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First atomic bomb
The US drops the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. -
The second atomic bomb
The US drops the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. -
The Marshall plan
The U.S decided to financially help the devastated countries implementing this plan. -
Berlin Blockade
The U.s and Britain wanted to establish a new currency in West Berlin. The Deutschmark, which caused economic chaos in the Soviet Union. They started the Berlin blockade. Stalin cut off all the water and land routes, and this began the Berlin airlift. -
Berlin airlift and lift of the blockade
During 11 months of the Berlin Airlift, the U.S and British planes gave Berlin the supplies needed. For the rest of the world, this made the U.S look like heroes and Stalin look like a bad leader, and on May 12, 1949, Stalin lifted the blockade, and this was considered a win for the U.S. -
Korean War
North Korea invaded South Korea. -
Sputnik
In Oct 4, 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, its orbiting intensified the threat to the US from the Soviet Union. The same rocket that launched it could send a nuclear warhead anywhere in the world in minutes. Less than a year after, congress passed the NDEA, a 4 year program that poured billions of dollars into US education. After the public shock, the 1st human was lead into space, project Apollo, to land on the moon in 1969. -
U-2 incident
The Soviet Union shot down at U.S plane and said the flight was an aggressive act. The U.S. denied that the pilot, Gary Powers was on a mission to collect Soviet intelligence data. Khrushchev declared that the U.S had to stop flights over Soviet territory, apologized, and punish the responsible ones. Powers was tried in the Soviet Union and sentenced to 10 years in prison, and in 1962, he was exchanged for the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A U-2 plane flying over Cuba discovered nuclear missile sites under construction which were capable of reaching the US quickly, so Kennedy convened a group "the ExComm" to debate the crisis. 8 days later, he ordered a naval blockade of Cuba and the US military force was placed on alert. There was tension between the US and the Soviet Union. Finally on October 28 1963,Khrushchev withdrew the missiles on Cuba, and on spring the US removed the missiles from Turkey that threatened the Soviet Union -
Non-proliferation treaty
International treaty with the objective to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, promote cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy and achieve nuclear disarmament. Countries started signing in 1968 and it came to effect in 1970. On may 11, 1995, it was extended definitely. 190 parties have joined the treaty, with 5 being recognized as nuclear-weapon states:US, Russia, UK, France & China. More countries have ratified NPT than any other weapon limitation agreement. -
Vietnam War
The French couldn’t control Vietnam so Ho Chi Minh formed a communist country, he "forced" the south join the north.The Chinese weren’t attending Ho, so the south government asked the allied countries for help.They agreed because they wanted to get rid of communism.The Soviets backed up the south because the US were fighting against them.The fighting continued until 1968. The communists attacked plenty cities in the south.The cost and death turned americans against war and on april 30,1975. -
Soviet Afghan War
The Soviet war in Afghanistan lasted from Dec 1979 to Feb 1989. It was Soviet-led Afghan against multinational rebel groups.The US backed up the rebels to fight the Soviets without declaring war on them. The rebels received military training and billions of dollars from different countries. Millions of Afghans flew their country, mostly to Pakistan and Iran.Plenty Afghan civilians were killed. The final troop withdrawal was from may 15,1988-Feb 15,1989 under the Soviet leader,Mikhail Gorbachev. -
Berlin Wall Fall
There where anti-government protests in East Germany. Russia didn't want to back the leader Honecker, so he resigned.The new leader Egon Krenz ordered a relaxation of travel restrictions to the West. A politburo member,Schabowski briefed the media announcing East Germans could use all border crossings to permanently exit the nation.The guards reopened the borders allowing people to cross freely.The wall ceased to function from that day, people eventually were chopping it away, knocking it down. -
Perestroika and Glasnost
When Mikhail S. Gorbachev became general secretary of the communist party in the Soviet Union in March 1985, he made a perestroika (restructure) and glasnost (openness) program and introduced huge changes in economic practice, internal affairs and internal relations. Within 5 years, his program swept communist governments throughout Eastern Europe from power and brought an end to the Cold War. The rivalry between the Soviets and the US was over. He resigned from office in December 25 ,1991.
