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Potsdam Conference
There were three participants, the UK, Soviet Union, and the USA. The leaders of these powers were Prime Ministers Winston Churchill, Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin and later Clement Attlee and President Harry S. Truman. These people were waiting for the outcome of the 1945 general election. There was a few other goals of the conference including, peace treaties, countering the effects of the war, and postwar order. -
Churchills "Iron Curtain" Speech
Churchill gave this speech, and the most descriptive phase was; “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.” And this surprised the U.S. Before this speech happened the U.S and Britain were concerned about there postwar economics. They are very grateful for the Soviets role in ending WW2. http://history1900s.about.com/od/churchillwinston/a/Iron-Curtain.htm -
Truman Doctrine Established
President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. Then this became a U.S foreign policy. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/truman-doctrine -
Marshall Plan
George C. Marshall issued a plan to rebuild Europe. The Economic Cooperation act allowed to be funded $12 Billion for rebuilding Western Europe. It also granted European industrialization.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/marshall-plan -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
Western allied powers ( the U.S, UK and France) to abandon their post WW2 jurisdictions in West Berlin. West Berlin, the soviets regard as a violation of the agreements of all rail, road, and water communications between the West and Berlin. They also set up a similar airlift in the opposite direction. Airlifts are supply's set by air so food and other vital supplies.
http://www.britannica.com/event/Berlin-blockade-and-airlift -
NATO Formed
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was founded to the threat posed by the Soviet Union. It was formed to do the following, Deterring Soviet expansionism, forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and encouraging European political integration. http://www.nato.int/history/nato-history.html -
Korean War
In August of 1945, the Soviets declared war on Japan and occupied Korean territory North of the 38th Parallel. By 1948, two governments were set up, a communist one in the North and a democratic one in the south. By June of 1950, North Korean soldiers swarmed across the 38th and attacked South Korea -
First U.S. Combat troops arrive in Vietnam
On March 8th, 1965, the first 3 500 U.S. troops came ashore just north of Da Nang in South Vietnam, with orders to guard the Da Nang Air Base and to not directly engage the Viet Cong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1965_in_the_Vietnam_War -
First Man on the Moon
On July 20th 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the moon with astronaut Neil Armstrong being the first man to step foot on the moon and saying the famous quote “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11 -
SALT Treaty
Starting in November of 1969, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks were 2 rounds of conferences between the USSR and the United States. These talks lead to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) which set restrictions on the amount on nuclear weapons they could have. It was signed by Nixon and Brezhnez on May 26th, 1972
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Arms_Limitation_Talks -
Paris Peace Accords- Vietnam War
The Paris Peace Accords on January 27th, 1973, were meant to end the war in Vietnam. It ended direct fighting for U.S. Soldiers and caused a temporary cease-fire between North and South Vietnam. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Peace_Accords -
Soviet Troops Invade Afghanistan
In December of 1979, Thousands of Soviet troops invaded afghanistan and quickly established political and military in many parts of the region, including the capital of Kabul.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/soviet-invasion-afghanistan -
Olympic boycott by the U.S. and her allies
On January 20th 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued an ultimatum to the soviet union- Remove all Soviet troops from Afghanistan within one month or the US would boycott the moscow games. The Soviets refused and 65 nations boycotted the Olympics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Summer_Olympics_boycott -
USSR Olympic Boycott
14 countries including the USSR, Boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, in response to the United States doing the same to the Olympics in Moscow 4 years prior.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Summer_Olympics_boycott -
Glasnost and Perestroika
When Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in March of 1985, he introduced a new program of Perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness). He introduced changes in internal affairs and international relations as well as in economic practise. His program swept across communist nations for the next 5 years http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/perestroika-and-glasnost -
Tiananmen Square Protests
In June of 1989, student lead protests exposed splits in Chinese Political leadership. On June 4th the Chinese military fired on the unarmed protestors as the government viewed the protests as a counter revolutionary riot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989 -
Poland becomes a democracy
On September 12, 1989, the Sejm Voted for the approval Prime Minister Mazowiecki and his cabinet. This is the first time in more than 40 years that Poland hasn't been ruled by communists -
Malta Summit
On December 2nd and 3rd of 1989, President Bush and Gorbachev formally declared an end to the cold war. Was comparerd to the Yalta summit in terms of the importance of the summit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta_Summit -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The destruction of the Berlin wall began in 1990 and wasn't finished till 1992. The destruction of the wall signified the reunition of East and West Germany into a single country once again
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall -
German Reunification
On October 3rd, 1990, Germany officially became a single nation again when its new constitution, the Grundgesetz was signed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunification -
START Talks
On July 31st, 1991 the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed by the USSR and the US. and put into effect on December 5th, 1994. It prevented the states and the USSR from deploying more than 6000 nuclear warheads,and a max of 1600 bombers and ICBMs. (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/START_I