-
Potsdam Conference
This was the last conference of World War II meetings. It was held by the "big 3" heads of state. President Truman and Joseph Stalin attended. Leaders made many agreement on land boundaries, punishment of war criminals, and on the German Economy. -
United Nations Founded
The United Nations was formed after the event of WWII. It had one important goal in mind when it was formed, and that was to maintain international peace and security. The United Nations work to develop friendly relations among nations, promote social progress, better living standards,and human rights. The forming of the United Nations was incredibly important because it brought countries together and during the cold war,its primary goal was to keep peace between the United States and the USSR. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall plan was developed to help the economic recovery of Europe. $13 billion would finance Europe between 1948 and 1951. This plan to reconstruct the European economy also benefited the US economy, it made the environment for American investment easier. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was an effort made by the soviet union to prevent France, Britain, and the US from accessing their sectors of Berlin. The railways and roads were blocked into West Berlin, preventing food and supplies to enter. The US responded to this by airlifting food and other supplies over the blockade for the people in West Berlin. The Soviets eventually took the blockade down. The Blockade was important in the Cold War because it was one of the first major events that caused havoc. -
NATO Founded
NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was created by 12 Western states. They include The United States, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Iceland, Canada, and Portugal. It was a military alliance that would create a collective defiance against the Soviet Union. -
Soviet Union tests Atomic Bomb
The Soviet Union first successfully tested their first atomic bomb in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. They built buildings, bridges and other structures to measure the amount of impact the bomb would have. Their explosion was roughly 20 kilotons. In response to the news of the Soviet bomb, the US developed the first Hydrogen bomb. This bomb could create even more incredible amount of damage. This was huge in the events of the cold war. This meant that both sides could go into nuclear war. -
Rosenberg Trial
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were put on trial for selling nuclear secrets to the Russians. The trial lasted almost a month, ending on April 4th. They were found guilty and sentenced to death row on April 6th. From the trial, the american people began to suspect communists in the US, this caused neighbors and friends to turn on each other in suspicion of them being communists. This was important because it made the US citizens more aware of communism and what it does to countries. -
Hydrogen Bomb Explodes in the Pacific
On Eniwetok atoll in the pacific, the United States detonated the worlds first thermonuclear weapon. Otherwise known as the hydrogen bomb. During the Arms Race between the United States and the Soviets, the detonation of this bomb set them ahead. -
Joseph Stalin Dies
On March 5th 1953, Joseph Stalin died in Moscow Russia. His death was because of a rather large heart attack. His death left the Soviet Union weeping. The US reacted to his death anxiously. The US wanted to wait to see if his predecessor would continue the communistic leadership or if there would be a more peaceful cooperative government. This event was important because it led to a temporary thaw in the Cold War. -
Rosenberg Executed
Convicted of espionage in 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were put to death on the electric chair on June 19th 1953. Their case was the most controversial Cold War espionage case in the time period. -
Geneva Conference
Representatives from the Soviet Union, the United States, China, France, and Great Britain met to work out problems in Asia. Their goal was to resolve the war between French and Vietnamese Nationalists in Indochina. -
Warsaw Pact Formed
The Warsaw Pact was established to forma mutual defense organization that would give the Soviets control of the armed forces in neighboring states. It included the Soviets and seven other European countries. The Warsaw Pact was formed in response to the US forming NATO, the Western Allies. The Warsaw pact was important because it gave the USSR have a tighter grip on the surrounding communist states in Europe. The Soviets also used the pact in many incidents throughout the cold war. -
Sputnik Launched
The Sputnik was the world's first artificial satellite. It was launched from Moscow on October 4th 1957. The Soviets launched it to correspond with the International Geophysical Year, which was a solar time that they thought would be good for launching artificial satellites to study Earth and the Solar system. However, the US was worried that the satellite would be used for destruction rather than observation. The Sputnik launch was important because it led to what was known as the Space Race. -
NASA Created
NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration was originally created in response to the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik. NASA is a civilian agency that is in charge of coordinating American activities in Space. -
Krushehev Visits U.S.
Krushehev was the Soviet leader to visit the United States. He stayed in the United States for two week, dominating the news throughout the country. While in the US, Krushehev toured the country and had many talks with President Eisenhower. -
U-2 Incident
In May of 1960 and American Spy plane was shot down in Soviet Air. The pilot of the plane, Francis Gary Powers, was captured by the Soviets, convicted of Espionage ,and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The US had to respond to the Incident. President Eisenhower admitted to the Soviets that the US had been flying spy planes over the USSR for a few years. The U-2 incident was very important in the Cold War. It increased tensions greatly between the US and the Soviet Union. -
Soviet Union Sends First Person Into Space
Spacecraft Vostok 1 sent Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin into space on April 12th 1961. He was the first person ever to travel into space. He also became the first man to orbit the Earth. -
Berlin Wall
On August 13th,1961 East Germany began to build a wall consisting of concrete and barbed wire. Its purposed was to prevent people from western Germany entering and disregarding the socialist state that East Germany was and to prevent people from the east moving to the west. At the time,President Kennedy responded by saying US will not take any military action as long as they could remain the right of the use of transit in West Berlin. This was important because the wall stayed up for 28 years. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In October of 1962,US U-2 plane discovered that the Soviets were building medium-range missile sites in Cuba, close enough to hit the US. After the discovery,President Kennedy reacted by placing a naval quarantine around Cuba to prevent more weapons to arrive. The USSR continued to work on the weapons,so Kennedy planned on an invasion,however,the Soviets proposed they would stop the production,if the US does not invade.This was important because it was the closest the world got to nuclear war. -
Kennedy Assasination
While driving through Dallas, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. Vice president Lyndon Johnson was sworn in to presidency two hours after the death of Kennedy.
