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The Cold War Begins
Growing out of post WWII tension between the 2 nations, the Cold War rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United Staes that lasted for much of the second half of the 20th century resulted in mutual suspicions, heightned tensions, and a series of international incidents that brought the world's superpowers to the brink of disaster begins. The US drops bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
Iron Cutain
Winston Churchill gives his Iron Curtain speech. The US tests more atomic bombs, one was the Operation Crossroads which was the first public demonstration of America's arsenal. The second was Americas Test Baker which was an underwater explosion. -
Truman's Loyalty Program
The Berlin Blockade begins and lasts 11 months. President Truman creates a Loyalty Program in order to catch Cold War spies. Treaty of Brussels was signed and was intended to provide western Europe with defense against the communist threat. -
NATO
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is ratified, this organization constitutes a system of collective where its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. Russia tests it's firt atomic bomb. -
Atoms for Peace
A series of 11 atomic explosions are tested at the Nevada Test site. RAND reports on the "Vulnerability of US Strategic Air Power" and Eisenhower gives his Atoms of Peace speech. The speech was part of an orchestrated media campaign called "Operation Candor" to enlighten the American public on the risks and hopes of a nuclear future. -
Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact s formed, it was in part a Soviet military reaction to the integration of west Germany into NATO but was primarily motivated by Soviet desires to maintain control over military forces in Central and Eastern Europe. -
Space Exploration
The year that many new space explorations took place. This included Vostok rocket launched 1st ICBM, Sputnik launched into space, and Sputnik II launched into space with Laika who was the first animal to orbit the Earth but sadly perished. -
Explorer I
Explorer I was launched into space and NASA begind Mercury project using Atlas. Cuba is taken over by Fidel Casrto in 1959. -
US Spy Plane
In this year France develops atomic bombs. The Soviet Union reveals that a US spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory. The US elects John F. Kennedy as our new president and Cuba openly aligns itself with the Soviet Union and their policies. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin border is closed and contruction of the Berlin Wall begins tearing thousands of families apart and forcing many people to lose their jobs. A group of Cuban exiles, backed by the US, invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in a failed attempt to trigger an anti-Castro rebellion. -
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
The Cuban Missile Crisis begins. The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is ratified, this is a multilateral treaty by which states agree to ban all nuclear explosions in all environments for military or civilain purposes. -
Apollo II
Apollo II lands on the moon. This was the first spaceflight that landed the first humans on the moon. The 2 American men were Neil Armstrong who became the first human to step on the moon, these men collected 47.5 pounds of lunar material to bring back to earth. -
SALT II
The US and China establich a diplomatic relationship. SALT II is signed which is a corresponding inter nations treaty incolving the US and the Soviet Union on the issue of arsenal control. -
Berlin Wall in Demolished
This year begins the decline of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall is demolished allowing East Germany unrestricted migration to West Germany. Another exciting event was the fall of communist governments in Czechoslavakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. -
Cold War Ends
The ending of the Soviet Union and the ending of the long Cold War.
