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The Russian Revolution
Over view-Kick started by the abolition of the Russian monarchy the revolution was a time of immense political and economic Chang all across Russia.
Significance- The Russian revolution was proceeded by the spread of communism and the soviet union. -
Potsdam Confrence
Overview- victory against Germany had restored peace to Europe, but the U.S.S.R. threatened the new found European peace. The 3 leaders of the conference gathered to discus plans for the new Europe while Britain and America planed to establish capitalism and freedom the Russians wanted to implement communism. Significance- While The U.S.A. and Great Britain planed on introducing a capitalist economy to the newly freed German people Stalin planed on adding east Berlin to the soviet union. -
Atomic bomb
Overview- The United States developed the Atomic bomb during world war two. The Atomic bomb has become synonymous with the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although the Atomic bomb was never used during the Cold War it did play a major role in psychological warfare. Significance- The Atomic bomb was so detrimental to the area that it targeted that it was only doped twice in actual combat.The Atomic Bomb was huge in preventing any kind of actual war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. -
The Chinese Communist Revolution
Overview- The Chinese Communist Revolution lead by Chairman Mao Zedong enacted a ten year long civil war against the Chinese nationalist government where over 500 million Chinese citizens fell into communist rule. Significance- After the revolution Mao ruled over China and sparked many uprisings including those Laos and Cambodia. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien PhuIt consisted of a struggle between French and Viet Minh forces for control of a small mountain outpost on the Vietnamese border near Laos. -
Long Telegram
Overview- On February 22 1946 George Kennan (The U.S. ambassador for Russia) sent a 8,000 word telegram to the Department Of State describing his opinion of the Soviet Union and his best idea of what the American government should do regarding the Cold War policy of containment. Significance- The long telegram prompted Americas policy of containment and how we treat Communist countries still to this day. -
Iron Curtain
Winston Churchill coined the term Iron Curtain on march 5th 1946 during a speech in Missouri. The term Iron Curtain was used to describe the Soviet Unions aggressive push to take over satellite countries and absorb them into their Communist machine. Significance- The Soviet Union used the Iron Curtain as a head start for their attempted spread of Communism to the western world. -
Hollywood 10
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Molotov plan
Overview- The Molotov plan was the Soviet Unions solution to rebuilding the crumbling economies and infrastructures of their Eastern European countries. Significance- The Molotov plan was created as a direct response to the Marshall plan. The Soviet Union was rightfully paranoid of the Marshall plans power turn their crippled communist satellite states int bustling capitalist economies of wealth and growth. -
Alger Hiss case
Overview- Alger Hiss was accused of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. The case would have been doped if it weren't for a young Richard Nixon who was still trying to prove himself in the political world. Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury and sentenced to 5 years in prison. Significance- The Alger Hiss case contributed to the mass hysteria amounts the people and only put more strain on the political climate. -
Marshall plan
Overview- The Marshall plan was created to give aid to war torn eastern European countries that where in danger of being swallowed by the Communist machine that was the Soviet Union. Significance- The success of the Marshall plan lead the Soviet Union to design the Molotov plan in response and only created more tension between the feuding countries. -
Berlin Blockade
Overview- The Berlin blockade was the Soviet Unions attempt to block Ailed personnel from getting to their sectors of Berlin. The blockade proved to be some what effective on the ground but was almost completely circumvented by way of aircraft. Significance- The Berlin blockade lead to heightened tensions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., It also lead to the Berlin airlift which was the Ailed fores response to the blockade. -
Berlin airlift
Overview- The Berlin airlift was the Ailed forces solution to the Berlin blockade. The soviets had set up a blockade preventing Ailed personal from reaching their side of Berlin to administer aid to their people. The United States solution to this was to fly supplies into west Berlin and in turn making the blockade irreverent. Significance- The Berlin airlift was a peaceful solution to a act of war and enabled the U.S. to give aid to west Berlin. -
Truman Doctrine
Overview- The Truman Doctrine was implemented to to support and defend foreign countries from Communist take over. The Truman Doctrine was one of the building blocks of containment and aloud the U.S. to subdue the U.S.S.R. Significance-The Truman Doctrine ultimately lead to the start of the Korean war as well as the blood bathe that was the Vietnam war. -
The First Soviet Bomb Test
Overview- The Soviet Union tested their first atomic bomb in August of 1949. The U.S.S.R. supersized the world with their advancements in nuclear technology that they had been able to achieve due to the information that they had stolen from the Manhattan project. Significance- The Soviet Unions new found ability of nuclear warfare sent chills down the spines of Americans everywhere and lead to wartime hysteria and paranoia among the masses. -
N.A.T.O.
Overview- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or N.A.T.O. for short was created in April of 1949 by the United States and ten other European countries to form a strong military alliance. Significance- The creation of N.A.T.O. prompted the Soviet Union to create a rival military alliance named the Warsaw pact. The Soviets constant attempts to play catch up with the western world would only lead to more tension in the Cold War. -
Korean War
Overview- World War two put a strain on the whole word but some countries such as Korea had been hit harder than most. In the wake of WWII Korea was separated into North and South. The Korean war started when communist North Korea crossed the 38th parallel and lunched an invasion on its Southern neighbor. Significance- The Korean war could have escalated into something much worse. Some predicted that the Korean war was going to lead to WWIII but Americas diplomacy made sure that it didn't. -
Rosenberg trial
Overview- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg where arrested because of their connection to pass bomb secrets to the Soviet Union. The couple denied the allegations of espionage and claimed that their government was persecuting them as Jews and their left leaning beliefs. They where convicted and sentenced to death by means of electric chair. Significance- The controversy surrounding their conviction sparked major protests around the country and only grew the hysteria. -
Army-McCarthy hearings
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Geneva Conference
In an effort to resolve several problems in Asia, including the war between the French and Vietnamese nationalists in Indochina, representatives from the world’s powers meet in Geneva. -
Warsaw Pact
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Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution also known as the Hungarian Uprising was a nation wide uprising against the peoples republic of Hungary and The Soviet Union. -
U2 Incident
U-2 Incident was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union that began with the shooting down of a U.S. U-2 reconnaissance plane over the Soviet Union. -
The Bay Of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a failed attempt by US-sponsored Cuban exiles to reverse Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution, beginning with a military invasion of northern Cuba. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a direct and dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and was the moment when the two superpowers came closest to nuclear conflict. -
Assassination of Diem
The brutal murder of the president of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, and his powerful brother and adviser, Ngo Dinh Nhu, on November 2, 1963, was a major turning point in the war in Vietnam. -
Assassination of JFK
Kennedy was riding with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife Nellie when he was fatally shot by former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald firing in ambush from a nearby building. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution or the Southeast Asia Resolution enacted August 10, 1964, was a joint resolution that the United States Congress passed on August 7, 1964, in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the title of a gradual and sustained aerial bombardment campaign conducted by the United States Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 2 March 1965 until 2 November 1968, during the Vietnam War. -
Riots of Democratic convention
The convention was held during a year of violence, political turbulence, and civil unrest, particularly riots in more than 100 cities following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4. The convention also followed the assassination of Robert F. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a series of surprise attacks by the Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces, on scores of cities, towns, and hamlets throughout South Vietnam. It was considered to be a turning point in the Vietnam War. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, an event that sent shock waves reverberating around the world. -
Assassination of RFK
On June 5, 1968, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was mortally wounded shortly after midnight at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Earlier that evening, he was declared the winner in the South Dakota and California presidential primaries in the 1968 election. He was pronounced dead at 1:44 a.m. on June 6. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
The Soviet Union led Warsaw Pact troops in an invasion of Czechoslovakia to crack down on reformist trends in Prague. Although the Soviet Union's action successfully halted the pace of reform in Czechoslovakia, it had unintended consequences for the unity of the communist block. -
Election of Nixon
The Republican nominee, former Vice President Richard Nixon, defeated the Democratic nominee, incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey. -
Kent State
The Kent State shootings were the shootings on May 4, 1970, of unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, during a mass protest against the bombing of neutral Cambodia by United States military forces. -
Nixon visits China
U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China was an important strategic and diplomatic overture that marked the culmination of the Nixon administration's resumption of harmonious relations between the United States and mainland China after years of diplomatic isolation. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
US President Richard Nixon ordered a ceasefire of the aerial bombings in North Vietnam. The decision came after Henry Kissinger, the National Security Affairs advisor to the president, returned to Washington, DC, from Paris, France, with a draft peace proposal. -
Fall of Saigon
The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period to the formal reunification of Vietnam into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. -
Reagan elected
The 1980 United States presidential election was the 49th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 4, 1980. Republican nominee Ronald Reagan defeated Democrat Jimmy Carter. -
SDI announced
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons. The concept was first announced publicly by President Ronald Reagan on 23 March 1983. -
Geneva Conference with Gorbachev
The Geneva Summit of 1985 was a Cold War-era meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. It was held on November 19 and 20, 1985, between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. -
Berlin Wall
The Communist government of East Germany built a wall separating East and West Berlin. The wall was built to keep the country's people in. But the Soviets and East German government said it was to keep capitalism out. -
‘Tear down this wall’ speech
In April 1987, when I was assigned to write the speech, the celebrations for the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin were already under way. Queen Elizabeth had already visited the city. Mikhail Gorbachev was due in a matter of days. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall, on 9 November 1989, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the falling of the Iron Curtain. The fall of the inner German border took place shortly afterwards.
