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The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was when President Harry S Truman stated that the United States would provide political, military, and economic assistance to other democratic nations that are threatened by communist nations. The United Nations (UN) was formed in order to increase politcal and economic cooperation among member countries. -
The Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was the time where the Berlin Wall was built. It was meant to keep the Western allies from coming in and keep the civilians. -
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an ingovernmental military alliance based off of the North Atlantic Treaty signed on April 4, 1949. -
Senator Joseph McCarthy
In 1950, Julius and Ethel Rosenburg were convicted as spies for Russia and it started the Red Scare. Senator McCarthy started a campaign to watch out for Russian spies. -
Korean War
The Korean War began when about 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People's Army went across the 38th parallel which was the boundary between South and North Korea. It was a demilitarized zone. General Douglas MacArthur commanded Allied forces in the landing in inchon. In 1952, Dwight Eisenhower was elected as a presidential candidate and one the election and personally went to Korea to make peace. This was called an armistice. -
Vietnam War Begins
In the 1940's, Ho Chi Minh and a communist led a fight for independence and communist state. Many peasants joined the Vietcong who made hit and run attacks on enemies. In August 1964, North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked an American ship in the Gulf of Tankin. Congress passed the Gulf of Tankin Resolution to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack or to prevent further aggression." To get more troops, USA made a draft, a system of mandatory enlistment. -
The Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union formed its own military alliance. They dominated its Warsaw Pact neighbors, forcing them to follow its policies. -
Cuba
In 1959, Fidel Castro led a revolution that made Cuba go into a state of communism. By 1961, President John F. Kennedy approved a plan to overthrow Castro through exile. Che Guevara got invovled in revolting against Fidel Castro. -
Cuba
John. F Kennedy created NASA to beat the Russians into space and to get the rocket technology for nuclear missiles. In 1961, a force of about 1,200 Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs. That invasion was planned horribly. Castro's troops quickly rounded up and jailed the invaders which strengthened Castro. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In October 1962, President John F. Kennedy discovered that the Soviets were secretly building missile buildings on Cuba. The Cuban missile crisis caused the world to come really close to a nuclear war. -
The Tet Offensive
In January of 1968, the Vietcong launched surprise attacks on cities throughout South Vietnam. They even attacked American embassy in Saigon, Vietnam. -
Salt Agreement
President Nixon's detente policy (effort to reduce tensions between the superpowers), eased the Cold War by establishing more trade and other contact between the superpowers. This led them to sign a treaty to limit the number of nuclear warheads and missiles, the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) Agreement. -
Glasnost
Gorbachev was in favor of glasnost was the Russian term for speaking out openly. -
Communism Collapses
Reagan, Star Wars
Ronald Reagan took office in 1981 believing that the Soviet Union was "the focus of evil in the modern world". He convinced Congress to increase military spending by more than $100 billion and called for a new weapon development system that could destroy Soviet missiles from space. The system was nicknamed Star Wars. -
Citations
Davidson, James West., and Michael B. Stoff. "The Cold War Era." The American Nation. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall in Association with American Heritage, 2003. 808-39. Print. History. "Cold War." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2015. http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war.
