countries of the Soviets. The Molotov Plan was East Europe's Marshall Plan. The Soviets created the Molotov Plan to help other countries who were economically deteriorating. -
Hollywood 10
HUAC investigated communist influence in Hollywood, holding trials that questioned actors, film writers, and entertainment producers. The committee was concerned of the potential power movies had to persuade viewers. The Hollywood 10 was a group of people who refused to answer questions citing protection under the first amendment. They were convicted of contempt and sent to prison. -
Truman Doctrine
The President of America requested aid for the countries of Greece and Turkey, explaining that its Americas duty to support freed people from other forms of government rule, such as communism. This idea, known as the Truman Doctrine changed Americas foreign policy and presented the idea that America is a peacekeeper of the world. -
Marshall Plan
George Marshal realized that countries that lay in ruin, due to war, are more likely to convert to communism as an alternative to starvation and death. Marshal proposed a plan of massive economic assistance ($ 12 million), known as the Marshal plan. The only country that didn't join the plan was the Soviets and its satellites. The plan started on April 3, 1948 and lasted four years. -
Berlin Blockade
A blockade that was stationed in Berlin by Stalin and the Soviets that limited the ability of France, Great Britain, and the United States to reach their parts of Berlin, the capitol of Germany. Later. the western powers instituted an airlift relief to West Berlin, and an average of one plane dropped supplies every three minutes. The Berlin Blockade was the first major conflict between East Europe and West Europe. The blockade started in 1948 and ended in May 12, 1949. -
Berlin Airlift
In Berlin, Stalin's blockade caused the power to go out and people began suffering. It also prevented ground support and supplies to reach the capital. The US began loading bomber planes with food, coal and supplies to deliver to Berlin. An average of one plane released its cargo every three minutes in Berlin. This revived Berlin and Stalin lifted his blockade. The airlift lasted a year, ending on May 12, 1949 -
Alger Hiss case
1948, Alger Hiss was being testified by US government officials based on the belief that he was a Soviet spy. The case was almost closed with not enough evidence to support the accusation but Richard Nixon found documents fed out of the government by communist who were employees of the department. Alger Hiss was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. -
NATO
The Berlin Blockade brought the need of a united defense against the soviet aggression. In 1949, the US, Canada, and 10 other European nations formed a military alliance called NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Then Eastern Europe formed a competing alliance called the Warsaw pact. -
First Soviet Bomb Test
The Soviet army was on the rise and tested their first successful atomic bomb in August 1949. The achievement stunned the world and caused Western Europe to realize the change in power and potential of the Soviet Army. -
Rosenberg Trial
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were arrested with the connection of the plot to give US bomb secrets to the US. They were convicted and sentenced to die in the electric chair. Protests were rising claiming antisemitism. They were killed in 1953 -
Korean War
The Korean war was between North Korea, aided by China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea, aided by the US and later UN forces. The war was caused by two conflicting ideas of government, socialism (north) and capitalism (south). The fighting ended on July 27, 1953 when both North Korea and South Korea signed the Korean Armistice Agreement that separated North Korea and South Korea and the release of prisoners. No peace treaty was signed and North and South Korea are technically still at war. -
Army-McCarthy hearings
In the Army-McCarthy hearings, McCarthy's popularity began to deteriorate. Even though the hearing was inconclusive, listeners and viewers realized McCarthy was an arrogant, blustering tyrant. The American public was done with McCarthy and overnight he lost all popularity. Months later, questions rose, asking whether or not the US could win the Cold War without sacrificing the liberties the US was trying to protect? The hearings started on April 22, 1954, and ended on June 17, the same year. -
Warsaw Pact
In response to NATO, the Soviet Union and satellite countries created the Warsaw Pact. The idea was to balance the power of NATO. The Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania signed the treaty, adding them to the balance of power. The Warsaw Pact was dissolved in July 1, 1991. -
Hungarian Revolution
The Revolution was a protest against the Hungarian People's Republic and Soviet imposed policies. The Revolution started with students and began spreading fast. A student delegation group was were fired on by police State troops which was the spark that lit the revolution. One student died and thousands quickly joined, causing a violent overthrow of government and the withdraw of the Warsaw pact. Free elections were promised and "normality" started to grow. But then the Soviets invaded Budapest. -
U2 Incident
The US spy plane called the U-2 was shot down during a aerial reconnaissance mission deep in Soviet territory. It was an embarrassing moment so they claimed it was a NASA weather research aircraft. But they then told the truth to the public. After two years of imprisonment, the U-2 pilot was released in a prisoner exchange. -
Bay of Pigs invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a failed attempt by the U.S. military to invade Cuba. On April 17, 1961, Brigade 2506 invaded Cuba through the Bay of Pigs in Northern Cuba The Invasion lasted three days, ending in a Cuban Victory. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a concrete barrier separating East and West Berlin during the Cold war. The construction of the wall was ordered by german democratic republic in east Germany. It was constructed in 1961 and was a physical ideological division between West Berlin (non-communist), and East berlin (communist). It lasted 28 years before being taken down. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
On October 1962, a U-2 spy plane took clear photos of the Soviet Union constructing and shipping nuclear missiles and bay parts. JFK assigned a blockade to stop Soviet ships from reaching Cuba. The US demanded that all Nuclear weapons be dismantled and taken back to the Soviet Union, and after multiple discussions with JFK and Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, the Soviet's agreed to their demands. -
Assassination of JFK
On November 22, 1963, the 35th President, JFK was assassinated in Dallas Texas while driving through a presidential motorcade. JFK was shot by a former US marine named Lee Oswald. JFK was rushed to the local hospital and was pronounced dad 30 minutes later. Oswald was taken to the police jail basement, where he was fatally shot. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
Members of the Warsaw Pact attacked Czechoslovakia on August 20, 1968. 250,000 troops, from the countries of Bulgaria, East Germany, Poland, Soviet Union, and Hungary fought and ended victorious the following day. 137 Czechoslovakians were killed and about 500 were seriously injured. -
Nixon Visits China
President Nixon's week long trip to China ended the 25 year of no communication or diplomatic ties. The trip was aimed to try to gain leverage over relations with the Soviet Union. This trip was a -
Reagan Elected
On November 4, 1980, Republican Ronald Reagan was elected the 40th president of the United States of America. Reagan campaigned for an increase of defense spending, to intimidate the soviets that we have something powerful, implementation of supply-side economic policies, and a balanced budget. Reagan easily defeated Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter, getting 50.7% of the popular vote. He also had 44 states with the majority vote for him while Carter had six states and Washington D.C. -
SDI announced
S.D.I. stands for Strategic Defense Initiative. It was an idea created by Ronald Reagan, where a missile defense system was meant to protect the US from ballistic strategic nuclear weapons. Reagan was a believer of mutual assured destruction and created the S.D.I. to render nuclear weapons obsolete. But scientists concluded the technology was far away from being ready for use and unsure if it was even possible. In the late 1980's a new defense system was moved as top defensive priority. -
Geneva Conference with Gorbachev
The Geneva Conference was a meeting in Geneva Switzerland, held on November 19 and 20, 1985. Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev met to discuss international diplomatic relations and the arms race. Reagan's goal was to convince Gorbachev that America desired peace above all else, and explained the hopes for the summit as a "mission for peace". After multiple discussions, both the leaders decided on a joint statement. -
'Tear down this wall' speech
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan delivered his 'Tear down this wall' speech in west Berlin. The purpose of the speech was to get Mikhail Gorbachev to open the Berlin Wall which separated West and East Berlin since 1961. It later became known as the cause of the of the fall of the Berlin wall. -
Fall of the Berlin wall
On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall finally fell. The Iron Curtain was no more. Three weeks later, the Cold War was declared finished.
