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Ayatollan Khomeini
He was arrested because he spoke out against the pro-Western idea of the Shah. His family and him left the country to hide when the shah’s government crashed. He provoked an international mission for Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie. He died on June 4, 1989. -
Apartheid
This was an organization of racial segregation against all non-Europeans in South Africa. This developed after World War II. It lasted until 1959. -
Roosevelt's Death
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the United States’ 32nd president. He had a stroke on this day and that led to his death. This was when he was on vacation in Warm Springs, Georgia. This affected the United States because they had to get used to a new leader of the country. -
Containment
The Soviet Union tried to expand their communism throught various countries. In turn, the United States formed this policy. It was formed by George F. Kennan This was meant to avoid the spread of communism. -
Iron Curtain
It ended at the end of the Cold War in 1991. The Iron Curtain separated Europe into two different sections at the end of World War II.The east side of the Iron Curtain was under the influence of the Soviet Union. The west side was the non-communist side. -
Truman Plan
President Truman stated this plan. It was said to start the Cold War. This doctrine stated that the United States will provide financial and military aid so that they wouldn't fall under the Soviet rule. -
Marshall Plan
It was officially called the European Recovery Program or ERP. Due to the damages done in World War II, the United States financially helped European countries to rebuild their countries.They did this so that the Soviet's communism would not spread. -
Palestinian Terrorist
This has to do with the conflict between the Arabs in Palestine. It has been a problem ever since the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1800s. It started again after Israel became a state in 1948 and continues until today. -
Berlin Blockade
This was the first major event in the Cold War. Western Allies tried assembling Western Germany occupation zones into one single state. U.S., France and England tried to reform currency to help the economy. This ended May 12, 1949. -
Berlin Airlift
West Berlin citizens were supplied with food and fuel. They had to transport it by plane because the Soviet Union blocked all land access to Berlin. This ended on May 12, 1949. -
Atomic Bomb
The Soviet Union tested their first atomic bomb on this day. The Americans called this atomic bomb test Joe 1. When it was successful, the Soviet Union was now the world’s second nuclear power. -
Korean War
This was a war against international communism. This war was between South Korea and North Korea. South Korea was supported by the United Nations and North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union. It resulted in the division of Korea. This ended on January 31, 1955. -
Command of US Forces
Harry S. Truman fired Douglas MacArthur from command of US forces in Korea. This affected the United States because they had to find another command of US forces in Korea. It may have been a hard adjustment. -
Thermonuclear Bomb
The United States tested out a thermonuclear bomb. This was their first attempt at setting off this type of bomb. The name of this bomb was Ivy Mike. -
34th President
Dwight D. Eisenhower became the 34th president of the United States. He succeeded Harry S. Truman. America now had a new power and new ideas about what to do with the country. -
Stalin's Death
Joseph Stalin dies. There was difficulty replacing him after his death. Joseph Stalin suffered from a heart attack. He was the dictator of the former Soviet Union. -
Shooting Match
Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, challenged the United States to the shooting match. Khrushchev stated that the Soviet Union is better than the United States at making missiles. They had a shooting contest of missiles. -
Great Leap Forward
Mao’s (a Chinaman) tried to modernize China’s economies. As a result, China’s economy matched the United States equally. This lasted until 1961. -
Vietnam War
This was when Vietnam was trying to get unified under communist government while the U.S. tried to stop the spread of communism. U.S. leaders lost America’s support of this war. This war is a template for what to never to do again. This ended on May 7, 1975. -
"Bay of Pigs"
This was an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba. The people who invaded Cuba were the people who fled when Castro took over the country. They surrendered in less than a full day of fighting. -
OPEC
This is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. This was trying to organize policies of countries that produced oil. They were trying to secure a constant income and secure oil supply. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Ninety miles from the United States border, the Soviet secretly planted military bases and nuclear weapons in Cuba. This caused a nuclear war between the United States and Russia. The Soviets agrees to take away the missiles from Cuba. -
John F. Kennedy's Death
John F. Kennedy was shot. His injuries were fatal. He was shot in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald. Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded him as president. -
Tet Offensive
This was the military campaign during the Vietnam War. Viet Cong and North Vietnam against South Vietnam, the U.S. and their allies were involved in this. Surprise attacks occurred when no attacks whatsoever were allowed. This ended on February 24, 1968. -
Watergate
Nixon tried to cover up his and his administration’s involvement in the break-in at the Democratic Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, DC. Richard Nixon resigned before he would be kicked out of office. He resigned on August 9, 1974. -
1972 Olympics
It was held in Munich, West Germany. These were the second summer Olympics held in Germany. This Olympics tried to make people view Germany in a more positive light, rather than thinking of it as such an evil country. This ended on September 10, 1972. -
Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky, a Soviet, in chess. This was in the World Chess Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland. This was called the Match of the Century. His win ended 24 years of the Soviet’s winning in this Championship. -
Yom Kippur War
Egypt and Syria attacked the state of Israel. This war was fought on Yom Kippur, hence the name. This war was ended with a peaceful way in which everybody stopped shooting that made the war end. -
Operation Babylift
This was a huge evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States, Australia, France and Canada. This took place toward the end of the Vietnam War. There were over 3,300 infants and children evacuated. Most were flew out of Vietnam and adopted into families all around the world. This ended on April 26, 1975. -
Camp David Accords
This led to a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. It is known as the Camp David Accords because all of the decisions were held at the U.S. presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland. -
SALT II
Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev, the leaders of United States and the Soviet Union, signed the SALT II agreement. This stated the limitations and standards for nuclear weapons. This settled some issues between the United States and the Soviet Union. -
Iran Hostage Situation
This was a crisis between Iran and the United States. Iranian people kidnapped 52 Americans for one year and 79 days. President Carter stated that he will not stand for blackmail and will not give into it. This ended on January 20, 1981. -
Olympic Hockey
The United States finally defeated the Soviet Union in Olympic Hockey. This defeat was in the semifinals. This was known as the “Miracle on Ice.” The United States faced Finland in the finals. -
1980 Summer Olympics Boycott
The 1980 Summer Olympics were held in Moscow, Russia. The United States and its allies boycotted these Olympics. They did this because of the war they were in with Russia. -
Soviet Spy
The Soviets sent spies to America to keep an eye out for anything important. One in particular was Dieter Gerhardt. He was arrested by the Americans in New York. -
Perestroika and Glasnost
This introduced great changes in economics, internal concerns and international affairs. This stopped communist governments throughout Eastern Europe. This resulted in the end of the Cold war. This ended in 1991. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
This is also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese. This was a demonstration led by students that received a lot of support. Troops with assault rifles and tanks injured the citizens trying to block the military. The students stayed there for seven weeks. This ended on July 23, 1989. -
McDonald's
The first ever McDonald’s in Russia opens. The first one was located in Moscow, the capital. This was a great addition to Russia because it introduced all whole new type of food to their society. -
Unified Germany
Germany was split into two sections during the majority of the Cold War. On this day, Germany was unified as one again. This was good for Germany because it made their country whole again and brought everybody together. -
NAFTA
This treaty was signed by the United States, Canada and Mexico. It created a trilateral trade bloc within these three countries. NAFTA replaced a previous agreement call the United States Free Trade Agreement. However, this treaty only included Canada and the United States, not Mexico. -
Sputnik 2
This was the second rocket launched from Russia. This first was Sputnik. Sputnik 2 was the launched with the first living being, a dog named Laika, ever to go into space on board.
