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Truman Doctrine
After the World War II United Kingdom couldn't afford to help Greece and Turkey. President Harry Truman in his speech on March 12, 1947, said that the United States should take that upon it. He believed that if the U.S. didn't financially support Greece and Turkey, they're geographic location (Eastern Europe) would make it easy for the communist Soviet Union to take them over, and spread out communism. -
Marshall Plan
Secretary of State George Marshall spoke of urgent need to help the European recovery from the World War II. The real plan was established on June 5, 1947, at a meeting of participating European states as European Recovery Program (ERP). During the for years of programs operation, the U.S. gave $13 billion in economic and technical assistance. Apart from trying to help the war-devastated European countries, the U.S. was doing all it could to prevent the spread of communism. -
Berlin Airlift
On June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union blocked access to the Western-held parts of Berlin. The first flight of the airlift was 32 C-47 airplanes on June 26. The airplanes carried 80 tons of cargo, such as milk, flour, and medicine. -
Korean War Begins
The Korean war was fought between armies from North Korea and from South Korea. The war begun at 4:30 a.m. on June 25, 1950, and the fighting didn't stop until July 27, 1953. More than two million Koreans died (mainly in the North). The North was led by a communist leader Kim Il-Sung, and was helped by the communist China and USSR. THe South, led by a nationalist Syngman Rhee, gained support from many countries of the United Nations, especially the United States. The peace treaty was never signe -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of the key events of the U.S. civil rights movement. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, and African American woman, was arrested when she refused to surrender her seat to a white person on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Federal ruling (Browder v. Gayle) in a district court took place on December 20, 1956, which led to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that declared that Alabama and Montgomery laws, that required segregated buses, were unconstitutional. Many -
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
After Fidel Castro took over Cuba, many Cubans emigrated to the United States. Over 1,500 exiled Cubans, supported by the U.S. were sent to Cuba to try to start a revolution and overthrow Castro's government and Castro himself. The attempt failed miserably, the exiles were captured, and the invasion ended in an international embarrassment for both President Kennedy and the United States. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet Union was sending nuclear missiles to Cuba. American Intelligence services found out about missile launching sites and President Kennedy decided to start a marine blockade of Cuba. For 13 days, the world was indoor a threat of a nuclear war. However, when the first Soviet ships arrived to the blockade on October 25, 1962, they turned back, and a resolution was made that the Soviet Union would take the missile sites down, under the condition that the United States promise not to invad -
"I Have a Dream"
Martin Luther King, Jr. was instrumental in the civil rights movement, in which he was involved for thirteen years (1955-1968). He was a firm believer of a non-violent protest, and as a leader of the movement, he set the tone of the movement. One of his greatest accomplishments was co-organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which took place on August 28, 1963. Here, King delivered one of the history's finest speeches, later known as "I Have a Dream". The March, and especial -
Twenty-fourth Amendment Ratified
Poll taxes appeared in southern states as a measure to prevent African Americans from voting, and according to the Supreme Court's decision Breedlove v. Suttles in 1937 such measures were constitutional. The Twenty-fourth Amendment was proposed by Congress on August 27, 1962, and was ratified by the states on January 23, 1964. This amendment ruled that the right to vote "shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax" (Amen -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation in the United States, that outlawed major forms of discrimination against ethnic, racial and religious minorities, and women. It ended the voter registration requirements (poll tax, grandfather clause, literacy tests,…) and ended racial segregation in schools, workplaces and facilities that served to the general public. Initially the powers that were given to enforce the Act were weak, but were strengthe
