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Presidency of Harry S. Truman
Truman's tenure as the 33rd president of the United States began on April 12, 1945, upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and ended on January 20, 1953. He had been vice president for only 82 days. -
The End of WWII
vast majority of the world's countries, including all of the great powers, fought as part of two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis. -
Truman Doctrine was created
address before a joint session of Congress. His message, known as the Truman Doctrine, asked Congress for $400 million in military and economic assistance for Turkey and Greece. -
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cold war
Between 1946 AND 1991 the United States, the Soviet Union, and their allies were locked in a long, tense conflict known as the Cold War. Though the parties were technically at peace, the period was characterized by an aggressive arms race, proxy wars, -
Marshall Plan was created
signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948. It became known as the Marshall Plan, named for Secretary of State George Marshall, who in 1947 proposed that the United States provide economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of postwar Europe. -
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Berlin Airlift
In response to the Soviet blockade of land routes into West Berlin, the United States begins a massive airlift of food, water, and medicine to the citizens of the besieged city. -
NATO
The foundations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization were officially laid down on 4 April 1949 with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty, more popularly known as the Washington Treaty. -
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The Korean War
Northern Korean People's Army invaded South Korea in a coordinated general attack at several strategic points along the 38th parallel, the line dividing communist North Korea from the non-communist Republic. -
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The Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States. He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and sent Army troops to enforce federal court orders -
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Bay of pigs invasion
a failed attack launched by the CIA during the Kennedy administration to push Cuban leader Fidel Castro from power. Since 1959, officials at the U.S. State Department and the CIA had attempted to remove Castro -
The building of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall became the symbol of the Cold War and a tangible manifestation of the world's separation into two distinct ideological blocs. Map from the era, illustrating Berlin's division between the Allied forces. -
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Cuban Missile Crisis
direct and dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War -
The Limited Test Ban Theory
Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed by the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. After Senate approval, the treaty that went into effect on October 10, 1963, banned nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. -
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Presidency of Richard Nixon
Nixon ended American involvement in Vietnam combat in 1973 and the military draft in the same year. -
The First man on the Moon
Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were the first of 12 human beings to walk on the Moon. Four of America's moon walkers are still alive -
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Presidency of Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford's tenure as the 38th president of the United States began on August 9, 1974, upon the resignation of Richard Nixon from office, and ended on January 20, 1977, a period of 895 days. -
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Jimmy Carter
Carter reoriented U.S. foreign policy towards an emphasis on human rights. He continued the conciliatory late Cold War policies of his predecessors. -
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Presidency of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. -
The tearing down of the Berlin wall
Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of events that started the fall of communism -
The Soviet Union disbanded (month and year only)
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the process of internal disintegration within the Soviet Union which resulted in the end of the country's and its federal government's existence as a sovereign state, thereby resulting in its constituent republics gaining full independence on 26 December 1991