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Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was essentially a proxy war, initiated for the intent of containment. Based on the concept of Domino Theory, the United States waged a war in favor of the Democratic South Vietnam against the Communist North Vietnam as to prevent the fall of Vietnam to Communism for fear that Communism would begin to dominate all of Asia. (It was dubbed a proxy war because various superpowers sided for their respective governments without direct involvement.) -
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1960s
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The Bay of Pigs Invasion
The CIA sponsored an invasion of a counter-revolutionary military in Cuba in an effort to overthrow the Communist government. This attack was, however, a failure. -
The Berlin Wall is Created
Ther Berlin Wall served to separate the Western, Democratic aspect of Germany from the Eastern, Communist aspect. The Berlin Wall would stand until 1989 and served as a symbol for the divide between the West and East during the Cold War. -
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Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a "brink of war" confrontation between the United States and Soviet Union over the possible location of nuclear weaponry in Cuba. The dispute occurred after an American plane captured photographic evidence of the existence of various nuclear missiles. Historically regarded as the closest timespan that the Cold War ever came to nuclear warfare, the Cuban Missile Crisis was ended with a formal agreement to disarm and remove Soviet nuclear weaponry in Cuba. -
Moscow-Washington Hotline establishment
A direct hotline was established between the United States and the Soviet Union as to accelerate the rate at which communication occurred, and to also prevent failure to communicate quickly--a failure to be considered pivotal in the case of nuclear war. -
Limited Test Ban Treaty
The Test Ban Treaty of 1963 prohibits nuclear weapons tests "or any other nuclear explosion" in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. While not banning tests underground, the Treaty does prohibit nuclear explosions in this environment if they cause "radioactive debris to be present outside the territorial limits of the State under whose jurisdiction or control" the explosions were conducted. The LTBT was the first arms control agreement of the Cold War. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution enabled the president to, without authorization by Congress, initiate conventional military action in Southeast Asia. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a North Vietnamese military campaign characterized by various surprise attacks on South Vietnamese and American command and control centers across South Vietnam. Essentially an "All-In" offensive move, the North Vietnamese sacrificed fourty thousand soldiers in the effort. -
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The NPT's goal was to prevent the spread of nuclear arms technology and weaponry and aimed to further cooperation in regards to disarmament and the pursuit of nuclear energy. The NPT set a standard for international communication (especially between nuclear and non-nuclear nations) to negotiate disarmament and the prevention of nuclear conflict. -
The Beginning of Vietnamization
At a meeting of the National Security Council, General Andrew Goodpaster coined the term "de-Americanization," referring to the decreasing involvement of America in the Vietnamese conflict while increasing the military strength of South Vietnam. Renamed "Vietnamization" as to save face with the media, this tactic is a gentler way of stating that America is receding from the country. (Unsurprisingly the South Vietnamese government would fall, now lacking any support.)
