-
Yalta Conference
Encyclopedia BritannicaJust prior to the end of WWII, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met to determine Germany's terms of surrender and partition Eastern Europe (including Germany) between the allied nations. Germany's four way split between Communist Soviet Union and Democratic nations of America, Britain, and France would later lead to tensions between all nations involved -
Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain"
Slide 7 of lecture: "Europe's 'Iron Curtain'" Winston Churchill delivered his Iron Curtain speech in which he declares "An 'Iron Curtain' has decended on Europe." Europe was divided idealogically with areas controlled by capitalism and areas controlled by communist USSR. -
Berlin Blockade Begins
Lecture, Slide 6 Berlin Blockade/Airlift (1948-1949) To attempt to force his opponents to meet his needs, Soviet leader Stalin closed off routes that allies used to supply West Berlin. In desperate need of supplies, military aircrafts airdropped supplies to West Berliners for over 300 days. -
NATO Ratified
Lecture, Slide 7, Europe's "Iron Curtain" The original membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) consisted of Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United States. It was formed to prevent another world war from starting if any of the involved nations were to be attacted by political opponents. -
Communism wins in China
Lecture, Slide 4: Realities of International Politics Communism captures China when Mao Zedong becomes the Communist leader in China at the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War. This is a defining shift in Chinese politics and many Nationalists in China move to Taiwan. -
The Second Red Scare
Lecture, Slide 9: Second Red Scare U.S Senator Joseph McCarthy's popularity was boosted greatly when he capitalized on the United States' fears of communism by providing a list of officials who were communist sympathizers. -
Korean War Begins
Lecture, Slide 8: Korean War North Korea, Communist State, invades South Korea, anti-Communist State, which begins the Korean War. Stalin supports North Korea with guns and supplies while the US supports South Korea. The conflict comes to a stalemate in 1953, but South Korea retains its anti-Communist status which is a sort of victory. -
Space Race Begins
Lecture, Slide 10: Space Race The Soviet Union launched the first and second Sputnik satellites into space, leading the way for potential spaced-based weapon use. US President Kennedy announced that the United States would take the lead in the Space Race following the Sputnik launches, ultimately leading to the arrival of the first men (American) on the moon in 1969. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Lecture, Slide 14, Bay of Pigs Invasion (Apr '61) Fidel Castro overthrew the previously cooperative Cuban government and brought die-hard communists into the mix. The US wanted to stop the spread of communism so an operation was planned to invade and overthrow Castro. The operation was quickly foiled when Castro's forces immediately captured the invaders. Kennedy took the blame for the operation. -
Berlin Wall Construction Begins
History.com The Berlin Wall was built to separate Soviet coltrolled East Berlin from West Berlin and keep East Berliners from leaving. Life was extremely difficult in East Berlin and many people wanted to leave. -
Cuban Missile Crisis begins
Lecture, Slide 17: Cuban Missile Crisis (Oct '62)A U-2 flying over Cuba obtains photographs of missile sites. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba. It played out on television worldwide and was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war. -
Apollo 11 Lands on the Moon
Apollo 11's moon landing marked the US pulling ahead in the Space Race againt the Soviet Union. Many people believe the moon landing was a hoax. -
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons The Soviet Union, United States, and United Kingdom signed a treaty promising non-proliferation, disarmament, and peaceful use of nuclear energy in the wake of increasing nuclear threat. The NPT's grand bargain rests on three pillars: nonproliferation, the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and disarmament. It was extended in 1995. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
History.comHistory.com The spokesperson of East Berlin's Communist Party announces that East Berliners could travel to the West starting at midnight. People flooded through the checkpoints. People even took hammers to the wall and began knocking away chunks of the wall. Soon the wall was gone and Berlin was united for the first time since 1945. One Berliner spray-painted on a piece of the wall, “Only today is the war really over.” -
The Dissolution of the USSR
History.com Briefly after three Baltic republics left the Soviet Union, 11 more republics announced their establishment of a Commonwealth of Independent States apart from the Soviet Union. Discouraged by the rapid disintegration of his nation, USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev resgined from his position. The great Communist power had finally dissolved. This marks the end of the Cold War.
