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The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was signed by President Truman stating that the US would intervene to prevent Communism from spreading. The Truman Doctrine was essentially the containment policy of the United States during the Cold War ("containing" the Communists), and it eventually led to the Marshall Plan. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was signed post-WWII in an attempt by the US to aid in Europe's recovery. At the time it was signed, Secretary of State George C. Marshall stated that it was a plan to help rebuild Europe, particularly England, economically after being bombed repeatedly during WWII. The Marshall Plan was also created in the hopes that the Soviet Union wouldn't take over any other European countries. -
Creation of NATO
Tension and worry rose as Soviet influence continued to spread throughout Europe. As a result, 12 nations signed NATO, which promised that an attack against one was an attack against all who signed, and that the countries would defend each other. -
The Korean War
In the hopes of reuniting Korea as one country, communist North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950, escalating the civil war that was already taking place. The US and Red China soon got involved to protect their allies, South Korea. When South Korea was near defeat, they made a miraculous recovery, pushing North Korea back across the border, hoping to rid them of communism. The Americans were then able to establish the 38th parallel, a defensive line between North and South Korea -
Rosenberg Spy Case
In 1951, former US army signal corps member Rosenberg and his wife were arrested by the FBI for transmitting classified military information to the Soviet Union. The Rosenbergs were also found guilty of having top-secret data on nuclear weapons. The Rosenbergs were executed in 1953. -
US Creates Hydrogen Bomb
In 1952, the US created the first hydrogen bomb (nearly 1000x more powerful than standard nuclear weapons) and tested it in the Pacific. This gave the US a lead in the arms race against the Soviet Union. Some were afraid, however, that the Soviet Union would quickly follow behind with more nuclear weaponry. The next year, the Soviet Union set off a hydrogen bomb of their own, and 7 other countries had created hydrogen bombs of their own by the 1970s. -
Creation of the Warsaw Pact
After West Germany was added to NATO on May 9, 1955, the Soviet Union felt threatened and responded by creating the Warsaw Pact. This pact put the Soviet Union in command of the armed forces of its members of the pact. This treaty obligated the Soviet Union and its member states to come into action and defend each other if any member state were to be attacked. The pact also set up a unified military command under the Soviet Union. -
The Vietnam War
After being occupied by the French for a long time, Vietnam finally fought for independence. When they gained it in 1954, the country was split into communist North Vietnam and deomcratic South Vietnam. There were still some communists in South Vietnam who tried to overthrow the government with the help of North Vietnam, and the US stepped in to protect South Vietnam with better weapons and technology. War was unpopular, so the US ceased fire in Vietnam, and the country remained commuist. -
Soviet Union launches Sputnik
In October 1957, the first man-made satellite, Sputnik, was launched into space by the Soviet Union. Although the Sputnik was of little significance, it did begin a new age of space exploration, and also initiated the "space race" between the US and the Soviet Union, which eventually led to the creation of space stations and the space shuttle. -
The Berlin Wall Goes Up
After being divided into East and West Berlin at the end of WWII, the two divisions of Germany did not get along. Tensions rose because East Berlin was communist, and West Berlin was democratic. Life in West Berlin was evidently more better compared to East Berlin. People from East Germany were fleeing across the border and losing its population, so East Berlin put up a the wall that night to stop their citizens from crossing into West Berlin, which was being defended by the US. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Fidel Castro, the leader of Cuba at the time, was a concern to the US. His anti-American attitude and desire to towards a relationship with the Soviet Union further reinforced the United States's fear that he and his country were a threat. When JFK took office, he ordered preparation for an attack on Cuba in the hopes of destroying Castro and the Cuban government. The plan failed and Castro used the United States's loss to strengthen his power in Cuba. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Feeling threatened and abandoned, Cuba turned to Russia for aid. Russia agreed to give Cuba necessary supplies if they allowed the Soviets to plant nuclear missiles on Cuban grounds, as well as use the island to spy on the US. After the discovery of Russia's nuclear missiles in Cuba, JFK ordered Russia's leader, Kruschev, to remove the missiles from Cuba, but they would not comply until the US agreed to remove nuclear missiles from Turkey that posed a threat to Russia. -
US Sends Man to the Moon
In July 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon. Not only was this an incredible accomplishment for mankind, but it also placed the US ahead of the Soviet Union in the "space race" during the Cold War. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall, built in 1961 separating East and West Germany, was originally made to stop East Germans from traveling to the West. Because many East Germans had already fled west into Hungary and Czechoslovakia, travel restrictions were removed and in November 1989, the border was opened, leaving a failed attempt by the Communists to keep power. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
Throughout fighting the arms race in the Cold War, the Soviet Union spent a lot of money on weapons, which left the economy stagnant. When Gorbachev was appointed as president of the Communists in the USSR, he attempted to reform the country, and ended the Cold War in agreement with US. But faced with economic hardships and ethnic unrest, the Soviet Union was at risk for collapse. After electing Yeltsin into the presidency in 1990, the USSR officially came to a collapse and split into republics.
