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UN
United Nations, was an international organization to settle world problems and avoid armed conflict. -
Truman Doctrine
President Harry S. Truman asks for U.S. assistance for Greece and Turkey to forestall communist domination in the two nations. Historians have often cited the address, as the official declaration of the Cold War. -
Policy of Containment
U.S. policy of keeping communism within its existing boundaries and prevent further Soviet agression. George Kennan "Father of Containment". -
Division of Germany
Allied Powers divided Germany into 4 zones. Soviet Union controlled East Germany. Allies controlled West Germany. Berlin divided. Allies got west Berlin. Soviets got east Berlin. -
Berlin Air Lift
U.S. and British airplanes fly supplies into west Berlin. 200,000 flights, 1.5 million tons of supplies. Due to the Berlin Blockade. -
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Marshall Plan
European Recovery Program, channeled over $13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe. Successfully sparked economic recovery. -
COMECON
Stands for Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, an organization established to facilitate and coordinate the economic development of the eastern European countries belonging to the Soviet bloc. -
NATO
Stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Created by the U.S., Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. -
Arms Race
Competition between U.S. and USSR in building a better and stronger military. Mutual Deterrence acted as a method to avoid war. Weapons such as the hydrogen bomb and ICBM's were created due to the Arms Race. -
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Dwight D. Eisenhower
Served two terms in the White House. Was Commander of Allied forces in Western Europe during World War II. Ended the War in Korea in 1953. Managed Cold War-era tensions with Soviet Union. -
Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites signed a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. -
Hungarian Revolution
Anti-Soviet demonstrations in Hungary. Revolt was crushed by Khrushchev. Soviet tanks rolled through Budapest. -
Sputnik
The world's first artificial satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union. -
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Nikita Khrushchev
Led the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. He instigated the Cuban Missile Crisis, initiated the process of de-Stalinization, crushed a revolt in Hungary, and approved the construction of the Berlin Wall -
Fidel Castro
Cuban leader, established first communist state in the western hemisphere after leading an overthrow of the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Ruled Cuba for nearly five decades. Castro’s regime was successful in reducing illiteracy, stamping out racism and improving public health care, but was widely criticized for stifling economic and political freedoms. -
Cuban Revolution
Fulgencio Bastista, the Cuban Dictator was over thrown by Fidel Castro. Communist forces seize control of Cuba. Soviet supported government was set up in Cuba. -
John F. Kennedy
Elected in 1960 as the 35th president of the U.S.. Confronted mounting Cold War tensions in Cuba and Vietnam. -
U2 Spy Plane incident
Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 spy plane in the Soviet air space and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers. Raised tension between the U.S. and Soviet Union. -
Yuri Gagarin
The first man in space, a Soviet cosmonaut, became the to ever fly in outer space. -
Bay of Pigs
Abortive invasion of Cuba on the southwestern coast by some 1,500 Cuban exiles opposed to Castro. Funded and directed by U.S. government. -
Berlin Wall Built
Official purpose of Berlin Wall was to keep Western "fascists" from entering East Germany. Remains one of the most powerful and enduring symbols of the Cold War. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
13-day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles in Cuba, 90 miles from U.S. shores. -
Vietnamization
Aimed at ending American involvement in the Vietnam War by transferring all military responsibilities to South Vietnam. Strategy created by U.S. President Richard Nixon -
Détente
A French word meaning release from tension, is the name given to a period of improved relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. -
SALT
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. Limited the number of nuclear weapons each nation could have. Negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union that were aimed at curtailing the manufacture of strategic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. -
Glasnost
Meaning openness, created freedom of expression for Soviet citizens and eased harsh treatment of opponents of Soviet System. -
Perestroika
Meaning restructuring, caused gradual changing of Soviet economy, allowed private enterprise, and dismantled national bureaucracy. -
End of Cold War
Officially ended when Gorbachev and U.S. President George Bush met declaring to end the Cold War. -
Berlin Wall torn down
Berlin Wall stood until the head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens of the GDR could cross the boarder. That night crowds swarmed the wall and began to chip away the wall with hammers and picks. -
Soviet Breakup
USSR broke up into 15 sperate Republics. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia proclaimed independence.
