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The First Red Scare
As WWI was ending an Anti-Communist movement known as the First Red Scare began to spread across the United States. In 1917 Russia had undergone the Bolshevik Revolution. The Bolsheviks created a communist government and withdrew troops from the war. Americans believed that Russia had let down its allies by leaving the war and in theory, Communism was an expansionist ideology spread through revolution. It suggested that the working class would overthrow the middle class. -
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The First Red Scare
Once the United States no longer had to concentrate its efforts on winning WWI, many Americans became afraid that Communism might spread to the United States and threaten the nation's democratic values. Fueling this fear was the mass immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans to the United States as well as labor unrest in the late 1910s, including the Great Steel Strike of 1919. -
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The First Red Scare
Both the federal government and state governments reacted to that fear by attacking potential communist threats. They used acts passed during the war, such as the Espionage Act and the Sedition Act, to prosecute suspected communists. -
The Espionage Act
Congress responded to a growing fear that public criticism of the war effort would make it hard to recruit the needed manpower for American participation. Also contributing to widespread unease were the actions of labor groups, such as the Industrial Workers of the World, who showed their sympathy for laborers including those in Russia.The Espionage Act allowed penalties of 20 years imprisonment and fines up to $10,000 for those convicted of interfering with military recruitment. -
The Sedition Act
The Sedition Act stated that the government had the ability to punish people for voicing their negative opinions about the war, supporting the enemy cause, displaying a German flag and obstructing the sale of war bonds. The Sedition Act resulted in about 1,000 convictions, many of which were immigrants. The Supreme Court upheld the Sedition Act claiming that speaking against the government in such a way would provide a "clear and present" danger to the nation. -
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The Great Steel Strike
In 1919, workers represented by the American Federation of Labor went on strike against the United States Steel Corporation due to the many workers, including those in the steel industry, faced difficult working conditions, long hours, and low wages. Unsatisfied with how they were being treated, some 350,000 workers joined the strike and began to scare the companies due to their misjudgment of worker dissatisfaction. Unfortunately owners quickly turned the tables by using the post war Red Scare. -
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The Great Steel Strike
Company owners portrayed the workers as dangerous radicals who threatened the American way of life, manipulating the citizens fears of Communism. Because many of the striking workers were recent immigrants, owners were able to portray them as instigators of trouble. Government officials used National Guard troops and federal troops to put down the strike in many cities, leading to violence and even workers' deaths in some cases. -
Joseph McCarthy
Through out the 1940's and 50's a senator named Joseph McCarthy started accusing and making lists of people who he believed supported communism. He publicly accused over 200 people. This was also called the Second Red Scare or McCarthyism. -
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McCarthyism
The time of McCarthyism was a period between the late 1940s to the mid to late 1950s when Joseph McCarthy made serious, but unsubstantiated charges against people for pro-Communist activities. During this time not only were Americans afraid of spread of Communism itself, but they were afraid that the government would be infiltrated by it as well. -
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McCarthyism
McCarthy is often noted for the witch hunt in 1950 when he announced he had a list of 205 known Communists who were employed by the state department. His charges led to years of senate and house investigations and were responsible for many people losing their jobs.However, in 1954 his actions caught up with him and he slowly began losing his influence after accusing the U.S. Army of treason. On December 2 a Senate vote took place and McCarthy was officially condemned. -
The Iron Curtain
A boundary symbol Communism and the power and influence of the Soviet Union. The countries included in the Iron Curtain were part of the Warsaw pact with the USSR as the leading country and all countries were communist. The Iron Curtain ran from the top of eastern Europe to the bottom of Yugoslavia until its demolition in 1991. -
Ho Chi Minh
A Communist leader of Vietnam and Prime minister of Northern Vietnam from 1945 to 1955 and president from 1945 to 1969. He was the leader of the Viet Minh independence movement from 1941 onward. He defeated the French Union in 1945 but he stepped down from power in 1955. After his death the capital of North Vietnam was named Ho Chi Minh city. -
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Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6 and 9 in 1945 America dropped the worlds first atomic bombs titled Little Boy and Fat Man over Hiroshima killing 90% of its population and on August 9, 1945 dropped another bomb on Nagasaki killing an estimated 40,000 people. -
Communism in the Cold War
Although Communism is seen as the main target in the Cold War due to it's confliction of Capitalism vs Socialism, some might argue that it was just the shell of the deeply rooted desire to see who would be the worlds leading power vs who would come in second. Americans became fearful of the spread of Soviet Communism and this fear was fed by the news media and politicians who portrayed the Soviets as set on world domination. -
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The Cold War
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Truman Doctrine
This government policy provided support to Greece and Turkey to keep them from falling to communism. The U.S. provided economical, political and military aid to the countries to keep them from being communist. This doctrine is often said to be the start of the cold war between the U.S. and USSR. -
The Cold War and The UN
During the Cold War the UN had a couple successes like the withdraw of Soviet troops from Iran and the retreat of the Anglo-French from Lebanon and Syria. The UN was also involved in the Korean War where they failed to unite Korea and keep it from becoming communist. -
The Marshall Plan
The post WWII program was created to aid European nations suffering economic difficulties. It was used to stop the spread of communism by promising money for democracy. Named after Secretary of State George Marshall, it helped to create NATO and was successful in stopping the spread of communism. -
Berlin Airlift
In response to the Soviet blockade of land routes into West Berlin, the allied planes from the British RAF and American air force began a massive airlift of food, water, and medicine to the citizens of the besieged city. This was a reaction to the Berlin Blockade which was starving German citizens in West Berlin under Russian control. The airlift ended the blockade and showed that the allied forces cared about the welfare of the German people. -
Establishment of NATO
Located in Brussels, Belgium it consisted of 28 countries all over the world and lead by the US. The goal was to keep America in, Russia out and Germany down after WWII when it rivaled the countries in the Warsaw Pact. After the Korean war NATO became more militarily focused instead of just politically. NATO was one of the first successful military organizations formed with many different nations besides the UN. -
McCarran
Patrick Anthony McCarran, a senator, helped F.D.R during the cold war by proposed ideas that made sure the society in the United States maintained a sufficient amount of money during the war. He was also against Communism and he inspired the McCarran Act (1952). This act assured internal protection of the United States from Communists. -
Korean War Begins
War between North and South Korea after WWII begin due to the failure of free elections. The U.S. supplies more than 80% of the over 300,000 soldier that fight against North Korea. Over 20 countries contributed troops and were beating the North Koreans back when China intervened and halted progress at the 38th parallel. Today the war is still a tie and Korea is split between communist North and capitalist South. -
First Test of a Hydrogen Bomb
On Eniwetok atoll in the Pacific the U.S. tested the first Hydrogen bomb, changing the arms race and giving us a short lead over the Soviet Union. The hydrogen bomb is approximately 1,000 times more powerful than Nuclear Bomb and its birth in the height of the Cold War caused the arms race to gain even more tension. -
Rosenberg Spy Case
The Rosenberg Spy Case was about a husband and wife, Julius and Ethel accused of being soviet spies.It was believed that the two were leaking information about our nuclear advances. Julius had worked in the US army signal corps. The two were found guilty and received the death sentence. -
The KGB
Originally made as a state security agency, it soon became one of the largest spy organizations in the world. Agents acted as spies, border guards and a police force inside the Soviet Union. The KGB is thought to have gathered intelligence about weapons in the US during the Cold War. -
Geneva Accords
This was a conference that took place in Geneva, Switzerland whose goal was to unify Vietnam and restore peace to Indo-China. The countries present were the US, USSR, UK, France, and China. The agreements separated Vietnam into a Southern and Northern Zone allowing a chosen president to reunite the country -
The Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a defensive treaty between the mid and eastern European nations that were controlled under Communism. The pact was lead by Russia and became the nemesis of NATO. This competition lead to the Cold War centered around the arms race between the U.S., USSR, and the nations that made up the Iron Curtain. -
Vietnam in the Cold War
Like Korea, Vietnam was split between the Communist North and Democratic south, but unlike Korea the U.S. feared that if Vietnam went Communist it would start a domino effect and spread worldwide. After 20 years of war between U.S. forces and Viet Cong, the U.S., due to large opposition withdrew from the battlefield and left it to the Vietnamese. In the end Vietnam did fall to Communism but it didn't start the domino effect as once feared. This was the first war where America lost. -
The Space Race Begins
When Sputnik was sent into orbit it could be seen from all over the Earth and its signal could be read from orbit. The launch of Sputnik initiated the space race between the U.S. and Russia. This race was at the height of the Cold War and helped to create political, military, technical and scientific advancements. -
Khrushchev
He became the Soviet Leader after Stalin's death in 1953 and was famous for a speech that called for Communist and Capitalist cooperation. After an American spy plane was shot down, however, he changed his stance against America and played a key role in the Cuban Missile Crisis. -
U-2 Spy Plane Incident
Pilot of the U-2 spy place, Francis Garry Powers was killed in a crash. Suspicions related to the actual cause of the plane crash are still at large as some believe it shot down by the Soviets and other believe it may have been a technical issue. The crash was important in the Cold War because this notified the Soviets that the U.S. was spying on them to acquire information on developmental progress on nuclear weapons. -
The Berlin Wall
Due to the number of citizens fleeing into West Berlin, it caused the Eastern part of the city to lose workers and caused the industry to go down. In response, the Russians built the Berlin Wall to keep the population in. The wall signified the Russian oppression over the people of Berlin and the separation from the West. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The U.S. previously attempted to overthrow Communist leader, Fidel Castro, by an assault called the Bay of Pigs but failed and led the Soviet Union to propose the idea of sending Soviet nuclear weapons into Cuba to prevent future invasion. The U.S. responded by blockading Cuba before the missiles could get there and although many feared this could have been the start of a nuclear war, terms were set and Russia willing withdrew their missiles as the U.S. promised not to invade Cuba again. -
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
The treaty was signed by the United States, United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. The agreement was to stop the nuclear testing in the atmosphere, outer space and under water. This contributed to the digression of the arms race. -
Tet Offensive
One of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War, the Tet Offensive was a series of surprise attacks from the North Vietnam and Viet Cong forces against South Vietnam. Due to the religious background of this time, the attacks stunned the U.S. and South Vietnam forces and marked a turning point in the Vietnam War and the withdraw of American troops. -
SALT
SALT stands for Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. The treaty was designed to contain the arms race particularly between the USSR and the United States. The goal was to achieve a suppression of weapons use. -
Helsinki Accords
This was the final act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe whose goal was to make better relations with Communists and the West. The document was created to allow discussion of economic and trade issues, arms reduction, and the protection of human rights. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
Islamic militants took over the American Embassy in Iran and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. President Carter called it terrorism and said the U.S. would not yield to blackmail. On July 27, 1980 the Shah died and Iraq invaded Iran. This event was a stepping stone into further problems between Iran and the U.S. -
Russian Invasion of Afghanistan
Fearing that it's Communist party was begging to lose its influences, Russia invaded Afghanistan and quickly took complete military and political control of Kabul and large portions of the country, but not without backlash. -
Moscow Olympic Boycott
Displeased with Russia's recent invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S and 65 other countries boycotted the Moscow Olympics. -
Los Angeles Olympic Boycott
After the boycott of the Moscow Olympics, the Russians were calling for the same thing at Los Angeles. They claimed there was anti-Soviet hysteria and the boycott was needed in order to protect its athletes, although it was clearly in reaction to the previous Moscow boycott. -
Perestroika and Glasnost
Meaning restructuring and openness, these words were used by Gorbachev to describe the renovation to the Soviet body. He believe they needed to become more Western to fix the economic difficulties they were suffering from. The reconstruction lasted to 1991 when the Union was ended as well as the Cold War. -
Chernobyl Disaster
This is a nuclear power plant site where reactor number 4 exploded, causing a large fire and radioactive particles to spread through the air. Still uninhabited today, the explosion changed how everyone looked at the power of a nuclear explosion and the radioactivity that follows. -
INF Treaty
This treaty was between the U.S and the Soviet Union. The was an agreement enacted to eliminate intermediate and short range missiles. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
For nearly three week almost a million Chinese, mostly young students, crowded into central Beijing to protest for greater democracy and the resignations of Chinese Communist Party. Since the beginning in April the protests had been pretty peaceful with marching and chanting, but on June 4 1989 Chinese troops and security police stormed through Tiananmen Square, firing indiscriminately into the crowds of protesters resulting in at least 300 deaths and 10,000 arrests. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
After 28 years of oppression, the Berlin wall fell and the people of East and West Germany came together to celebrate the liberation of the city. It symbolized the fall of Communism in Germany and the end of the Cold War. -
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
In December of 1991, the world watched as the Soviet Union began to separate into 15 independent states.The collapse of the Soviet Union was seen as nothing less than a great victory for America and the rule of Capitalism over Socialism. The U.S. rejoiced as they watched their enemy fall apart, and eventually this led to the resignation of Gorbachev and signified the end of the Cold War