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Chinese Revolution
On October 1, 1949 Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People's Republic of China. This announcement ended years of Civil war between the Communist Party and the Nationalist Party. The revolution started immediately following WWII. Due to this announcement the US did not have diplomatic relations with China for decades. -
Korean War
On June 25, 1950 75,000 North Korean soldiers crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea. This invasion was the beginning of the Cold War. North Korea was backed by the Soviet Union. In July of that year the US entered the war on South Korea's behalf. This war lasted for 3 years with over 5 million losing their lives. Korea is still divided today. -
Uprising in Hungary and Czechoslovakia
There was a nationwide revolt against the Soviet policies in these countries. These were the first major threats to soviet control since WWII when the Nazi's were driven out. Even though this uprising was not successful and contributed to the downfall of the Soviet Union later. -
Sputnik Launched
The Russians launched Sputnik I into space. Sputnik was the world's first artificial satellite. This was the beginning of the space race. This event brought the Soviet Union into the technological spotlight and put them ahead of the United States. The question US asked themselves was this a way for the Soviets to put arms in space. -
US Spy Plane Shot Down
Francis Gary Powers was the pilot of the U2 spy plane when it was shot down when flying over Soviet territory. The US issued a statement that it was a weather plane that had veered off course and crashed. The Soviets were able to produce the wreckage and capture the pilot. President Eisenhower had to admit that it was a spy plane. The pilot was not released until 1962 in exchange for a captured soviet spy. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
The Berlin Wall was erected to keep East Germans from fleeing to the west. By the time the wall was built 2.5 million East Germans had left. It remained standing for 28 years. The wall represented East vs. West, Democracy vs. Communism. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
An American spy plane took pictures of nuclear missile sites being built in Cuba by the Soviet Union. President Kenneday decided to place a blockade around Cuba. This was to stop the Soviet Union from getting any more supplies to Cuba. The leader of the Soviet Union, Krushchev, agreed to take down the missile sites if the US would agree to not invade Cuba. There was a second agreement that was not known at the time. The U.S. agreed to remove nuclear missiles in Turkey.The arms race continued. -
Russia Invades Afghanistan
For 9 years part of the cold war was fought in Afghanistan between Muslim traditionsionalts and the Soviet backed prime minister, Amin. The US contributed money and weapons to the Muslim fighters. They also stopped exporting grain to Russia and boycotted the Olympic Games that were held in Moscow in 1980. Russia got out of Afghanistan when they realized that they could not win the war.
