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Joseph Stalin
1926 he became the new Soviet dictator. In 1927 he began a massive effort to industrialize his country. Stalin was known for his most devastating policy; the collectivization of farms within the Soviet Union during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Some estimate that over 30 million Soviet citizens died from starvation as a direct consequence of Stalin's policies. -
Mao Zedong
He fought against the Nationalist government and established his own Communist government. He was the founding father of the People's Republic of China. His supporters praised him for raising China up to a major power. Under his leadership, the Chinese population almost doubled. This growth worried the U.S. for fear of communist expansion taking place. Those who opposed his rule claimed that his reign killed millions of people through starvation and forced labor. -
Harry Truman
He was the 33rd president of the United States and was the person who decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. He became president after Franklin D. Roosevelt passed away due to his health issues. Truman was in office from 1945-1953 and had to endure the hard times of the Cold War. One of his significant actions was the Truman Doctrine. -
The United Nations
Representatives from 39 countries met to create the UN. They would vote on world affairs, one vote for each country. The charter gave the General Assembly (one representative from each country) power to vote on resolutions, choose non-permanent representatives of the Security Council, and vote on the UN budget. The Security Council would keep international peace and security. It has eleven members, where Britain, France, China, Russia, and U.S. have permanent seats. It still exists today. -
Containment
This policy was prompted by George Kennans Long Telegram, which explained why he though resolution between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was impossible, and that furthermore the Soviet Union would almost certainly collapse with time if they weren't allowed to expand. Containment therefore focused on preventing the further spread of communism, a common theme during the Cold War. -
Truman Doctrine
This policy was developed as a wayfor the U.S. to help countries threatened by communism. It was first developed as a way of helping Greece fight off communist guerrillas and keeping the Soviet Union out of Turkey. It also set the U.S. up as a major opponent of communism all over the globe. This mindset would color American-Soviet relations for much of the cold war. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was prompted by fears of Soviet conquest in Europe after the Berlin crisis. This allied thirteen countries--the U.S., Britain, France, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, the Neverlands, Iceland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Norway and later West Germany--who agreed to defend eachother if the Soviets attacked. This prompted the Soviets to form the Warsaw Pact with Eastern Europe and discouraged either side from attacking the other. directly. -
Marshall Plan
Through the Marshall Plan, the US distributed 13 billion dollars over 4 years to European countries, helping to rebuild post war Europe dramatically and give Europe an alternative to Communism. George Marshall drew up the recovery plan to help European countries recover from World War II. It saved many industries from bankruptcy as well as increasing gross national product for many European countries up to 25%. -
Berlin Airlift
The Soviets had cut all the supply lines to the city, The Berlin Airlift was a way that let the United States supply Berlin, without provoking a war with the USSR. Over a period of 11 months, the US airlifted supplies into Berlin. Over 2 million tons of food, medicine, and coal was shipped in. -
Joseph McCarthy
He was an American politician who in 1950 became the most visible public face in the Cold War. He made claims that there were large numbers of communists in the U.S. federal government. After his personal, governmental, and societal accusations of communism, his public trials against the army finally lost him all of his support because people confronted his lies and tyrannies. It caused a lot of politicians and celebrities to lose their jobs and reputations, and terrified many people. -
Korean War
This event created the division of North and South Korea. The United States troops and Soviet troops occupied Korea in order to rid the Japanese stationed there. Soviets held North Korea and Americans held the south. On June 25, 1950 however, Soviets armed North Korea, who then invaded the south. The Koreans in the South received support from Americans and drove them back. There is now a boundary line between the north and south known as the 38th parallel. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
He was a general in World War II, who planned the invasion of the Western Front. Eisenhower later became the 34th president of the United States. He commanded the invasion of Normandy through Germany. In 1952 he ran for president with a strong anti- communist campaign and won in a landslide vote. Eisenhower was president from 1953-1961 during the Cold War. He also came up with the Domino Theory, the belief that communism could spread through Asia if China became communist. -
Nikita Khrushchev
He led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War, as First Secretary from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964. Khrushchev was responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, for backing the early Soviet space program, and for several relatively liberal reforms in domestic policy. Khrushchev's colleagues removed him from power in 1964, replacing him with Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and Alexei Kosygin as Premier. -
Warsaw Pact
This was an alliance between the Soviet Union and Poland, Albania, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, East Germany and Bulgaria. This was a response to the Western NATO, which threatened the Soviets chances for conquest and control in Europe. Like NATO, the Warsaw Pact both increased both sides' unease with the other and their reluctance to pursue open war. -
Vietnam War
The U.S. wished to support South Vietnam against the Communists. North Vietnam attacked the American advisers in Vietnam. This provoked an assault with aircraft by President Johnson. Not long after, the American involvement increased until war came about. More than 3 million (including 58.000 Americans) were killed in the Vietnam War. The war lasted from 1959 to 1975. No one really won the war. Many causalities were suffered. Eventually, Communist aggression ended and the U.S. withdrew. -
John F. Kennedy
He was the 35th president of the United States and led America through many threats such as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Space Race and the Vietnam War. He became president after defeating Nixon in the 1960 elections, and would resolved many communistic problems. Kennedy was in office from 1961-1963. He famously said "Ask not what your country can do for you: ask what you can do for your country". He was assassinated on November 21 1963 while riding in a motorcade -
Berlin Wall
The wall was put up by the Germans overnight. It placed massive tension on Berlin’s alliance status and symbolized the line between democracy and communism. Khrushchev built the wall around Berlin, and ordered guards stationed on the wall to shoot anyone who tried to escape. Its collapse was therefore a tremendous psycological victory for the Western World. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Started by the presence of Soviet missiles on Cuba, as it is near the U.S. President Kennedy blockaded Cuba to stop the missile shipments and began negotiations. The Soviets agreed to remove the missiles if the U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba and to remove their missiles from Turkey. Because the crisis created fears of a nuclear war they also later signed a pact to stop air-testing nuclear weapons. Nikita Khrushchev lost power and the Soviets greatly expanded their millitary because of this. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
Johnson took power after Kennedy was murdered His reforms, such as Medicare and Medicaid, improved many lives, which were aimed to create a better "Great Society." These included anti-poverty measures and Civil Rights bills, although he was limited by lack of funds due to the Vietnam War. The chaos and violence of this war also prompted a large antiwar movement to begin. Johnson gained Congress' war powers in order to fight the war, but its unpopulariy stopped him from running again in 1968. -
Ronald Reagan
69 days after taking office he was shot. He was able to quickly recover and return to his duties as the president. This made him very popular among the people. He was able to convince legislature to increase economic growth, curb inflation, employment, and strengthen national defense. Reagan worked towards cutting taxes and Government expenditures. 1984 Reagan won his second term as president. In his two terms he was able to inprove relationships with the Soviet Union. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
He led the USSR in the 1980's. His reforms, perestroika and glasnost, allowed for privately owned enterprises, and freedom of speech and religion. This was the first time in decades that people in the USSR could openly discuss politics. He was the last leader of the Soviet Union. He believed that he had to fix the Soviet Unions economy or else it would collapse, and because they couldn't afford an arms race with the US, he met with Reagan, who promised peace if he tore down the Berlin Wall. -
Iran Contra Scandal
In 1986, seven American citizens were being held as hostages in Iran. The United States sold weapons to Iran in exchange for these hostages. In one of Ronald Reagan's speeches, he claimed to have been aware of the weapons exchange, but he dennied that the purpose of the trade was for the hostages. In 1987, Oliver North was accused of having been responsible for this scandal, and he confessed. The 2012 film, Argo, was inspired by this incident. -
George H. W. Bush
In 1980 Bush aspired to run for the Republican presidency. After losing he was chosen as a running mate by Ronald Reagan. As Vice President, Bush had responsibility in many domestic areas, including Federal deregulation and anti-drug programs. In 1988 Bush won the election for President. Bush faced a huge changing world, as the Cold War ended after 40 years. Although, reformist Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, Bush insisted on restraint toward toward the new countries. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was created to keep East Germans from fleeing to the West. It stayed up for 28 years. Mass demonstrations against the government and the system in East Germany begun at the end of September until November 1989. The new government made a law to remove the wall. Thousands of East Germans stood by the wall and demanded it be taken down, and it was, at 10:30 that night -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
The collapse of the Soviet Union marked an end to the Cold War. They faced probelms regarding their economy, society, and military that were to difficut to overcome. The reforms set by Gorbachev caused the economy to collapse and led to many revolts. When it collapsed, the Soviet Union divided into fifteen different nations, and a vast amount of tension was released.
