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Yalta Conference
FDR, Churchill, and Stalin meet to discuss the end of the war. They discussed the treatment of Germany in which they agreed to divide it into parts governed by the allied powers. FDR also discussed Soviet participation in the campaign against Japan which still seemed far from surrendering. The leaders argued over how Eastern Europe was to be handled as Stalin sought to keep the occupied territory while the Western powers wanted it free. The "big three" also agreed on establishing the UN. -
Potsdam Conference
Truman, Stalin, and Churchill meet after the end of the war in Europe and the death of FDR. They agreed to essentially divide Germany and Europe into two spheres of influence. West Germany and Europe would be controlled and influenced by Western powers like Britain and the U.S. Eastern Europe and Germany would be controlled and influenced by the Soviets. This led to Cold War tensions where the West adopted capitalism and democracy while the East was ruled under communism. -
Containment is Outlined
As tensions with the Soviet Union grew, the U.S. was determined to keep its influence and that of communism down. This was done through a policy of containment where the U.S., as the capitalist superpower of the time, would "contain" communism where it was and prevent it from spreading to other countries. George Kennan first proposed the idea and it later expanded from containing communism in the USSR to other countries like China and North Korea through coups and finance plans. -
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Korean War
As a continuation of the containment of communism for the U.S., America began involving itself in global dilemmas such as the Korean War. The war started with the communist North Korea almost successfully invading the right-leaning South. The UN and America saw this as an emergency and invaded Korea and pushed back the communists. However, tensions with China exploded, and joined the North Koreans and fought back the South to where the border originally was, the 38th parallel. -
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The Red Scare
As American and Soviet tensions grew and Americans learned of Soviet spies that had been spreading information important to national security. With the Soviets' takeover of Eastern Europe, Americans were afraid of Soviet takeover. Communists and left-leaning politicians in general began to be jailed for their opinions, most without evidence of treason. Additionally, figures like Joseph McCarthy spread fear of deep infiltration of the American government. -
Berlin Airlift
The Soviets began yearning for more and more control of Eastern Europe which would necessitate taking full control of Berlin. To do this, Stalin blocked resources coming from the West to West Berlin to essentially starve the West Berliners who would capitulate and give in to the Soviets. However, the West began airdropping these resources with planes instead and it became a huge embarrassment for the Soviets as they couldn't shoot the planes and start a war. -
The Creation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded to create an alliance between Western countries against the Soviet Union. As the Soviet Union grew and power and tensions elevated, smaller countries in Europe needed protection as many wouldn't be able to stand up against the Soviets alone. Thus, America and its friends established this alliance in which if one is attacked, everyone else goes to war against the aggressor. -
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Marshall Plan
As America embraced the ideas of containment of communism, it began implementing containment strategies. After WWII, many countries were left economically and politically unstable. These countries were preyed on by the Soviet Union to fund communist rebels who would establish communist governments if successful in a new method of Soviet expansion. To combat this, the U.S. developed a finance plan for much of Western Europe which would stabilize several governments and prevent a Soviet takeover. -
Truman is delivered the NSC-68 report
Tensions with the Soviet Union were continuing in America and both the government and the people feared going to war with the Soviets. However, to be prepared, President Truman requested a report be made on the situation with the Soviet Union. The report made it clear that the Soviet Union intended to keep expanding and defeating anything in its way with its military. To prepare for this, a huge buildup started for essentially WWIII where American factories resumed production for war. -
The Election of 1952
The election of 1952 was important as it marked a shift in the government and the Republican party. After, 6 terms of Democratic presidents, a Republican president was elected Dwight Eisenhower, a war hero for his D-Day operation. He wasn't a traditional Republican at the time as he didn't want to dissolve New Deal policy like many traditionalists but simply moderate it and he liked containment and not isolationism like traditional conservatives. His new faction was called modern republicans. -
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Vietnam War
America involved itself in Vietnam to continue its agenda of containment. After the Japanese defeat in WWII, Vietnam was being recolonized by its previous colonizer, France. Despite advocating for democracy and freedom, America sided with the French as the rebellion was led by the communist party and backed by the Soviets. After their victory, America funded the Southern Vietnamese, right-leaning government. This aid continued expanding until American troops also began fighting in Vietnam. -
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The Space Race
The Space Race was a competition adjacent to the Cold War between the U.S. and USSR. Both sides strived to beat the other in space exploration, investigation, and science. The USSR hit first by launching Sputnik into orbit to Americans' surprises. They continued winning by launching the first life and then human into space. However, in a 1962 speech, Kennedy promised to put a man on the man on the moon by the end of the decade which was done in 1969, giving America the victory. -
Bay of Pigs
After Kennedy took office, he decided to continue an operation Eisenhower had been working on to start a coup in Cuba to overthrow its communist government. This involved sending trained Cuban refugees to Cuba with American support. However, Kennedy became timid fearing international backlash for participating in such an invasion, and didn't send the support needed for the invasion. Fidel Castro, leader of Cuba, became more hateful toward America and captured, tortured, and killed its troops. -
The Construction of the Berlin Wall
Tensions in Europe rose as the Soviet Union dispatched soldiers to Berlin preventing Berliners from the East and West from crossing the city border. This was in order to have more control on their side but the U.S. reacted by also sending troops to the border. With shoot-to-kill orders, the Soviets began construction of a wall spanning across Berlin, separating the two sides. Though President Kennedy made a speech at the wall demanding peace, it was unsuccessful. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
After the failed invasion of Cuba, Fidel Castro, the leader of Cuba, and the Soviet Union began working more closely together. Because of its proximity, Cuba became a missile base for the Soviets so it could possibly launch missiles to the U.S. in the event of a war. This caused widespread panic in the U.S. and Kennedy had to take control. He was able to make a deal with the Soviets where they would take their missiles out of Cuba and we took ours from countries close to them like Turkey.