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May 14, 1455
Formation of the Warsaw Pact
Formally known as the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance, the Warsaw Pact was created on 14 May 1955, immediately after the accession of West Germany to the Alliance. -
The Truman Doctrine is established
With the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. -
The Marshall Plan
On April 3, 1948, President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948. The goals of the United States were to rebuild war-torn regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, improve European prosperity and prevent the spread of communism. -
Berlin Airlift
The crisis started on June 24, 1948, when Soviet forces blockaded rail, road, and water access to Allied-controlled areas of Berlin. The United States and United Kingdom responded by airlifting food and fuel to Berlin from Allied airbases in western Germany. -
Formation of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. NATO was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered into outside of the Western Hemisphere. -
Start of the Korean War
the Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when the Northern Korean People's Army invaded South Korea in a coordinated general attack at several strategic points along the 38th parallel. Kim ll Sung started the war because he was hoping to reunify Korea by force. -
End of the Korean War
The ending of the war was because an armistice was signed. On June 23, 1951, with no further progress in sight for communist forces, the Soviet Union, which backed North Korea, called for armistice talks. So both sides didn't win. -
The Eisenhower Doctrine is established
President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced the Eisenhower Doctrine in January 1957, and Congress approved it in March of the same year. Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a Middle Eastern country could request American economic assistance from the U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression. It was to stop from spreading communism in the US. -
Sputnik launched into orbit
On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union announced that they had placed a satellite called Sputnik into orbit around the Earth, inaugurating the Space Age. -
U-2 Incident
On May 1, 1960, the pilot of an American U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying through Soviet airspace. It caused embarrassment to the United States.