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The Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a pair of revolutions in Russia, which dismantled the Tsarist autocracy and led to the eventual rise of the Soviet Union. The Russian Empire collapsed with the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II, and the old regime was replaced by a provisional government during the first revolution of February 1917. In the second revolution that October, the Provisional Government was removed and replaced with a communist state. -
The Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was the final meeting between Stalin and Truman, where they negotiated the terms of WWII. Tensions that emerged from the conference include, Truman's willingness to use the atomic bomb. The conference also set the tone for the Cold War. -
The Atomic Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The U.S. had found a way to defeat a nation that would never surrender. The atomic bomb was too much for the Japanese, and the war with Japan ended. Japan officially surrendered on September 2, 1945. -
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The Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the ideological conflict and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolized efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the west and non-Soviet-controlled areas. -
The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine allowed the US to give money to European nations and to use the military if necessary to stop the spread of communism. The US was willing to do anything to stop the spread. The USD would also help any countries resisting communism. -
The Molotov Plan
The Molotov Plan was a system created by the Soviet Union in order to provide aid to rebuild countries in Eastern Europe that were politically and economically aligned to the Soviet Union. It can be seen to be the USSR's version of the Marshall Plan, which for political reasons the Eastern European countries would not be able to join without leaving the Soviet sphere of influence. -
The Hollywood Ten
10 members of the Hollywood film industry publicly denounced the tactics employed by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), during its probe of alleged communist influence in the movie business. These prominent screenwriters and directors, who became known as the Hollywood Ten, received jail sentences and were banned from working for the major Hollywood studios. Their defiant stands placed them at center stage in a national debate over the controversial anti-communist crackdown. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an American initiative to aid Europe, in which the United States gave $13 billion (approximately $130 billion in current dollar value) in economic support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II. The plan was in operation for four years. -
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The Berlin Airlift
At the end of the Second World War, U.S., British, and Soviet military forces divided and occupied Germany. Berlin was also divided into occupation zones. -
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The Berlin Bockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche mark from West Berlin. -
NATO
NATO, or North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance between several North American and European states. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. Three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. -
The Soviet Bomb Test
The Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear test, code-named 'RDS-1', at the Semipalatinsk test site in modern-day Kazakhstan. The device had a yield of 22 kilotons. -
Alger Hiss Case
Alger Hiss was an American government official who was accused of being a Soviet spy in 1948. He was convicted of perjury in connection with this charge in 1950. Before he was tried and convicted, he was involved in the establishment of the United Nations both as a U.S. State Department official and as a U.N. official. In later life he worked as a lecturer and author. -
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The Korean War
The Korean War began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, along with the United States was the principal force and came to the aid of South Korea. China came to the aid of North Korea, and the Soviet Union gave some assistance. -
Rosenburg Trial
The Rosenburgs were convicted of treason and espionage, in which they were selling secrets about the atomic bomb to the Russians. -
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The Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the decisive engagement in the first Indochina War (1946–54). After French forces occupied the Dien Bien Phu valley in late 1953, Viet Minh commander amassed troops and placed heavy artillery in caves of the mountains overlooking the French camp. -
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Army-Mcarthy Hearings
The Army–McCarthy hearings were a series of hearings held by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee. The hearings were held for the purpose of investigating conflicting accusations between the U.S Army and Senator Joseph McCarthy. The Army accused chief committee counsel Roy Cohn of pressuring the Army to give preferential treatment to G. David Schine, a former McCarthy aide and a friend of Cohn's. McCarthy admitted to aggressive investigations of suspected Communists and security risks in the military. -
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The Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference took place in Geneva, Switzerland, whose purpose was to attempt to find a way to settle outstanding issues in the Korean peninsula and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina. -
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The Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was the treaty between Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union, which was signed in Poland in 1955 and was officially called 'The Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance'. The Warsaw Pact was created in reaction to the integration of West Germany into NATO in 1955,it is also considered to have been motivated by Soviet desires to maintain control over military forces in Central and Eastern Europe. -
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The Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was a nationwide revolt against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies. Though leaderless when it first began, it was the first major threat to Soviet control since the USSR's forces drove Nazi Germany from its territory at the end of World War II. -
U2 Incident
The 1960 U-2 incident happened during the Cold War, during Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency, and the premiership of Nikita Khrushchev. A United States U-2 spy plane was shot down from Soviet airspace. -
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Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed military invasion of Cuba, undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group. The CIA's intention was to overthrow the increasingly communist government of Fidel Castro. Launched from Guatemala and Nicaragua, the invading force was defeated within three days by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, under the direct command of Prime Minister Fidel Castro. -
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The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall separated East and West Berlin. It was intended to prevent East Berliners and citizens of East Germany from fleeing to the West, but the Wall was unable to entirely stop the mass of people from fleeing. -
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The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a pivotal moment in the Cold War. The U.S. and the Soviet Union have never come closer to nuclear war. In October 1962 President JFK was informed about a U-2 spy-plane’s discovery of Soviet nuclear-warhead missiles in Cuba. -
The Assassination of Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem was assassinated in South Vietnam. Following the overthrow of his government by the South Vietnamese military the day before, President Diem and his brother were captured and killed by a group of soldiers. -
The Assassination of JFK
John F. Kennedy was assassinated in his motorcade, while going through Dealy Plaza in downtown Dallas, Teas. By the fall of '63, Kennedy and his advisors were already preparing for the next presidential campaign. -
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The Tonkin Gulf Resolution was a joint that the U.S. passed in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. It gave president Johnson the authorization, without a formal declaration of war by congress, for the use of conventional military force in Southeast Asia. The resolution initialized the authorization for the President to do whatever it takes in order to assist "any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty," which included the involvement of armed forces. -
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Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the mane of a series of gradual and sustained aerial bombardment attacks, conducted by the U.S. Air Force and Navy, and the Republic of Vietnam Air Force against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. -
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TET Offensive
The TET Offensive was one of the largest military campaigns by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army against the South Vietnamese Army, the U.S. and it's allies. It was a campaign of surprise attacks against military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam. -
The Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King Jr. was a clergyman and civil rights leader was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was a major leader of the Civil Rights Movement. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize for his use of nonviolence and civil disobedience. -
The Assassination of RFK
Robert F. Kennedy was fatally shot at the Ambassador Hotel in LA, soon after winning the California presidential primaries. He died the next day in the hospital. -
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The Invasion of Czechoslavakia
The Invasion of Czechoslavakia was a joint invasion by four Warsaw Pact nations, the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Poland, and Hungary. About 250,000 troops attacked Czechoslavakia. 108 civilians were killed and about 500 wounded. -
Riots of the Democratic Convention
The riots took place at the convention. 10,000 demonstrators gathered in Chicago for the convention, where they were met by 23,000 police and National Guardsmen. Another way to prevent demonstrators from coming to Chicago was to refuse to grant permits which would allow for people to protest legally. -
Kent State
Kent State was the shooting of unarmed college students protesting the Vietnam War at Kentucky State University, Ohio. Nixon called in the National Guard to end the protests. 4 students were killed and 9 wounded, one suffered from permanent paralysis. -
Nixon Visits China
Nixon visits the People's Republic of China to finally normalize relations between the U.S. and China. This marked the first time a president had visited China, at the time the U.S. was considered to be a foe, the visit ended 25 years of separation. -
The Election of Nixon
Nixon won the election of 1972. The election was between Nixon, the Republican party, and George McGovern, the Democratic party. Nixon soon resigned, and is still the only U.S. president to resign from office. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
Nixon ordered the ceasefire of the aerial bombings in North Vietnam. The decision came after the National Security Advisor to the president returned to Washington from France with the Paris Peace Accord proposal. -
The Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon marked the end on the Vietnam War. Saigon was captured by the People's Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong. The capture of the city preceded the evacuation of the American embassy. All American civilian and military personnel were evacuated, as well as tens of thousands of South Vietnamese who were associated with the Southern regime. It was the largest helicopter evacuation in history. -
Reagan Election
Reagan won the election of 1980. The election was between Reagan, former California Governor and former Democratic President jimmy Carter, and Republican President John B. Anderson, who ran as an independent. -
SDI Announced
SDI, or Strategic Defense Initiative, was a proposal for a missile defense system. Intended to protect the U.S. from ballistic nuclear weapons. The system was to combine ground-based units and orbital deployment platforms. -
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Geneva Conference with Gorbachev
Reagan and Gorbachev met for the first time to discuss international diplomatic relations and the arms race between the U.S. and Russia. -
"Tear Down This Wall" Speech
President Reagan gave the speech in front of the Berlin Wall, calling out Gorbachev to tear down the barrier between East and West Berlin. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Fall of the Berlin Wall triggered a chain of events. First, thousands of East Germans escaped through Hungary to Austria. Hungary prevented East Germans from crossing and they were returned to Budapest. The East Germans stormed the West German embassy and refused to go back to East Germany. The East German government disallowed further travel to Hungary, but allowed those who were already there to return to East Germany.
