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Explanation: People became worried that Communist influence would try to Influence the US. So, Americans became the government began searching for spies. Significance: Widespread fear became a danger to individuals civil liberties. Anti-immigrant feelings spread as many people began to assume Communism on them. Attorney General Palmer also started Palmer raids, essentially he called out innocent people as communists, exiling them.
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Explanation: In Korea, the USSR refused to allow free elections, knowing they would lose Communist power. While, in Germany they built the Berlin Wall to stop the travel of people between the East and West. With this, the US created propaganda instilling fear that America could fall to Stalin. Significance: All of these things caused a great fear of nuclear war and fighting communists across America. The domestic and abroad events during the Cold war only fueled this.
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Explanation: Truman's response to the spread of communism and the influence of the Soviet Union was the Marshall Plan. This aimed to help recover production and trade abroad to strengthen democracy. Significance: This was one of the US' first steps in stopping the spread of Communism around the world. This lead to much greater efforts like the Cuban Missile Crisis as they feared the domino effect could occur.
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Explanation: The Soviet Union stopped all necessary items from reaching west Berlin. This forced the US to begin an airlift in order to provide food and essential items to the people of West Berlin. Significance: The Soviet Union wanted to protest the implementation of a new West mark and draw the US out of Berlin. This greatly deteriorated the relationship between the Soviet Union and the US.
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Explanation: NATO was created to focus on collective defense and protection of its members against the threats of the Soviet Union. Almost all of the European nations joined this organization. Significance: This alignment created the division of nations that continued throughout the rest of the cold war. The members of NATO sought war to prevent further Communist expansion in Europe.
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Explanation: This occurred when war broke out between the Soviet Union occupied North and US occupied South. Each side wanted to gain control of the other's territory. The US did not want Korea to become a communist run country. Significance: This was another battle between Democracy and Communism. It marked the first large scale military enforcement of the US policy aiming to contain Communism.
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Explanation: This was a Vietnamese military effort that ended French colonial rule in Vietnam. A communist based group called the Viet Minh sought independence for Vietnam, opposing the French who aimed to restore their colonial rule. Significance: From this victory, Vietnam separated into North and South Vietnam. This created the political divide that set the nation up for the Vietnam war.
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Explanation: This was a meeting to discuss the peace and reunification of Vietnam. The US did not sign the accords, thinking the Communists would win free elections. Believing in the domino theory, they did not support Communist involvement in Vietnam. Significance: The Geneva Peace Accords divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel, separating Communists and non-Communists. Vietnam hosted elections for unification after 2 years and French troops were replaced by US ecnomic aid/military advisers.
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Explanation: The US CIA took exiled Cubans and trained them to start a counter revolution against Castro. Castro saw this coming and the US gave the fighters no air support, so they were easily defeated and many of them were placed in jail. Significance: The US felted threatened by Castro's rule in Cuba, as they feared the spread communism and the domino effect. Events like this and operation mongoose increased tensions and destroyed any relationship between the US and Cuba.
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Explanation: After World War II, Germany was split between the Allies and the Soviet Union. This separated Berlin into the Soviet occupied East and US in the West. The Soviet's economy became very weak as people flowed between the East and West, so they built a wall. Explanation: This wall shocked the rest of the world and put the allies on high alert. The wall stayed for decades longer and symbolized the Cold war's division of East and West Germany as well as the rest of the world.
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Explanation: When the US discovered offensive missile bases being built in Cuba by the Soviet Union, they became extremely worried. This missile would be able to reach far into US territory, posing a threat to US citizens. This lead to events like the quarantine and failed negotiations to remove the missiles in Cuba. Significance: Eventually the two leaders were able to come to a peace agreement. But, this became the closest the world had ever come to a nuclear war.
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Explanation: There was an alleged attack on two US naval destroyers off the coast of Vietnam. President Jonson then authorized all necessary measures to stop armed attack against the US and to prevent further aggression. Significance: There were later doubts surrounding the veracity of the Second attack. However, this still can be seen as a great reason for the US launching full-scale war in Vietnam.
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Explanation: The US was expecting a Communist offensive and on January 30th, Lunar New Year, the Vietcong released a massive assault against 36 provinces and 5 major cities. Within hours 33,000 Vietcong died, and 1,000 US soldiers. Significance: Although the US won this battle in terms of death, it proved the strength and determination of the Vietcong. Therefore, the end of the war was not in sight, the US needed to negotiate peace instead.
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Explanation: A company of American soldiers brutally killed women, children, and men in the village of My Lai. More than 500 people died, and many women and girls were raped and mutilated prior to their deaths. Significance: US Army Officers covered up this event for a while, but once it reached the American press there was international outrage. This further divided US citizens over the support of the Vietnam War.
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Explanation: This was the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard, killing 4 people. The students were involved in a mass protest against the bombing of Cambodia by US military forces. Significance: This triggered a nationwide strike which eventually destroyed the Nixon Administration. Therefore, symbolizing the divisions across America that shaped the Vietnam war.
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Explanation: 7,000 pages of secret government documents about the decision making process of the US involvement in Vietnam were held in the Pentagon. This was to be used to help future policy makers/officials make better decisions. Significance: These papers were discovered by the New York Times. The US Government fought to keep these papers sealed, but the Supreme court ruled with the New York Times, and released this information to the public. This caused great anti war moments to begin.
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Explanation: The US, South Vietnam, Vietcong, and North Vietnam created an agreement to end the war and restore peace in Vietnam. This ceased fire throughout Vietnam and withdrew US troops and advisors. They agreed to an eventual reunification of Vietnam. Significance: South Vietnam refused to recognize Vietcong as a legitimate participant in end of war discussions. So, all references in the document were confined to the US and North Vietnam. This allowed fighting to continue in Vietnam.
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Explanation: This act made it so the President must consult with congress before sending troops overseas, there is a strict limit on "hostile act" of 60 days, and presidents must remove any troops deployed without declaration of congress' direction. Significance: This prevented future presidents from making the same mistakes as those of the Vietnam war. Later presidents like Reagan and Clinton faced lawsuits after sending troops overseas.
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Explanation: This was the capture of the South Vietnamese stronghold of Vietnam to the Vietcong. The US was unable to aid the South and this gave the North little resistance, facing an easy success in a major attack on the capital. Significance: This event marked the end of the fighting in the Vietnam War. As the South was without US aid, they lost their capital to the North leaving them helpless.