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Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech
The Iron Curtain Speech was Churchill's was delivered in March, 1946. It was his announcement to America of the danger Europe was in of falling under Soviet rule, further confirming for Americans that communist was the biggest thread being faced. An iron curtain was dropped through Europe putting all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe on one side. He also states Soviets did not want war, but the power and expansion that comes from winning war. -
Truman Doctrine
The agreement that the Unites States would provide military and financial aide to any country resisting Soviet influence. This was a form of containment. -
The Marshall Plan
An American initiative to aide Western Europe financially, in order to recover economic stability. -
Berlin Blockade
During the Cold War, The Soviet Union cut off all of the West Allie's access to Berlin, so they had no access to food, clothes, medicine, or other necessities. -
Berlin Airlift
June 24, 1948- May 12, 1949, The Berlin Blockade was The United States unchallenged aide to Berlin, after the Soviets cut off all entrances/exits to Berlin. The Soviets finally decided to isolate Berlin because they thought the creation of a new currency in Germany was an example of American economic imperialism. The United States flew in food, water, and medicine, gaining loyalty from the people the Soviets were attempting to dictate. -
NATO Formation
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is ten European nations which came together to form an alliance. NATO was formed to provide collective protection from the Soviet Union. The second world war had caused astronomical economic downfall, as well as psychical damage to much of Europe. The U.S., part of NATO, agreed to provide economic aide to Europe creating The Marshall Plan, thus sparking the idea of nations with common enemies could cooperate. This was the inspiration to create the NATO -
Start of The Korean War
The Korean war began when Northern Korea, supported by the Soviets, invaded Southern Korea, supported by the U.S. Communist China also supported Northern Korea. -
Rosenberg Trial
During the 1950's, communism was the most feared and hated ideal in America, even just the word had a reputation of a 'bad word'. The Rosenbergs were despised in the year of 1951, because they were accused of selling nuclear secrets to the Russians (Communists). Despite a confession from a government worker saying that the Rosenberg were giving the Soviets secrets, many controversially said they were prosecuted only because they were part of the Communist Party. -
Eisenhower elected President
Dwight D. Eisenhower was Elected president on November 4, 1952, and led the D-Day invasion of Nazi occupied Europe. -
Rosenberg Execution
The Rosenberg couple was executed on July 19, 1951. Julius Rosenberg first, at 8 pm. Ethel soon followed at 8:16 pm. Throughout the couples two year wait for the chair, which they spent in prison, they consistently claimed that they were innocent. In addition to this, the conviction was based off of a conspiracy theory of espionage. In this trial, there was a reasonable doubt of innocence, but the overwhelming hatred towards communism instilled into people by their government, blinded the jury. -
The Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact is the informal name for the Treaty of Friendship between Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. The Warsaw Pact was similar to The NATO in the sense that every member of the Treaty of Friendship was obligated to assist anybody else in the pact if attacked by foreign military. The Pact quickly became a political tool for the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union would use it's new combined military power to initiate its enemies -
Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference took place in order to settle outstanding issues in the Korean Peninsula, and to discuss restoring peace in Indochina -
Rebellion in Hungary
Conflict between Hungary's Republic and Hungary's population under Soviet Rule. -
Creation of NASA
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was created was created in response to the Soviets Union's launch of it's first satellite, the Sputnik 1. When it first started, NASA was responsible for coordinating America's activity in space. The reason the Sputnik 1 sparked such a fear in America was because it scared them that the Soviet Union might be capable of sending a nuclear rocket from Europe to the Unites States. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was a revolt led by Fidel Castro against the Cuban Government. Batista, the President of Cuba, was a communist. During his second term however, he switched and became very anti-communist, gaining the support of the United States. Fidel Castro and followers were a part of the communist party, so their President's sudden change of heart was the motivation for the initial revolt. by the late 1950's, things were looking up for Castro's revolt, it was becoming a revolution -
Soviet Union sends first person into space
Gagarin, Soviet pilot was the first man to go into space, and he also orbited the planet in only 89 minutes -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was built between east and west Berlin by The Communist Government of The German Democratic Republic. The reason it was built was was to keep the left wing "Fascists" of Western Germany from infecting east Germany, controlled by The Soviet Union. The Wall was an enduring and Powerful thing, because on November 9, 1989 when the Communist Leader of East Germany announced it may not, for the first time, be crossed freely, the trapped Eastern Germans Fled with joy to the West. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
This was a confrontational between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, with the safety of the world at the balance. The Soviet Union attempted to base their nuclear weapons on Communist Cuba, only 90 miles from the Florida Coast. To avoid nuclear conflict, the Soviet Union agreed not to base their nuclear weapons on Cuba, but The United States was forbidden from Invading Cuba. This was literally a life saving agreement. If the U.S. felt threatened by Soviet presence, they would have fired first -
Kennedy Assassination
John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential parade. -
Potsdam Conference
The big three met in Potsdam, Germany; Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Harry Truman. There, they negotiated the terms to end world war 2.
