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Yalta Conference (1945)
Source The Yalta Conference was a meeting between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The main reason for this meeting was to discuss the surrendering of Germany and began plans for after the war. After this event Stalin broke his promise of free elections in eastern Europe. He also installed governments dominated by the Soviet Union. -
Berlin Declaration (1945)
Source Commanders of the Western powers signed the Berlin Declaration which proclaimed the unconditional surrender of Germany. The four commanders signed the document on behalf of their governments. Tensions were increasing between the Soviet Union and the Westerns Powers because of this. -
Potsdam Conference (1945)
Source Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt met in Potsdam,Germany to discuss terms for World War II.They met over the summer to continue the discussions that had begun at the Yalta Conference. They felt that World War II was ending which was why they met up.The results were Germany’s power was lost and the European countries borders were restored. -
North Vietnam (1945)
Source Ho Chi Minh declares the independence of Vietnam from France hours after Japan’s surrender in World War II. Ho wanted a united, communist Vietnam. Vietman was bombarded by the French killing thousands. The Viet Minh attacked the French in Hanoi beginning the First Indochina War. -
Iron Curtain Speech (1946)
Source Winston Churchill was invited to a college in Missouri to deliver a speech. His speech consisted of praise toward the United States. Many people were affected by Churchill's speech. U.S. officials and Truman warmly accepted the speech. Joseph Stalin viewed some of Churchill's words as imperialist “racism”. -
First Indochina War (1946)
<ahref='http://www.historyguy.com/indochina_war_first.htm#.VWU3dHnJDIV' >Source</a> The First Indochina War was between France & Indochina with the help of the U.S. & Great Britain who both supported the French & the Soviet Union & China supported the rebels.The conflict was over the French control of IndochinaThe war ended with the defeat of France which surrendered to the Vietminh rebels in 1954.In the end there was a division of North and South Vietnam and the independence of Laos & Cambodia. -
Marshall Plan (1947)
Source President Harry Truman signed the Economic Assistance Act commonly known as the Marshall Plan. By signing the Marshall Plan the U.S. gives large amounts of economic aid to European countries to help them rebuild after the devastation of WWII. Seventeen nations in western and southern Europe received assistance, including the United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark. -
Containment Policy (1947)
Source The containment policy was put into effect in the early part of 1947. It was written by George F. Rennan and the purpose of the policy was to prevent the expansion of Russia and the spread of communism. The benefit of this was the collapse of communism in 1989 which resulted in the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. -
Berlin Blockade (1948)
Source The Berlin Blockade was an attempt by the Soviet Union to not allow the United States, Great Britain and France to travel to their sectors of Berlin. The Soviet Union’s relationship with the West had deteriorated steadily. All the tension led to the Cold War in 1962. The Soviets withdrew from the Allied Control Council administering Berlin. -
Berlin Airlift (1948)
Source After WW2 the Russians wanted to take over Berlin.The Russians closed the highways,railroads & canals from the western occupied Germany into the western occupied Berlin.The idea was to make it impossible to get food,& supplies to the people who lived there & hopefully drive Britain,France & the U.S out.The U.S.&Allies decided to drop the supplies by air. More than 2.3 million tons of cargo was dropped into West Berlin. -
NATO (1949)
Source Eleven other nations and the United States established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO is a mutual defense pact aimed at containing possible Soviet aggression against Western Europe. The relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union began to deteriorate rapidly in 1948. Most people saw NATO as a much needed response to the communist threat. -
Soviet Union tests A-Bomb (1949)
Source The USSR detonated its first atomic bomb “First Lightning”. The Soviets build test sites to see what the effects would be. They built buildings, bridges and they also used animals in cages to see the effects of radiation on mammals. The results were the structures were destroyed and the animals were incinerated. -
People’s Republic of China founded (1949)
<ahref='http://www.historyguy.com/dictators_and_tyrants.htm#.VWU_unnJDIW' >Source</a> Mao Zedong the founder and ruler of communist China announced on 10/1/1949 the existence of the People's Republic of China. Those that were against to the ruling of the communist party were killed. -
Second Red Scare (1950)
<ahref='http://iws.collin.edu/kwilkison/Resources%20for%20Students/redscare.html' >Source</a> The Second Red Scare in 1950 took place in the United States. There was a fear that a growing number of Americans joining the Communist Party. Federal employees were investigated and wanted to know the kinds of books and magazines they were reading and what organizations and churches they belonged to. Many lost their jobs because it was believed they belonged to the Communist Party. -
Vietnam War - American involvement
Source The Vietnam War was between the North Communist Vietnam and South Vietnam. The United States supported South Vietnam. At the peak of the war in 1969 there were 500,00 American soldiers there. By 1967 US troops casualties reached 15,058 and 109,527 wounded soldiers. In 1976 Vietnam was unified and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. -
Korean War - American involvement (1950)
Source The Korean War began when North Korea invaded and took over South Korea, the war lasted 3 years. The U.S. supported South Korea while the Soviet Union supported North Korea. The U.S. supplied financial and military support to South Korea. The U.S. and North Korea in 1953 signed a cease fire agreement but North and South Korea were still divided. -
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (1951)
Source On March 6th,1951 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were on trial for espionage.They were accused of selling nuclear secrets to the russians.Julius Rosenberg had been fired from his job with the government & asked in brother in law to pass information which was confidential information to the Russians on how to make atomic bombs. At the end of the trial the Rosenbergs would not admit their guilt & were executed. -
Eisenhower Presidency (1953)
Source Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States. Eisenhower had organized a plan to bring peace to the South Koreans border. His speech on December 8, 1953 was called the “Atoms for peace” which promoted atomic energy for peaceful uses. -
Nikita Krushchev (1953)
Source Khrushchev became the leader of the Communist party in the USSR after the death of Stalin in 1953. During this time there was tension between the U.S. and Russia but Khrushchev called for “A peaceful coexistence” between the two superpowers. -
Iranian coup d’état (1953)
<ahref='http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat' >Source</a> The Iranian coup d’etat was a plan by the U.S. & supported by Great Britain to overthrow the Prime Minister of Iran Mohammad Mosaddegh.The coup was a cold war incident & it was feared that the Mossadegh government would shift Iran into the Soviet Union's influence.The coup was initiated when Mossadegh nationalized Iran's oil industry.In the end the economy of Iran increased due to the oil revenue. -
Warsaw Pact (1955)
Source The Warsaw Pact was a treaty that was signed in Warsaw by the Soviet Union,Albania,Poland,Romania,Hungary & East Germany.The pact was to agree that if one of the 6 countries needed to be defended by an attack from an outside force they would come to defend them.The Warsaw Pact was in effect until 1991 when the countries involved started to leave the pack for different reasons. -
Suez Crisis (1956)
Source Israeli armed forces pushed into Egypt toward the Suez Canal after the Egyptian president nationalized the canal initiating the Suez Crisis. The Suez Canal Crisis ended the political career of Sir Anthony Eden. The Israelis were joined by British and French forces, which almost brought the Soviet Union into the conflict, and damaged their relationships with the United States. -
Hungarian Revolution (1956)
Source On Nov. 4th, 1956 the citizens of Hungary began to protest demanding a more democratic political system of govrn't, they also wanted to be free of the Russian influence.The Russians invaded Budapest.In the end the Soviets were victorious and as a result more than 2,500 Hungarians died & over 200,000 fled the city as refugees. -
Sputnik (1957)
Source On October 4th, 1957 the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite into space. Many Americans thought the Soviets would somehow use it for other uses against the U.S. The U.S. felt they needed to catch up with the Soviets and then the “Space War” began. -
Cuban Revolution (1959)
Source In January of 1959 Fidel Castro became the leader of Cuba after overthrowing the military dictator Fulgencio Batista. Castro established the first communist state in the western hemisphere. During his leadership positive things started happening like reducing illiteracy and getting rid of racism and improving public healthcare. Some of the negative impact was a decrease in the economy and and political freedom. -
U2 Incident (1960)
Source In May of 1960 the U2 was an American spy plane that had been spying on the USSR for several years. The Soviets shot down the plane and captured the pilot. The pilot was in prison only for two years and then was exchanged for a Russian spy known as the “Spy Swap”. As a result tension was raised between the U.S. and the Soviets. -
Kennedy Presidency (1960)
Source On November 8th, 1960 JFK became the youngest man ever to be elected as a president of the United States. Kennedy said that he was looking forward to meeting the challenges facing the strongest nation in the free world. Kennedy became overwhelmed for the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion and Khrushchev during a summit meeting in Europe as well as the building of the Berlin Wall. -
Bay of Pigs (1961)
Source The Bay of Pigs was the U.S. invasion of Cuba on April 17,1961. It was an attempt by the U.S. to bring down the communist government of Cuba.The leader Castro had ordered the U.S companies inside of Cuba to be attacked. In the end the plan did not work and Castro felt even more powerful. -
First Man in Space (1961)
Source On May 5th, 1961 astronaut Alan Shepard Jr was launched from the Freedom 7 space capsule into space. he wa the first American astronaut to travel into space. It only lasted 15 minutes and went 116 miles into the atmosphere but was a huge success for NASA. -
Berlin Wall (1961)
Source On August 13, 1961 The East German Government began to build a concrete wall between East and West Berlin. The main objective of the wall was to keep the West Germans from entering East Germany due to the fact the both sides had different political views. The wall stood until November 9, 1989 and at least 171 people died trying to get over the wall. -
Checkpoint Charlie (1961)
Source Checkpoint Charlie was a crossing checkpoint of the Berlin wall separating East and West Germany. Checkpoint Charlie was designated as the single crossing point for foreigners and members of the Allied forces. The building at Checkpoint Charlie became a tourist attraction in the summer of 2006. -
JFK Assassination (1963)
Source On November 22nd, 1963 John F. Kennedy the 37th president of the United States was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. The president was traveling thru Dallas Texas in an open convertible and was shot multiple times. The president died 30 minutes later the shooter was shot and killed. The president was only 46 years old. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)
SourceThe Tonkin Resolution was approved by congress for the expansion of the Vietnam War&US involvement.U.S. Ships were fired upon by the North Vietnamese.Leaders accused the North Vietnamese of aggression on the high seas.With the increase in public opinionagainst the war tthere was an appeal of the resolution known as the Foreign Military Sales Act. -
SALT I (1967)
Source The Salt I negotiations began on November 17,1967 between the United States & the Soviet Union.The reason for the meeting was to discuss ways to change the direction of the cold war.The negotiations lasted for almost 3 years & the main topic of discussion was the use of different weapon systems.At the end of these discussions the U.S. & the Soviet Union said they would limit efforts to destroy each other. -
Prague Spring (1968)
<ahref='http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/prague_spring_1968.htm' >Source</a> Prague Spring is a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the domination by the Soviet Union after WW2. The Prague Spring reforms were a strong attempt to grant additional rights to the citizens of Czechoslovakia in an act of partial decentralization of the economy and democratization. Dubček oversaw the decision to split into two, the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. -
Nixon Presidency (1969)
Source Nixon was the 37th president of the United States and was the only president to resign from office. On July 25th, 1969 the Nixon Doctrine was document that said Asian allies would tend to their own military defense. This Vietnamization plan would slowly bring American soldiers home. In 1973 the United States and North Vietnam signed a peace treaty and the war was officially over. -
Apollo 11 (1969)
Source Apollo 11 space ship took off from Kennedy Space Center on 7/16/62 at 9:32 am. The purpose of the mission was to land a lunar module named Eagle onto the service of the moon. On board were 3 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. President John F. Kennedy gave an official order that the United States would beat the Soviet Union to the moon. The Apollo missions were too costly and the program was closed. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre (1989)
Source In May of 1989 close to a million Chinese protested against the Chinese Communist Party demanding their resignation. The protest lasted almost 3 weeks when on June 4th, 1989 Chinese troops and police stormed Tiananmen Square firing into the crowd of protesters. In response the United States refused to do business with China for the brutal violation
of human rights. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)
SourceThe building of the Berlin Wall began in 1961. The purpose of the wall was to prevent East Germans from crossing into the border leading into West Germany.In 1989 East Berlin's Communist Party announced a change in the relationship between East & West Berlin & that citizens were now allowed to cross through checkpoints on both sides. Soon after the wall was gone Berlin was united for the first time since 1945. -
Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991)
Source On December 31st, 1991 the USSR collapsed because of the Republic states demanding independence from the Soviet Union. They declared they would establish a Commonwealth of Independent States. As a result many of the Russians became very poor.
