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The Marshall Plan
This was a proposal by the U.S. to rebuild the nations of Europe after the devistaion of the war. It was laid out by Secretary of State George C. Marshall and approved by Truman. The U.S. gave $13 billion to the cause, four years after, the funding ended. This was important in helping war torn nations to not fall to communism. -
NATO Creation
Began with the North Atlantic Treaty. This was an agreement of many countries to consider an armed attack against one of them to be against all of them. They would respond to the attack by backing up their allies. This was important in helping to create a powerful force against communism. -
Soviet Atomic Bomb
As the Soviets wanted to stay with the U.S., they began devoting time to nuclear fission. They became the second nation, after the U.S., to successfully create and test a nuclear weapon. This was important because it caused a very dangerous competition between the two countries. -
The Korean War
North Korea's invasion of South Korea caused the UN to take action in preventing the spread of communism. The U.S. and Allies tried to contain North Korea, negotiations in 1953 lead to an armistice. This was important for the U.S. because they contained the spreading of communism to South Korea. -
Rosenberg Spy Case
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were citizens of the U.S. convicted of conspiracy. They were caught giving information about the Atom Bomb to the Soviet Union. They were executed on June 19, 1953. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact is a defense treaty signed by Europe's communist states. It is thought to be a Soviet resoponse to the formation of NATO. This showed the tension between the sides and split the worlds powers to communist or democracy. -
Launch of Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 was the first sattelite to be launched from Earth and was created by the Soviet Union. It transmitted radio signals for 22 days until its batteries died. Three months after its launch, Sputnik fell back to Earth. This is important because it began the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Castro worrying American officials, CIA launches invasion of Cuba. CIA was highly outnumbered and surrendered in less than twenty four hours. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
After WWII, Berlin was divided and controlled by the major Allied powers. As the Cold War started brewing, the relationship dwindled, causing the allies to create West Germany and the Soviets to claim East Germany. The wall went up in the middle of the night, surprising German citizens as they woke the next morning. This wall would seperate Germany for the next 28 years. This showed how heated the two sides were, they were willing to drag Berlin into the Cold War. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
Cuba had Soviet nuclear missles held just ninety miles from the U.S. coast. Lasting 13 days, this issue was very tense and heated. Eventually the U.S. agreed to Nikita Khrushchev's deal to remove the missiles in exchange for a promise not to invade Cuba by the U.S. This was quite a scare for Americans and showed how close the Cold War was to be becoming a nuclear war. -
U.S. enter Vietnam War
Democratic elections were set up in Vietnam. U.S. puts Diem in control who later becomes corrupt. Kennedy sends troops who assassinate Diem. As fighting continues, U.S. ships get fired on, this brings the country officially into the war. U.S. citizens protest as war continues, not supporting the current actions. In 1973 U.S. withdraws all troops and South Vietnam falls to communism. This was a great loss for the U.S. and proved the power of communism states. -
First to the Moon
Apollo 11 was the first ship to be sent to the Moon. The U.S. sent Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins as the crew. This was incredibly important because it won the space race for the U.S. -
U.S. v. Soviet Union Olympic Hockey Game
The Soviet Union was unstoppable in these Olympics, it seemed likely that the U.S. would lose this game. The U.S. ended up winning the game, devistating the Soviets and helping them to win another "battle" in the Cold War. -
Fall of Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin wall came as a large surprise to germans. An announcement was made that night and Germans were allowed to cross borders. Germany was officially unified on October 3, 1990. This foreshadowed an end to the Cold War. -
Fall of Soviet Union
The government of the Soviet Union began to collapse as the republics reduced support to Gorbachev in the late 80s. On December 8, 1991, presidents from the republics of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine met. They created the Belavezha Accords which proposed the fall of the Soviet Union. The rest of the republics signed the Alma-Ata Protocol 2 weeks later, destroying the Soviet Union, and creating independant states. On December 25, Gorbachev resigned from office.
