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Period: to
U.S.A. vs. U.S.S.R.
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North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Here, in 1949, the United States, Canada, and ten other countries formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Each country in this treaty pledged to help one another in case they were to be attacked. -
Chinese Civil War
A man by the name of Mao Zedong wanted China to be a communist country, and with support from the people, he became very powerful. China conquered Tibet in 1950 and started collectivization by pooling peasant land and labor, to increase productivity. Also, from 1958 to 1960, Mao lead a program known as the Great Leap Forward. He wanted the people to increase farm and industrial output and to make agriculture more efficient. -
Korean Conflict
After the defeat in WW II, Korea was split down the 38th parallel of latitude. North Korean troops attacked in June of 1950 and soon overran most of Southern Korea. In September of 1950, the United Nations landed behind enemy lines and cut off north-south railroad lines and North Korean troops from their supply of food and ammunition. They soon surrendered and by November United Nations troops advanced to the Yalu River, along the border of China. -
Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union responded to NATO by forming their own treaty with seven other satellites in Eastern Europe. Unlike NATO though, the Warsaw Pact was often called upon by the Soviets to keep the satellites in order. -
Communist Cuba and Missle Crisis
By 1959, Fidel Castro had led his guerrilla army to victory and lead Cuba to Communism. Castro wanted support from the Soviet Union, and he put most land under government control. In 1961, John F. Kennedy supported an invasion attempt by U.S.-trained Cuban Exiles. This ended quickly though as Castros men captured the invaders. In 1962, the Soviet Union sent nuclear missles to Cuba. Kennedy set up a blockade to stop these shipments and then demanded they take them back. They did after a few days. -
The Berlin Wall
The city of Berlin was split into democratic West Berlin and Communist East Berlin. Many under-paid East Germans, living in poverty, fled to West Germany to live a better life. To stop this, East Germany built a wall, in between East and West Berlin. This was a concrete barrier topped with barbed wire and patrolled by guards that totally sealed off West Berlin. -
Vietnam Conflict
Soon after the U.S. entered the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese attacked a U.S. Navy destroyer, the Maddox. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on August 7, 1964 that authorized the President to take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression to Southeast Asia. America faced Guerrila warfare through out the war and they were not used to this. South Vietnam failed to defeat the communist guerrilla forces. -
Nuclear Arms Race and Detente
Even before this date, both the United States and Soviet Union had nuclear bombs and the countries were not at rest, fearing that one or another would send their missles. But in 1969, they began a Strategic Arms Limitation to limit the amount of nuclear weapons held by each side. These arms agreements led to an era of dentente, or relaxation of tensions, during the 1970's. The dentente then ended in 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. -
Soviets in Afghanistan
The Soviet Union got involved in a long war in Afghanistan, when a Soviet-supported Afghan government tried to modernize the nation.They wanted to reduce the power of Afghan landlords, but this happened to threaten Islamic tradition, so many did not agree with this. They were battling Muslim religious warriors, and found them hard to battle in the mountains or Afghanistan. Eventually the Soviets had many problems at home and were not doing well. -
Eastern European Independence
Many Eastern Europeans opposed communist rule and wanted more freedom. Revolts soon erupted in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and elsewhere in the 1950s and again in the 1980s. -
Soviet Union Falls
Since the beginning, many had seen weaknesses in the Soviet Union, and it slowly started declining as more and more people began to pull away from communism. Then, finally at the end of 1991 The Soviet Union was no more and split into 3 republics, Russia, which was the largest, Kazakhstan, and then Ukraine.
