-
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
U.S., Canada, and 10 other countries formed a military alliance -
Chinese Civil War
Chinese communists fought a civil war against Chinese nationalists. The communists were led by Mao Zedong and the nationalists were led by Jiang Jieshi. Eventually Mao's forces were victorious and set up the People's Rebublic of China. -
Period: to
Nuclear Arms Race
Nuclear Arms Race PictureA race between the United States and Russia to manufacture nuclear weapons. This resulted in a "balance of terror" in which each country was scared of being destroyed by the others nuclear weapons. -
Korean Conflict
North Korea and South Korea are divided and each territory's leader wants complete control of Korea. North Korea is communist and is led by Kim Il Sung, while South Korea is noncommunist and is led by Syngman Rhee. This conflict was started after WWII when American and Soviet forces agreed to divide Korea temporarily. In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and this prompted the UN to get involved. -
Warsaw Pact
Soviet Union's military alliance - included Soviet Union and 7 satellites in Eastern Europe -
Berlin Wall
A wall built by East Germany that sealed off West Berlin to stop East Germans from fleeing into West Berlin. The wall showed that workers disliked communism so much, force had to be used to keep them from fleeing. -
Communist Cuba and Missile Crisis
Fidel Castro led the Cuban Revolution and changed Cuba into a communist country, gaining the Soviets support. In 1962, the Soviets put nuclear missles in Cuba - causing fear of a nuclear war. The tension lasted for a few days, but ended when the Soviets removed the missles. -
Vietnam Conflict
America went to war with the communists of Vietnam when the North Vietnamese attacked a U.S. destroyer - The Maddox. American soldiers faced guerrilla war, and were at a disadvantage because guerrilla fighters knew the land better. America eventually agreed to a cease-fire in 1973. America went to war with Vietnam because they were afraid of the domino effect, where one country becoming communist would cause more countries to follow. -
Period: to
Eastern European Independence
Map of Czechoslovakia dividedAs many Eastern Europeans opposed communist rule, it was natural that soon many Eastern European countries began seeking independence. Hungary led the way in 1968 when they quietly expanded their market economy. Poland soon followed with strikes and unions against the communists. East Germans were also fed up with communist rule and fleed to West Germany. Finally, in 1992 Czechoslovakia was freed from communist rule when it was divided into Slovakia and the Czech Republic. -
Period: to
Detente
Detente PictureA time of relaxed tensions between the U.S. and the Soviets when they agreed to work out their problems diplomatically rather than militarily. This ended when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. -
Soviets in Afghanistan
Soviets become involved with war in Afghanistan. They were trying to stop the revolt of Afgan warlords who were trying to overthrow the Soviet supported government. The warlords were angry because the government reduced the power of the landlords. The warlords' guerrilla tactics proved too difficult for the Soviets and they backed out. -
Soviet Union Falls
The Soviet Union couldn't last forever. Soon, the command economy began to fall apart due to unproductive agriculture, a weak economy, and a low standard of living. Reforms were made to try to make improvements, but these often led to more trouble. Finally in 1988 and 1989, the communist government finally folded to public pressure and greater freedoms were allowed, ending the Soviet Union's great rule.
