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Iron Curtain
"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent." - William Churchill, British prime minister.
The iron curtain was the dividing line between Europe during the Cold War. -
Truman Plan
Otherwise known as the Truman Doctrine, this document officially started the Cold War. It was read by Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States. -
Marshall Plan
George C. Marshall talked about the Marshall Plan in his speech at Harvard University. The plan was made to help and pay for the economies of countries in Europe. It ended in 1951. -
Berlin Blockade
During the Cold War, the city of Berlin Germany was separated. The Soviet Union, the United States, France, and Britain each controlled a piece of the city. In 1948, the Soviet Union took over the city to make the others want to leave. -
Apartheid
Apartheid was racial segregation between black and white people in South Africa. It lasted for 50 years ending in 1991. -
Berlin Airlift
The Soviet Union had taken over Berlin during the Berlin Blockade; blocking anything from getting into the city. But the allies brought supplies to Berlin by airplane instead. -
NATO pact signed
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
This pact was used for protection against the Soviet Union. It included the United States and eleven other countries. -
Soviet Union's first atomic bomb
On this day, the Soviet Union successfully exploded their first atomic bomb. -
Containment/ Domino Theory
It started in the early 1950's. It was a United States foreign policy that tried to stop the spread of communism around the world. -
Korean War
The Korean War was the first real fighting during the Cold War. It was fought between North and South Korea. The United States fought on the South's side. It ended in July of 1953. -
Joseph Stalin dies
On this day, Joseph Stalin died in Moscow. He had ruled the Soviet Union since 1924. He is known for his connections with Hitler during WWII. -
Soviet Union's first hydrogen bomb
Work on this bomb began in 1946. It exploded at the Soviet Union's site in Kazakhstan. It had a very original design. -
Vietnam War
It started sometime in 1954. It was fought between North Vietnam and its allies including the United States. At least 3 million people were killed. It ended in 1975. -
Civil Rights Movement
The United States Supreme Court ended segregation by getting rid of Jim Crow laws. -
Warsaw Pact
Including the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, and Czechoslovakia, these countries signed a treaty putting the Soviet Union in charge of their armed forces. -
Sputnik launched
Sputnik was the world's first artificial satellite to be launched into space. It was done by the Soviet Union, being part of the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. -
Great Leap Forward
It started sometime during 1958 in China. It was created by Mao Zedong from China. The goal was for China to become modernized and its economy to become better than the United States economy. -
Bay of Pigs
Fidel Castro, a Cuban nationalist, invaded Havana with his army to get rid of General Fulgencio Batista, the president of Cuba. -
American U-2 spy plane shot down
This American spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Union while flying over the Soviet Union. -
OPEC
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
OPEC was created for petroleum producing countries to unify the countries, regulate the price and amount of petroleum produced in the world. -
Kennedy's Moon Landing Speech
United States president, John F. Kennedy, announced to Congress that by the end of the decade, America will have sent a man to the moon. This statement was a big factor in the space race between the U.S. and Soviet Union. -
Building of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was located in Berlin, Germany built to separate East and West Germany. It was built by the communist government to keep people from the West coming to the East in the city. The wall would stay up until 1989. -
Kennedy Assassination
On this day, the 35th president of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy was assissinated in Dallas, Texas. He was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald from a building's window. Vice president Lyndon Johnson became president hours after his death. -
Tokyo Olympics
Held in Tokyo, Japan, these summer Olympics were the first Olympics to ever be held in Asia. -
First Superbowl
The football game was played in Los Angelos, California. The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the first Superbowl game ever. It was a big moment in America's culture and history. -
Tet Offensaut
Otherwise known as Tet Offensive, it was a series of attacks by North Vietnam on South Vietnam. The first attack was on Jan. 21 on an American base. -
Apollo 11 Moon Landing
On this day, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to ever go to the moon and land on it.
"That's one step for man, one giant leap for mankind."- Neil Armstrong -
Woodstock
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair was a famous festival held in New York that was very peaceful and a big part of music and American history. -
Watergate
At the Watergate building in Washington D.C., a robbery occured in the office of the Democratic National Committee. The robbers attempted to steal secret documents for the U.S. president Richard Nixon. This caused a big scandal and Nixon later resigned because of this in 1974. -
1972 Olympics
During these summer olympics, what was called the Munich Massacre ocurred in Munich Germany. It was done by a Palestinian group where they killed members of Israel's olympic team. -
Camp David Accords
United States president Jimmy Carter created this peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. It was signed at the white house on Sep. 17, 1978. -
Ayatollah Khomeini
He was a religious and political leader of the Iranian Revolution. After the revolution, he became Iran's leader. -
Iran Hostage Situation
Students from Iran held 60 Americans hostage for 444 days. They were set free Jan. 21 1981. -
1980 Olympics boycott
Many countries including the United States were unhappy with the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. So these counries decided to boycott the games for being held in Moscow. -
Pestroika and Glasnot
Mikhail S. Gorbachev from the Soviet Union used this to eventually end the Cold War and cause the fall of the Soviet Union. -
Challenger explosion
Shortly after liftoff in Florida, the American Challenger shuttle exploded. It killed all seven people on it including a teacher. The unusually cold weather that morning was found to be the cause of the disaster. -
Chernobyl nuclear explosion
The Soviet Union built this nuclear plant in the Ukraine. It was the world's worst nuclear accident, killing thousands of people. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
Tiananmen Square is located in Bejing China. Chinese troops invaded the square and killed and arrested thousands of people that supported democracy. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
On this day, the leaders of East Germany said that Westerners would be free to come to East Germany, meaning the end of the Berlin Wall. It caused a big celebration in Berlin; people even started knocking down the wall themselves. -
Nafta
North American Free Trade Agreement
It was an agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States on trade.
