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Creation of the UN
The UN was created to maintain world peace and security, develop relations among nations, foster cooperation between countries to solve problems, and bring countries together to meet the UN's purpose and goals. It was founded in San Francisco, California following the second World War to promote international peace. Countries such as the US, UK, France, Canada, Brazil and many more helped find this organization. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was a metaphoric wall that separated democratic/capitalist Western Europe from communist/totalitarian Eastern Europe. This metaphor came from Winston Churchill when he delivered it in his speech in Fulton, Missouri. The phrase has been used since the 19th century, although it "fell" during the late 1980s. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a plan when the US offered $13 billion to help rebuild post war Europe. They agreed to help them because they thought that if they showed aid, they would be able to help make an end to communism. This plan was very creative and successful, as many countries turned away from communism. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a doctrine that promised economic and military help to any country threatened to fall communist. This was another smart and creative plan by the United States used in the Cold War. In result, it worked on Greece and Turkey, as neither of them fell to communism. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift started when Stalin began to feel very comfortable with his domination over Berlin, so he ordered highways, railroads, and canals with access to Berlin from the west to be shut down. He thought this would just cause the Western Powers to give up, but instead Britain and US began airlifting supplies and food into the closed off section of West Berlin. -
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a war that started in 1945 and lasted for 5 years. It was a fight between the Chinese Communist and Nationalist Party and was a huge conflict in not only China but the world. Both the United States and the Soviet Union were involved during this war, and the Communist victory shifted the balance of the power in the Cold War that was forming. -
Warsaw Pact Signed
The Warsaw Pact was created in a way in which a group of communists countries agreed to support each other. This was created in response to NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and military alliance among Europe and North America. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the Earth's first artificial satellite launched, and was launched by the Soviet Union. This was so significant because it showed how the Soviet Union "beat out" the US, as many experts thought that the US would be the first to complete this scientific advancement. It gave the Soviet Union the lead in putting the first human made object into space. -
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed rebellion against the military of Fulgencio Batista. After war, rebels ed by Fidel Castro successfully gained power, ending the US dominance over Cuba. They made their way to becoming their own country without being under the control of another country. -
U-2 Incident
This was an incident when a United States U-2 spy plane, which was taking secret photos of enemy places, was shot down by the Soviet Union. This was significant because it led to an important meeting between President Eisenhower and Soviet leader Khrushchev. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs invasion began when an invasion was launched on Cuba by the CIA in attempt to throw over Castro. This invasion was unsuccessful for the CIA because of Castro's strong and powerful military size. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was built when at the beginning of the Cold War, thousands of East Germans fled to the Democratic West. In response to this, the Communist East German authorities built a wall to separate the two. This way, the people in the East would be able to stay and the people in the West would be able to stay. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the presence of missile sites in Cuba. This was a "hot" period in the Cold War, because the two countries were fighting to strengthen their relationships with Cuba. -
SALT I
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, better known as SALT, were two rounds of conferences and international treaties. This involved the United States and the Soviet Union, and the first round was SALT I, which is the round we are focusing on. -
War in Vietnam
The Vietnam War was a very long and costly war, that was a conflict between the communist North Vietnam and the South Vietnam with their ally, the US. This war was intensified with the Cold War that was going on between the Soviet Union and the United States.
