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Russian Revolution
After WWII, communism gains popularity in Russia. The citizens are tired of their Tsar and being hungry. After losing so many soldiers in the war they are vulnerable and will do anything for the promise of peace. The U.S. opposes communism for its lack of civil rights and many policies concerning property ownership and a democratic government. These opposing views made relations between the U.S. and Soviet Union tense. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam conference was held on July 17, 1945 to August 2, 1945 by the "Big Three" victorious allies of WWII. It was meant to foster discussion about how to divide up Post-War Europe, but many tensions emerged. Truman and Churchill wanted security, democracy, and freedom. Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin had other ideas, he advocated for communism and the destruction of Germany. -
Atomic Bomb - Hiroshima/Nagasaki
During WWII the U.S. dropped 2 Atomic Bombs on Japanese cities. On August 6, 1945 one was dropped on Hiroshima, and the other on August 9 on Nagasaki. The Soviet Union was unsurprised (they knew the U.S. had the weapon), but they were shocked that the U.S. actually used it. Although both countries were victorious allies after the war, Russia was terrified of losing more men and feared the U.S. would attack them. The production of nuclear weapons was now of the utmost importance to Russia. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain is a boundary separating Western controlled areas from Russia. It included The Soviet Union, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the northeastern part of Germany. It was the soviet sphere of influence and provided protection for them against future attacks. -
Molotov Plan
An initiative by the Soviet Union to rebuild the countries of Eastern Europe. It was basically a USSR version of the Marshall Plan. It allowed countries under Soviet influence to stop relying on American aid and to bring the socialist regions together by introducing COMECON. The two nations that took part in the Molotov Plan were Poland and Czechoslovakia -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a declaration of the US's stance on Soviet influence and expansion. Harry Truman wanted to counter the spread of geopolitical expansion lead by the Soviet Union. It stated that the US would provide aid to all democratic nations that were under threat by the Soviet Union. It explained that they would provide political, military, and economic aid to these places to make sure they weren't taken over by the Soviet Union. -
Hollywood 10
The Hollywood 10 were ten producers, directors, and screenwriters who refused to answer questions during cases in which members of the Hollywood scene were questioned because of communist hysteria. They did not want to share their opinions or past about communism or involvement with the Soviet Union. They were imprisoned for contempt of congress. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a program of massive economic assistance to Western Europe. The purpose was the revival of a working economy and an emergence of free institutions. The U.S. gave over $13 billion in economic assistance to rebuild countries that has been destroyed in WWII. -
Berlin Blockade
to May 12, 1949. When the Western countries introduced a new form of currency to Western Germany, he was outraged. He claimed it was "American Economic Imperialism" and retaliated. On June 24, 1948 all land access to the city of West Berlin to be sealed off. -
Berlin Airlift
26 June 1948 - 30 September 1949. In response to the Berlin Blockade, the U.S. stayed in West Germany and staged the Berlin Airlift. They brought in all kinds of supplies, more than 2 million tons of cargo were delivered to the starving Germans in need of aid. -
Alger Hiss Case
August 3 1948 - January 25 1950.
Whittaker Chambers accused a man named Alger Hiss of spying for The Soviet Union in 1950. He was sent to jail for perjury in connection with the accusations. There was lots of hysteria around spies so it was not hard for spies to become exposed, but it was a big deal that one was hiding within out own government. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed by the victorious allies of WWII. The US, Canada, and ten European nations joined to form a military alliance needed for defense. -
Soviet bomb test
With the code name "First Lightning", the US successfully detonated it's first atomic bomb in 1949. It was done at a remote site in Kazakhstan, and the US first picked up signals of radiation on September 3. The public was told later that month, and a few months later an American Government Official Klaus Fuchs was arrested for sharing secrets with the Soviet Union. This led President Truman to gain motivation to further develop the "hydrogen bomb". Both world powers now had atomic bombs. -
Korean War
A war between North Korea and South Korea that lasted from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953. North Korea was primarily supported by China and the Soviet Union and South Korea was primarily supported by the United States. After the Cold War, Korea was separated by the US and Soviet Union, and both sides claimed all-power over the government. This resulted in lots of open warfare and an agreement was finally signed to separate the two regions legally in 1950. -
Rosenburg Trial
July 1950- Julius was arrested. June 19, 1953- him and his wife were both executed. They were arrested on the charge of "Conspiracy to Commit Espionage". This was not enough to suffice an execution but the public was paranoid about spies and the government was terrified as well. Truths were later uncovered that they were in fact guilty of spying for the Soviet Union. -
Army-McCarthy Hearings
A series of hearings held in Washington DC about the conflicting accusations made by The United States Army and Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy was chairman of The Government Operations Committee in the Senate. In April 1954 he claimed that the US Army was "soft" on communism and opened televised hearings into these accusations. These went on until June 1954, when everyone realized how off-base his accusations were, and he was voted out of his position a few months later. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The first battle between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and the Viet Minh that was decisive of their decision to engage in the first Indochina War. The commander of the Viet Minh placed heavy artillery and troops in the caves right by the french camp. The French were trying to reclaim Vietnam as one of their territories, and Vietnam wanted independence. March 13- May 7 1954. -
Geneva Conference
April 26- June 21, 1954 in Geneva, Switzerland. This was a conference between representatives from Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, France, Laos, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, the Viet Minh, and the State of Vietnam. It was intended to settle outstanding issues that resulted after the Vietnam war. Agreements were signed, one including that France would withdraw their troops from northern Vietnam. -
Warsaw Pact
May 14, 1955- The Soviet Union and seven of it's allies sign this treaty, making mutual defense promises to each other. It signified further communist expansion and showed that the communists would keep fighting. It was formed after NATO, as a rival alliance, officially called "The Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance". -
Hungarian Revolution
Lasted from October 23 until November 1956. The Hungarian Revolution was a revolt against the Marxist-Leninist government imposed by the Soviet Union onto the Hungarian government. The Soviet Policies were ripping apart post-war Hungary and and people demanded a change. The Soviet's did not give up fighting, and they crushed the revolution brutally on November 10 by killings many Hungarians and sending lots away as refugees. -
The U2 Incident
A United States U2 spy plane was shot down while in Soviet Airspace. It raised tensions between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. President at the time, Dwight D. Eisenhower, was forced to admit that the US had been secretly spying on the Soviet Union after the pilot was captured. The pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was released 2 years later during the first ever "Spy Swap". -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
A failed military invasion of Cuba. A CIA- financed and trained group of Cuban refugees land in Cuba and attempt to overthrow the communist government of Fidel Castro. -
Berlin Wall
A wall constructed on August 13, 1961 that separated the communist eastern side of Berlin and the democratic western side. It was constructed by the GDR of eastern Germany who wanted to protect their side from fascist elements and build a socialist state on their side. It's destruction finally began on November 9, 1989. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A 13 day (October 16-28, 1962) confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning the missiles that the US had in Turkey and Italy and the missiles that The Soviet Union had in Cuba. After tense negotiations, the Soviet Union took their missiles from Cuba in exchange for the US promising not to invade Cuba again. The US and Soviet Union both had these missiles placed there because they were afraid the other would attack. -
Assassination of Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem was the President of South Vietnam at the time. A CIA-backed coup d'état was lead by the leader of northern Vietnam, General Dương Văn Minh in November of 1963. Him and his brother overthrew the government and military forced of South Vietnam the day before, so many people were thrilled to see him gone. Lots of political unrest followed, though -
Assassination of JFK
35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade in Dealay Plaza. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and convicted for the assassination of John F. Kennedy from the 6th floor of The Texas School Book Depository. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed on August 7, 1964. It allowed the president (current president Johnson) to take any necessary measures to maintain peace in southeast Asia. This gave the president much more power than he usually had, the president had nearly unlimited power, but we were desperate to stop the fighting and the spread of communism. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
This was a bombing lead by the US against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). March 2, 1965- November 2, 1968. The objectives were to boost the morale of the south Vietnam, to persuade them to cease support for the communist regime (without actually sending in troops on foot), to destroy their transportation systems, and to halt the flow of men and material into south Vietnam. -
TET Offensive
One of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. A series of attacks on north Vietnam lead by south Vietnam, the objective being to stir up rebellion among the south Vietnamese and encourage the US to scale back their involvement. Jan 30, 1968- Sep 23, 1968. -
Assassination of MLK
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., known for his efforts as an American Civil Rights leader, was assassinated in his hotel room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. James Earl Ray was later convicted for the assassination. -
Assassination of RFK
On June 5, 1968, Robert F Kennedy was shot in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He had just won the California presidential election primaries. The perpetrator was Sirhan Sirhan. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
"Operation Danube" was the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. August 20- September 20, 1968. The invasion successfully stopped Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring reforms and strengthened the authoritarian wing within the Communist Party that the Warsaw Pact nations supported. -
Riots of Democratic Convention
August 26-29, 1968. During the 1968 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party, over 10,000 Vietnam war protestors gathered and battled police officers in the streets. They wanted to stop the fighting and bring attention to the fact that we were fighting a war we shouldn't have been. -
Election of Nixon
Republican Richard Nixon, formerly Vice President, won the 46th presidential election over the Democratic Candidate Vice President Hubert Humphrey. He positioned himself as the champion of what he called the "silent majority." -
Kent State
The Kent State Shootings happened on May 4, 1970. They were against the unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard during a protest, killing 4 and wounding nine others. The protest was against the bombing of Cambodia by United States military forced. Hundreds of high school and universities closed around the US in response to these unjust killings, and the event caused the public to become even more apprehensive about the government and military's involvement in the Vietnam War. -
Nixon Visits China
President Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1972 marked a significant moment in our history of relations with China. It signified our resumption of harmonious relations with them, and it was important because he was the first president to visit the People's Republic of China since it had been established. It was also important and strange because the US was seeking to improve relations with a communist country during the Cold War. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
On this day, President Nixon ordered a ceasefire of the bombings in northern Vietnam. The Paris Peace Accords ended America's direct involvement in the Vietnam War. The President assumed full responsibility for getting the US into the war, and knew it was essential to his success and the prosperity of the country for him to get them out of it. -
Fall of Saigon
On April 4, 1975, Saigon (capital of south Vietnam), was captured by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam. It signified the end of the Vietnam war because they were forced to surrender and find peace. -
Reagan Elected
Ronald Reagan served as the 40th American president from January 20, 1981- January 20, 1989. Reagan had formerly been a Hollywood actor and served on a trial during the communist influence scare when moviemakers and members of the Hollywood scene were questioned about their involvement with the communist party. He went on to become California governor from 1967- 1975, then became president. -
SDI Announced
Nicknamed "Star Wars", the SDI was a Strategic Defense Initiative proposed by President Reagan to construct a space-based anti-missile system. It was intended to protect the US from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons. -
Geneva Conference With Gorbachev
Held November 19-20 1985 in Geneva Switzerland. Between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. It was to hold talks on international diplomatic relations and the arms race. -
"Tear Down This Wall" Speech
"Tear Down This Wall" is a line from a speech given by President Ronald Reagan in West Berlin. The speech was a calling to the leader of the Soviet Union for him to open up the barrier between East and West Berlin -
Fall of The Berlin Wall
As the tensions of the cold war began to disintegrate, East Germany wanted to begin improving relations with West Germany. Starting on midnight of this day, the citizens of GDR were free to cross the country's borders.
