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Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a series of two revolutions in 1917 which led to rise of the Soviet Union over the Tsarist autocracy. It began with the February Revolution, which arose due to acts of violence and multiple riots. This ultimately removed the Tsar from power and replaced him with a provisional government. The Bolshevik Revolution in October followed. The new provisional government was then overthrown by the Bolsheviks. Their new communist government was called the Soviet Union. -
Atomic Bomb: Hiroshima/Nagasaki
The United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hiroshima was bomb first on the 6th of August and Nagasaki followed on the 9th. These bombs killed 129,000 to 226,000 people and officially ended world war II. -
The Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was a meeting between President Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin to settle questions about postwar situations. Their goals were to make a peace treaty and repair the damaging effects caused by the war. It was a very significant event because it lead to the Cold war after Truman flex his power with the development of the atomic bomb and Stalin did not abide by the rules of the treaty. -
The Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the division between East and West Europe. It was very important because it showed the effort of the Soviet union to isolate itself from its enemies like the United States. The east side of the boundary consisted of communist powers or others influenced by the Soviet Union. The west side on the other hand, consisted of allies to the United States or neutral countries. -
Hollywood 10
The Hollywood 10 was a group of ten members of the Hollywood film industry who took a stand against the House Un-American Activities Committee and even influenced communism in some of their films. They all received jail time and lost their jobs because they had not remained loyal to their country and instead promoted communism. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was created by President Truman and designed to change the United States foreign policy. It Stated that the United States would provide political, economic and military support to all democratic nations who are under threat. This caused America to intervene in many more conflicts then they would have if this doctrine was not established. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall plan was a plan to aid the recovery of Western Europe after the war. The United States gave over $100 billion to help rebuild Western European countries. The United States wanted to remove trade barriers, modernize industry, improve prosperity and prevent the spread of communism. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
Joseph Stalin created the Berlin Blockade which prevented all access to the city of west Berlin. He did this as a retaliation to the Imperialist acts of the United States in the western region of Europe. President Truman then introduced the Berlin Airlift designed to resupply Berlin. After planes continually delivered supplies untouched by enemies, the Soviet Union released the blockade. -
NATO
The acronym NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization which was established on April 4, 1949. It is an international alliance and consists of 29 members including countries from North America and Europe. The membership of the United States was important because it was a good way to build trust between neighboring countries and help settle conflict. -
Soviet Bomb Test
When the Soviet Union tested their first atomic bomb in 1949 the United states was surprised. Though they already had the technology, they did not expect Russia to develop it so soon. It was significant point in the war because it caused Americans to truly question their own safety for the first time in the war. -
Korean War
Korea was split at the 38 parallel dividing it into two separate nations. The north half of Korea was a communist country while the south half was against communism. This was significant for the United States because they decided to aid the southern region of Korea in order to prevent the spread of communism. -
Khruschev Takes over
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev lead the Soviet Union During the Cold War. He was a former Soviet statesman and took power in March of 1953 as a very strong communist. This was important for the United States because when Stalin died they had to communicate with Khrushchev instead to work towards the end of the war. -
Army-McCarthy hearings
The Army-McCarthy hearings were a series of court hearings to investigate the conflict between McCarthy and the Army. Both had accused each other of different actions and the cases got a lot of attention from the media. The army felt that McCarthy was being biased to his former aid, G. David Schine. McCarthy however said they were accusing him of this as a retaliation to his investigations of potential communist spies. -
Eisenhower’s Massive Retaliation Policy
Eisenhower's Massive Retaliation Policy was a very good strategy for insuring the safety of the United States. It stated that if the United states was attacked by another country they would retaliate in a much greater force then the attacker. This was a significant point in the war because it showed Russia that the United States was very powerful and would not back down. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw pact was originally known as the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. It was signed in Warsaw, Poland by the Soviet Union and seven other Soviet satellite states. Its goal was to counterbalance the NATO and and an attempt by the Soviet Union to not feel outnumbered. -
The Vietnam War
The war in Vietnam was a war between the divided north and south regions of Vietnam. The northern half was communist and supported by Russia while the southern half was supported by the United States. This was a very significant event in the war because it was the cause of thousands of American deaths. -
Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution, also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a revolt against the government of Hungary that was influenced by communism. The Hungarian Revolution was significant in the war because it showed that Hungary was against the Soviet Union and communism. -
U2 Incident
The U2 incident occurred when a United States U2 spy plane was shot down over soviet Russia. This lead to even more conflict between the two countries because it was proof that the United States was still spying on Russia. Though America tried to justify their position, it was not enough to prevent further conflict. -
Bay of Pigs invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a failed invasion of Cuba by the CIA. An army trained by the CIA attempted to overthrow the communist government of Fidel Castro. The United States was strongly motivated to do this because they wanted to prevent the spread of communism. -
Berlin Wall
Built in 1961 the Berlin wall divided Germany into east and west regions. The east side was strongly communist while the west was not. The east region saw the wall as a way to protect themselves from fascist elements. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962 evidence proved that Cuba was preparing nuclear weapons. The United States decided that they would perceive any missile from Cuba as a direct attack from Russia. This was a very significant time in the war as the United States had almost entered into nuclear war and reach def con 2 for the first time in history. -
Detente under Nixon
Nixon's Detente was a period of improving relations between the Soviet Union and the United States. It was a very important time during the war as it restored peace between the two nations and lead to the end of the war. -
The Reagan Doctrine
The Reagan Doctrine was a strategy implemented by president Reagan designed to end the war. It was based on the idea of overwhelming the global influence of the Soviet Union and ultimately ending the war. -
Reagan’s Berlin Wall Speech
In his speech regarding the Berlin Wall president Reagan shouted "tear down this wall!" He wanted to open the barrier that had divided east and west Germany for years. This was significant because it was another step in the war closer to peace. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall was powerful symbol near the end of the war that showed conflict was finally dissolving. Those who were held against they're will in the communist region of Germany were finally allowed to leave.
