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Yalta Conference
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin get together to discuss the future of Germany, Eastern Europe, and the United Nations. -
WWII Ends
World War II ends in Eurpoe after Germany surrenders. -
U.S. Bombs Hiroshima, Japan
The U.S. drops a bomb on Japan, killing 80,000. -
Soviets blockade West Berlin
Tentions grew between the Soviet Union and the U.S. until the Soviets finally closed the railroad to West Berlin. The U.S. flew supplies to West Berlin until the conflict was over. -
NATO is Established
NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established as part of a self defense mechanism in which if one country part of NATO was attacked, then all the countries in the treaty would act like they were the ones attacked. -
Soviet Union tests first atomic bomb
The United States is shocked that the Societ Union has obtained nuclear power so quickly. President Truman approves the build up of more nuclear weapons. -
SEATO Formed
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was formed to help stop the spread of communism in Asia. It was later disbanded in 1977. -
Warsaw Pact Formed
The Warsaw Pact was formed by communist nations in response to NATO and SEATO. -
Space Race
The Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I, which scared Americans because if they were capable of sending satelites into space, then they could launch missles as well from Europe to the U.S. -
Fidel Castro takes control of Cuba
Fidel Castro brings communism to Cuba. Communsim in the west did not exist before this. -
First Summit Meeting
Khruschev visits the United States and ends his trip in this two day summit. The summit seemed to ease tensions and give hope that the Cold War would end soon and there could be peace between the two nations. -
Bay of Pigs
In an effort to remove Castro as the leader of Cuba, the U.S. invaded the shores of Cuba. It was a huge failure for the U.S. ending in many Americans dying or being held prisoner. Although JFK didn't want to surrender Cuba to communists, he had to becuse of the damage that had been done from the Bay of Pigs. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A U.S. spy plane took pictures of a missile being assembled in Cuba, only 90 miles off the coast of Florida. With a missile this close to U.S. soil, it was capable of reaching U. S. cities. JFK told the American people about the missile and the proceeded to have Cuba surrounded by the Navy, ready to invade should the missile be launched. Finally, the Societ Union agreed to take the missile from Cuba if the U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba. The missile crisis came to a close. -
U.S. Commits troops to South Vietnam
The U.S. commits troops to South Vietnam to protect its air base there. This upset the Soviet Union who were threatening to intervene if the U.S. continued to supply troops. -
U. S. and China develop diplomatic relations
The U.S. and China developed siplomatic relations despite the communist background of China. This bridged the cooperation of many international affairs. -
Makhail Gorbachev becomes leader of Soviet Union
Makhail brought great reform to the Soviet Union, including tearing down the Berlin Wall and allowing Western influences and goods into the Soviet Union. These reforms brought about the end of the Cold War. -
Soviet Union Abolished
Mikhail tried to hold the Soviet Union together, however, he failed to do so. Communistss staged an unsuccessful coup against his life and Boris Yeltsin took over as the President of Russia.
