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The Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference occurred at the end of World war II and signifies the beginning of the Cold War because ultimately decisions were made during this meeting, such as the division of Germany, that directly caused the war.
(Pictured ledt to right: Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin) -
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The Cold War
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Atomic Bomb
The United States first uses the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima killing approx. 100,000 people. -
Truman Doctrine
Stated the the U.S. would use military force to rescue a country whose political stablity was threatened by communism. -
Marshall Plan
This was a program the U.S. instated to help rebuild Europe after the war, however, the Soviet union expressed little interest in finding a solution to Germany's and other European countries' economic problems and rejected the plan. -
Berlin Blockade
The Soviet Union cut off food, water, and other supplies to Berlin in response to disputes over the future political structure of Germany. -
NATO
The North Atlantic treaty was an alliance between certain countries that agreed to mutually attack if anyone of the allied countries were attacked by an enemy party. -
End of Berlin Blockade
The Berlin airlift, organized by allied forces, brought food and supplies to Berlin and defeated the purpose of the blockade so the Soviets lifted the blockade almost a year after it had begun. -
Mao Zedong takes control of China
Communist leader Mao Zedong forms the People's Republic of China. -
McCarthyism
Joe McCarthy begins communist witch hunt. In 1953 the Rosenbergs are executed because of their involvement in a communist spy-ring. -
Korean War begins
This war was a result of the political division of Korea. -
Korean War ends
The war ends due to a stalemate on the border. -
KGB establsihed
The Soviet Union's foreign intelligence and domestic security agency -
Warsaw Pact
This was a Soviet Union mutual defense treaty in response to NATO. -
Suez Crisis
The crisis began with an israeli attack led by Moshe Dayan against Egyptian forces in the Sinai region. -
Sputnik
Sputnik, the first earth-orbiting artificial satellite, was launched into orbit. -
Fidel Castro takes power
Fidel Castro is sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba. In January 1961 President Kennedy tried to overthrow Castro in the "Bay of Pigs" Invasion but failed. -
Construction of Berlin wall begins
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Cuban Missile Crisis
On this day the U.S. captured photographic proof that the Soviet Union had missile bases under construction in Cuba. This crisis lasted the whole month of October, and was the closest the world has come to a nuclear war. -
Tonkin Gulf Crisis
This crisis was a clash between the U.S. and Vietnam naval forces. Although U.S. involvement in Vietnam war increased in 1962, the Tonkin Gulf Crisis furthered these tensions and led to a war. -
Nixon visits China
This marked the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC. -
SALT
SALT I was a a strategic arms limitation talks agreement, SALT II followed it and was signed in 1979. -
The Vietnam War ends
North Vietnam defeats south Vietnam after a long, expensive, protested and bloody war (U.S. cease fire in 1973). -
Iran Hostage Crisis
52 U.S. citizens were held hostage for 444 days after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the U.S Embassy in support of the Iranian Revolution. -
Iran-Contra Affair
A political scandal in the U.S. that was later uncovered reavealing that U.S. officials sold arms to Iran to fund the Nicaraguan Contras. -
Reagan and Gorbachev begin to make peace
Reagan and Gorbachev agree to remove all medium and short-range nuclear missiles by signing treaty -
The Berlin Wall falls
This paved the way for German reunification and remains a symbol for the end of the Cold War. -
Soviet Union collapses
End of the Cold War
