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Formation of NATO
In 1949, the prospect of further Communist expansion prompted the United States and 11 other Western nations to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).With headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, the organization establishes a system of collective security whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. -
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1950-1975 Timeline
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Truman Approved development of the H-Bomb
U.S. President Harry S. Truman publicly announced his decision to support the development of the hydrogen bomb, a weapon theorized to be hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II. Five months earlier, the United States had lost its nuclear supremacy when the Soviet Union successfully detonated an atomic bomb at their test site in Kazakhstan. -
Sino-Soviet Treaty
The Sino-Soviet Treaty is a 1945 treaty signed by the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China and Soviet Union at 14 August 1945. At the time, Soviet and Mongolian troops were occupying Inner Mongolia and other Chinese territory, having seized it from the Japanese during World War II. In a declaration made in connection with the treaty, China accepted the independence of Mongolia within its previous borders, provided that a referendum on the issue be h -
North Korea invades South Korea
The Korean War begins with an attack made by North Korean forces across the 38th parallel dividing North and South Korea.The attack took place on June 24th 1950, and was a complete surprise to the American administration. It was feared that this attack heralded the beginning of World War III. -
Inch'on Landing
U.S. Marines force made a surprise amphibious landing at the strategic port of Inchon, on the west coast of Korea, about 100 miles south of the 38th parallel and 25 miles from Seoul.Afterward, the American-led U.N. force was able to break North Korean supply lines and push inland to recapture Seoul, the South Korean capital that had fallen to the Communists in June.The landing at Inchon changed the course of the war; however, the conflict later settled into a long, bloody stalemate that did not -
Rosenberg Trial
The Rosenburge Spy Case was about a husband and wife, Julius and Ethel accused of being soviet spies.It was believed that the two were leaking information about our nuclear advances. Julius had worked in the US army signal corps. The two were found guilty and recieved the death scentence -
Atomic Bomb Developed in Britain
Britain developed its own atom bomb to remain a great power and avoid complete dependence on the United States, which was refusing to share atomic information.After their first test, Britain was the world's third atomic power behind American and the Soviet Union. -
Joseph Stalin Dies
Joseph Stalin ruled the USSR with an iron fist. To the great relief of many, he died of a massive heart attack on March 5, 1953. He is remembered to this day as the man who helped save his nation from Nazi domination—and as the mass murderer of the century, having overseen the deaths of between 8 million and 10 million of his own people. -
Korean War Ends
After three years of a bloody and frustrating war, the United States, the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, and South Korea agree to an armistice, bringing the Korean War to an end. The armistice ended America’s first experiment with the Cold War concept of “limited war.” -
North Korea and South Korea agree to a Truce
The Korean Armistice Agreement is the armistice which ended the Korean War. It was signed by U.S. Army Lieutenant General William Harrison, Jr. representing the United Nations Command, North Korean General Nam Il representing the Korean People's Army, and the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army.The armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, and was designed to "insure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settlement is achieved." -
Domino Theory
The Domino Theory was coined by Eisenhower and was the phrase that described how voulnerable countries are at risk of being taken over by communism. An example of a region like this at the time would be Southeast Asia. -
Vietnam Split at 17th Parallel
An agreement was made to split Vietnam at the 17th parallel and forbid foreign troops. This agreement, that separated the two sides until free elections were held in 1956, was called the Geneva Accords. The U.S. refused to sign the Geneva Accords, continuing to be the primary supporter of the anti-communist efforts in South Vietnam. -
Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites signed a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states.The treaty called on the member states to come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force and it set up a unified military command under Marshal Ivan S. Konev of the Soviet Union. -
Eisenhower Doctrine
Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a country could request American economic assistance and/or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state. Eisenhower singled out the Soviet threat in his doctrine by authorizing the commitment of U.S. forces “to secure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of such nations, requesting such aid against overt armed aggression from any nation controlled by international communism.” -
Space Race
After World War II drew to a close in the mid-20th century, a new conflict began. Known as the Cold War, this battle pitted the world’s two great powers–the democratic, capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union–against each other. Beginning in the late 1950s, space would become another dramatic arena for this competition, as each side sought to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower and–by extension–its political-economic system -
Cuba becomes Communist under Fidel Castro
Cuban leader Fidel Castro established the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere after leading an overthrow of the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Castro’s regime was successful in reducing illiteracy, stamping out racism and improving public health care, but was widely criticized for stifling economic and political freedoms. -
The U2 Incident
The 1960 U-2 incident was a United States U-2 spy plane that was shot down while in Soviet airspace. Confronted with the evidence of his nation’s espionage, President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) was forced to admit to the Soviets that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had been flying spy missions over the USSR for several years. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion begins when a CIA trained group of Cuban refugees lands in Cuba and attempts to better the communist government of Fidel Castro. The invaders were badly outnumbered by Castro’s troops, and they surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting. -
The Creation of the Berlin Wall
The Communist government of the German Democratic Republic began to build a barbed wire and concrete wall between East and West Berlin. The official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep Western fascists from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the Missile Scare, was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet ballistic missiles deployment in Cuba. President Kennedy decided to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Johnson to take any measures he believed necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. By summer, however, rebel forces had established control over nearly half of South Vietnam, and Senator Goldwater was criticizing the Johnson administration for not pursuing the war more aggressively. -
China Explodes First Atomic Bomb
The Chinese government made a promise to the world that it developed nuclear weapons only for the purpose of self-defense and safeguarding national security. China would never at any time or under any circumstances be the first to use nuclear weapons. -
Announcement of Dispatching Troops
During a press conference, President Johnson announces he will send 44 combat battalions to Vietnam increasing the U.S. military presence to 125,000 men. Monthly draft calls are doubled to 35,000. -
Six Days War
The Six day war, also called the June War, took place June 5th through the 10th, 1967, and was the third of the Arab-Israeli wars. Israel’s victory included the capture of the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Old City of Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights; -
USS Scorpion
The USS Scorpion was a nuclear submarine of the United States Navy and the sixth vessel of the U.S. Navy to carry that name. On 22 May 1968, the vessel disappeared along with the 99 men on board. -
Brezhnev Doctorine
This doctrine, expounded by Leonid Brezhnev in November 1968, affirmed the right of the Soviet Union to intervene in the affairs of Communist countries to strengthen Communism. This doctorine fed the USSR's feeling of power. -
Brezhnev Doctrine
The doctrine expounded by Leonid Brezhnev in November 1968 affirmed the right of the Soviet Union to intervene in the affairs of Communist countries to strengthen Communism. -
Apollo 11 Lands on Moon
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were to gather samples of lunar-surface materials for return to Earth. They also were to photograph the terrain, the deployed scientific equipment, the LM spacecraft, and each other, both with still and motion picture cameras. -
Nixon Arrives in China
Nixon’s historic visit began the slow process of the establishing a diplomatic relationship between the United States and a communist China. -
Salt 1
An agreement made between the United States and the Soviet Union limiting the number of nuclear missiles in their arsenals.The treaty limited missile defenses to 200 missiles each and allowed each side to construct two missile defense sites, one to protect the national capital, the other to protect one ICBM field. -
North Vietnam defeats South Vietnam
North Vietnamese completely encircled Saigon and began to maneuver along the Cambodian border. When the North Vietnamese tanks broke through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon, the South Vietnamese surrendered. -
Helsinki Accords
The Helsinki Accords were primarily an effort to reduce tension between the Soviet and Western blocs by securing their common acceptance of the post-World War II status quo in Europe. The Helsinki Accords, however, were not binding as they did not have treaty status.
