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Creation of the United Nations
In 1944, delegates from 39 countries came together so that a new organization could be made. The UN would have a General Assembly which would have one member from every nation in the world would have a vote. It wuld have a Security with 11 members. And then there would be 5 members of the Soviet Union, France, US, China, and Britian that would each have veto power. -
The Potsdam Conference
In July 1945, Truman met with Stalin at Potsdam. They had to discussed that germany had to recover. Stalin didnt want that so Truman had to hint that there wer going to be a new powerful weapon and so Stalin agreed to let german recover. -
End of WWII
In August 1945, the United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union created the International Military Tribunal (IMT) to punish German and Japanese leaders for war crimes. German and Japan leaders were given prison sentences and some were sentenced to death. -
The Yalta Conference
In February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met at Yalta. The Soviets encouraged Polish Communists to set up a new government. Two governments wanted to govern Poland. One Communist and one non-Communist. In the end, the Soviets would be set up by the Soviets. Stalin agreed that it would include members from the prewar Polish government, and free elections would be held as soon as possible. -
The Red Scare
The Red Scare began in September 1945, when a person named Igor Gouzenko walked out of the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, and defected. Gouzenko carried documents that had information on a bomb. The case stunned Americans they thought there were spies in American government. -
The Long Telegraph
George Kennan sends an 8,000-word telegram to the Department of State detailing his views on the Soviet Union, and U.S. policy toward the communist state. Kennan's analysis provided one of the most influential underpinnings for America's Cold War policy of containment. -
Iron Curtain
On March 5, 1946 after the Communist took over Eastern Europe, Churchill made a speech. Churchill referred to an “iron curtain” falling across Eastern Europe. The press picked up the term "iron curtain", and for the next 43 years, it described the Communist nations of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. With the Iron Curtain separating Eastern Europe from the West. -
Truman Doctrine
In February 1947, Britain told the United States that it could not afford to help Greece due to Britian being weak after the world war. So the US helped and Truman went to Congress to ask for $400 million to fight Communist aggression in Greece and Turkey. His speech is known as the Truman Doctrine. Its goal was to aid those who worked to resist being controlled by others. -
Marshall Plan
In Europe, economies were ruined, people faced starvation, and political chaos was at hand. In June 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed the European Recovery Program, or Marshall Plan, which would give European nations American aid to rebuild their economies. Marshall offered help to all nations planning a recovery program. The Soviets rejected the Marshall plan and wanted to developed their own economic program. -
Berlin Blockade/Airlift
Russia’s response to the merger of the French, USA and UK partitions of Berlin was to cut all road and rail links to that sector. This meant that those living in Western Berlin had no access to food supplies and faced starvation. On June 24th 1948, the US and the UK brought in more than two million tons of supplies into western Berlin. Food was brought to Western Berliners by US and UK airplanes, an exercise known as the Berlin Airlift. -
The Creation of NATO
On April 1949, an agreement had been made to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)—a mutual defense alliance. NATO included 12 countries. The United States, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, and Iceland. NATO members agreed to help any member who was attacked. -
McCarthyism
In February 1950, little-known senator Joseph R. McCarthy proclaimed that Communists were a danger at home and abroad. He accussed Democratic Party leaders of corruption and of protecting Communists. McCarthy often targeted Secretary of State Dean Acheson, calling him incompetent and a tool of Stalin. He also accused George C. Marshall, former army chief of staff and secretary of state, of disloyalty. -
The Rosenbergs
In 1950, a New York couple who were members of the Communist Party. The government charged them with spying for the Soviets.The Rosenbergs denied the charges but were sent to death for espionage. Many people believed that they were simply victims caught in the wave of anti-Communist. The Rosenbergs were executed in June 1953. -
The Korean War
The Allies divided Korea into two parts. Then Korea was to reunited, both governments wanted control. The north invaded the south and then Truman had to call the UN. China got involved and MacArthur wanted to blockade Chinese ports. Truman then fired MacArthur. The UN pushed the Chinese and North Koreans forces back. In July 1953, negotiators signed an armistice. The battle line between the two sides in Korea, was called a “demilitarized zone”. Started Jun 25, 1950 to Jul 27, 1953 -
Duck and Cover
Americans prepared for a surprise Soviet attack. Schools created bomb shelters and held bomb drills to teach students to “duck-and-cover” to protect themselves from a nuclear bomb blast.
It didnt protect them from nuclear radiation. Experts have noted that for every person killed outright by a nuclear blast, four more would die later from fallout, the radiation left over after a blast. To protect themselves, some families built backyard fallout shelters. -
The Warsaw Pact
After 6 years the NATO was created, NATO allowed West Germany to rearm and join its organization. After that decision the Soviet Union organizied a military alliance in Eastern Europe known as the Warsaw Pact. -
the Suez Canal
Following military bombardment by Israeli forces, a joint British and French force invaded Egypt to regain control of the Suez Canal which had been nationalised by the Egyptian leader Nasser. The attack was heavily criticised by World leaders, especially America because Russia had offered support to Egypt. The British and French were forced to withdraw and a UN peace keeping force was sent to establish order. -
Eisenhower Doctrine
Eisenhower was worried that Nasser’s links to the Soviets would try to take control of the Middle East. In late 1957, Eisenhower asked Congress to authorize the use of military force whenever the president thought it necessary to assist Middle East nations resisting Communist aggression. The policy came to be called the Eisenhower Doctrine. -
U-2 Incident
In 1960, the Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 spy plane. Eisenhower claimed that the aircraft was a weather plane that had strayed off course.
