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The Cold War begins
Because of its need to feel secure on its western border, the Soviet government was not prepared to give up its control of Eastern Europe after Germany's defeat. American leaders were not willing to give up the power and prestige the United States had gained throughout the world.Suspicious of each other's motives, the United States and the Soviet Union soon became rivals. -
United States announces Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan
The Truman Doctrine was a responded to stop the possibility of Soviet expansion into the eastern Mediterranean by President Harry S. Truman of the United States in the early 1947. The Truman Doctrine was followed in June 1947 by the European Recovery Program. Proposed by General George C. Marshall, U.S. secretary of states, it is better known as the Marshall Plan. -
Berlin Air Lift begins
In June 1948, the Russians–who wanted Berlin all for themselves–closed all highways, railroads and canals from western-occupied Germany into western-occupied Berlin. This, they believed, would make it impossible for the people who lived there to get food or any other supplies and would eventually drive Britain, France and the U.S. out of the city for good. -
NATO formed
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in April 1949 when Belgium, Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Iceland signed a treaty with the United States and Canada. -
Chinese Communists take control of China
In 1949, Chinese Communists took control of the government in China, strengthening U.S. fears about the spread of communism. -
Korean War begins
The began in 1950 as an attempt by the Communist government of North Korea, which was allied with the Soviet Union, to take over South Korea. -
Khrushchev named general secretary
Become dictator in the Soviet Union. -
Korean War ends
The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate. North Korea was subject to a massive bombing campaign. Jet aircraft were used in air-to-air combat for the first time in history, and Soviet pilots covertly flew in defence of their Communist allies. The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when the armistice was signed. -
Civil right movement begins
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine that formed the basis for state-sanctioned discrimination, drawing national and international attention to African Americans’ plight. -
Soviets launch Sputnik I
The successful launch of the unmanned satellite Sputnik I by the Soviet Union in October 1957 shocks and frightens many Americans. As the tiny satellite orbited the earth, Americans reacted with dismay that the Soviets could have gotten so far ahead of the supposedly technologically superior United States. -
Soviets and East Germans build the Berlin Wall
In August 1961, the East German government began to build a wall separating West Berlin from East Berlin. -
Cuban missile crisis unfolds
In October 1962, Kennedy found out that Soviet ships carrying missiles were heading to Cuba. He decided to blockade Cuba and prevent the fleet from reaching its destination. -
Lyndon B. Johnson increases number of troops sent to Vietnam
The United States had been drawn into a new struggle that had an important impact on the Cold War, the Vietnam War. In 1964, under President Lyndon B. Johnson, increasing numbers of US troops were sent to Vietnam. -
Khrushchev is voted out of office
While he was away on vacation in 1964, a special meeting of the Soviet leaders voted him out of office (because of "deteriorating health") and forced him into retirement. -
The Soviet Army invades Czechoslovakia
On the night of August 20, 1968, approximately 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring”–a brief period of liberalization in the communist country.
