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United Nations Formed
The United Nations was formed after World War II in an effort to maintain international peace and security. It also aimed to obtain cooperation among different nations on economic, social, and humanitarian problems. 51 countries originally founded the UN, and that number has increased to 193 current members. -
Truman Doctrine
In order to contain the expansion of the Soviet Union and their attempt to spread communism, President Truman declared to provide political, military, and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external/internal authoritarian forces (specifically Greece and Turkey). This doctrine was seen by the Soviet Union as a direct declaration of war. -
“Hollywood Ten”
In 1947, 10 members of the filmmaking community received subpoenas to appear before HUAC to answer questions about the spread of communism in Hollywood. Believing that the HUAC’s invasion of their privacy/beliefs was unconstitutional, they refused to testify, and Congress voted to hold all ten in contempt. Most were given a fine and a year inside a federal prison, but when they were released, all ten men were blacklisted from working in Hollywood. -
Marshall Plan
In 1948, President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948. This was a program designed to provide aid to Western Europe in order to repair the damage caused by World War II. It provided more than $15 billion to help finance rebuilding efforts, and later became known as the Marshall Plan, named after Secretary of State George Marshall who had previously proposed the idea in 1947. -
NATO formed
In 1949, a dozen European and North American countries signed what was known as the North Atlantic Treaty (or the Washington Treaty). Its purpose was to assure peace in Europe, promote cooperation among its members, and secure their freedom. It was designed to counteract the threat posed by the Soviet Union at the time and laid the foundation for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). -
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Korean War
The Korean War was fought between North Korea and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. It began when North Korea invaded South Korea as a result of confrontations along the border and uprisings in South Korea. Concerned that the Soviet Union and Communist China had encouraged the invasion, President Truman sent US military forces to aid South Korea in its defense and prevent the further spread of communism. The war ended in 1953 after both sides signed an armistice agreeing they would remain separate. -
Space Race/Sputnik
Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, marking the start of the space race. The space race was an era of competition between the Soviet Union and the United States over who could conquer space exploration first. The race unofficially ended in July 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon for the first time. This landing led to a triumph for the US. -
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Bay of Pigs
On April 17, 1961, over 1,000 Cuban exiles, financed and directed by the US government, invaded the Bay of Pigs on the southwestern coast of Cuba. The ultimate goal of the invasion was to overthrow Fidel Castro, end the Cuban Revolution, and establish a non-communist government. The invasion failed, however, as a result of poor planning on the part of the CIA. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
In 1961, the German Democratic Republic began building the Berlin Wall. The wall was built during the Cold War to prevent the German population from escaping Soviet-controlled East Berlin to West Berlin, which was controlled by the Allies. It divided the city of Berlin into two separate zones, both physically and morally. -
U.S. official enters Vietnam War
Early morning August 4, 1964, President Johnson informed Congress that North Vietnam had attacked an American patrol in the Gulf of Tonkin on August 2, with the promise of retaliation. President Johnson in turn presented a resolution to Congress, known as the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. This resolution was approved, officially allowing the president to enter the war and send troops into South Vietnam. The resolution was essentially a declaration of war. -
Soviets invade Afghanistan
At the end of December 1979, the Soviet Union sent thousands of troops into Afghanistan and immediately assumed complete military and political control of large portions of the country. Uprisings, fighting, and coups generated by anti-communists within the Afghan government led the Soviets to seek control of the country and uphold its communist ideals. This invasion kicked off the Soviet-Afghan War, which lasted until 1989. -
Berlin Wall Comes Down
The night of November 9, 1989, crowds of Germans began dismantling the Berlin Wall. As the Cold War began to die down in Europe, the spokesman for East Berlin’s Communist Party announced that the citizens of the GDR were free to cross the border formed by the wall. That night, some crossed freely into West Berlin, while others brought hammers and picks and began to chip away at the wall. The East German Border Troops officially began dismantling the Wall in 1990.