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The Iron Curtain Speech
An oration given by Winston Churchill. In the oration he stated that the "Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent." Referring to the Blockade of Berlin after the separation of Germany. -
The Truman Doctrine
Harry Truman was president at the time and stated that the United States would provide political, military and economic help to any nation that was resisting communism. -
The Molotov Plan
Part of Molotov's plan was to help Germany economically. He was also adamant in demanding that the Soviet Union have control and any actions over any Marshal Plan assistance to Germany. He wanted to know precisely how much money the US was giving to other nations -
Hollywood Ten hearings
Declared by the HUAC, ten film producers were alleged communist influence in the American motion picture business. They receive jail sentences and were banned from working from the major Hollywood studios. -
The Berlin Blockade
The Soviet Union blockaded western Berlin because they were starting to heal themselves economically after the second world war. So they turned off all the power, food, and any supplied needed to survive. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshal Plan gave over 13 billion dollars in funds to Europe between 1948 and 1951. This money was to help them recover after WWII in the hopes that they would not fall to communism. -
Alger Hiss case
Former State Department official, Alger Hiss, is convicted of perjury. He apparently perjured himself when in testimony about his involvement in a Soviet spy group during World War 2. -
Nato
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created by the United States, Canada, and Western European Nations. It was the first military alliance the US is in outside of the Western Hemisphere. It provided security against the Soviet Union. -
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1st Geneva Conference
Another Diplomatic Conference that was held to revise the decisions made at the last Geneva Conference. They wanted to provide more relief for the wounded and sick in the Army. -
The Berlin Airlift
After Berlin is divided into 4 sections the Soviet Union decides to blockade the whole city. The US is able to fly in supplies such as coal, medical equipment, and food. This happens every three minutes day and night. -
Soviet Atomic Bomb Test of 1949
On August 29th 1949 the Soviet Union detonates their first Atomic Bomb in Kazakhstan. This is a big event for the Soviet Union because it levels the playing field between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. -
Korean War
In 1950, America joined South Korea to fight against North Korea. The whole war was basically against Communism. The North was communist nation and wanted the south to be as well. -
The Rosenberg Trial
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are charged for giving the Soviet Union the instructions to make an atomic bomb. This allows the soviets to create an atomic bomb years before they were expected to. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The French had a huge military force in the Dien Bien Phu valley to make sure that Vietnam stayed under their control. In 1954, the Viet Minh with aid from china, surrounded the whole valley and forced the French out. -
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Army-McCarthy hearings
These hearing were the first to be televised, senator Joseph R. McCarthy was being changed for improper influence to win preferential treatment. -
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Geneva Conference
People from the United States, the Soviet Union, the Republic of China, France, and Great Britain came together to talk about many issues. One being the fate of Vietnam, after careful consideration, Vietnam was divided in half and free from colonial rule. -
The Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was an alliance between Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. It stated that any one of these nations would come to the aid of another if they are threatened. This gave the Soviet Union a mural defense organization in case Germany was to attack them. -
The Invasion of Hungary
The Soviet Union goes into Hungry to put an end to an uprising of people who wanted a more democratic government. Many are killed and the soviets prevail. -
Bay of Pigs
Cuban nationalist named Fidel Castro, drove his army into Havana to overthrown General Fulgencio Batista, the American chosen leader. Later, the CIA trained Cuban natives and wanted them to take over Cuba. The invasion went badly and the natives surrendered in less than 24 hours. -
U2 incident
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) shot down an American U-2 spy in Soviet air space and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers. He was sentenced to ten years in prison but got out after only two because the US made the first ever "spy swap" -
The Berlin Wall
German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) began to build a barbed wire and concrete wall between Easy and West Berlin. This was to keep fascists from entering East Germany. But in late 1989 the wall was torn down. -
Cuban Missile Crisis, 13 Days
Soviet missile were arriving in San Cristobal, Cuba. This was just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. The most dangerous encounter in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union had begun. We had missiles in Turkey and Greece pointed at all the major cities in the Soviet Union. By day thirteen, the missiles were removed in exchange for a non-invasion pledge from the United States. -
Assassination of Diem
After South Vietnam overthrows the North, Diem and his family are captured and killed by soldiers. This really worries the US because now the North is left without a leader therefore more susceptible to communism. -
Assassination of JFK
The 35th president, John F. Kennedy, was killed traveling through Dallas Texas. His vice president, Lyndon Johnson, was sworn into presidency later that day. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The North Vietnam successfully held control of more than half of South Vietnam, after they made detailed plans for invasions. They asked for our help, but we declined, this made them pretty salty. -
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Operation Rolling Thunder
This was a bombing campaign for the US to bomb throughout North Vietnam, in the hopes to keep putting pressure on South Vietnam. This was the first assault in Vietnam put on by the US. -
Tet Offensive
Viet Cong and North Vietnam came together to create plan to attack a series of 100 towns and cities throughout South Vietnam. They hoped to both limit US support for the South, and aid the rebels working with the North. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. It sped up the equal housing bill which was the last major conquest of MLK's movement. -
Assassination of RFK
Senator Robert Kennedy was shot over and over again by the 22-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in LA after winning the California presidential primary. -
The Invasion of Czechoslovakia
In 1968, the Soviet Union invades Czechoslovakia to stop the anticommunist people who wanted reform. Even though the Soviet Union is able to defeat them, the whole issue lead to some long terms effects. When they invaded, the soviets said it was justified using the Brezhnev Doctrine. This allowed the US to reduce its presence in Europe. -
Riots at Democratic National Convention in Chicago
Thousands of protesters fought police in the streets of Chicago. The Democratic party fell apart over a disagreement concerning its stance on Vietnam -
Election of Richard Nixon
The Republican applicant, Richard Nixon, won the election over the Democratic applicant, Hubert Humphrey -
Kent State shooting
Nixon stated that the U.S. needed 150,000 more volunteers to invade Columbia. Ergo, at Kent State University, Ohio, protesters set fire to the ROTC building -
Nixon visits China
Trying to re-established diplomatic relations between the US and communist China, Nixon traveled to Beijing for a week. He wanted to normalize relations between the two countries. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
Saigon controlled about three fourths of South Vietnam's territory and the majority of the population. Each side held military bases and were justified by the other side's violations of the cease-fire. -
Fall of Saigon
The North Vietnamese Army took over Saigon with little resistance, the remaining Americans were evacuated by helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft. -
Election of Ronad Reagan
Ronald Reagan, a former actor and California governor, served as the 40th U.S. president from 1981 to 1989. He was an amazing president, and helped the country end the cold war in a timely matter. -
Announcement of SDI ('Star Wars')
Ronald Reagan pushed for the United States to start working on a program to develop antimissile technology that would make the country nearly impossible to attach via atomic bombs. Unfortunately this was impossible, but everyone thought we had done it. -
'Tear Down This Wall' speech
Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. The does this while in Berlin. It was a very powerful yet dangerous speech because he was very close to Soviet territory. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens of the GDR could cross the border whenever they pleased. That night thousands of people crowed the wall and worked together to tear it down.
