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The Yalta Conference
Roosevelt met with Stalin and Churchill at Yalta to work out the future of Germany and Poland. They agreed on the division of Germany into American, British, French, and Soviet occupation zones. -
The establishment of the United Nations in San Francisco
In April 1945, delegates from 50 nations met in San Francisco to adopt a charter, or statement of principles, for the UN. -
The Potsdam Conference
Truman's first meeting with Stalin occurred in July 1945 in the Berlin suburb of Potsdam. At Potsdam, Truman got word that the atom bomb had been tested in New Mexico. -
Army-McCarthy hearings
In early 1954, when one of his assistants was drafted, McCarthy charged that even the army was full of Communists. Army officials, in turn, charged McCarthy with seeking special treatment for his aide. As charges and countercharges flew back and forth, the senator's subcommittee voted to investigate the claims. -
The launch of Sputnik
The first artificial satellite to orbit Earth, launched by the Soviets in 1957. The realization that the rocket used to launch Sputnik could carry a hydrogen bomb to American shores added to American shock and fear. -
U-2 incident
In May 1960, the Soviet military again demonstrated its arms capabilities by using a guided missile to shoot down an American U-2 spy plane over Soviet territory. Because these spy planes flew more than 15 miles high, American officials had assumed that they were invulnerable to attack.