-
Joseph Stalin
Was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. Among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who took part in the Russian Revolution of 1917, Stalin was appointed General Secretary of the party's Central Committee in 1922. He subsequently managed to consolidate power following the 1924 death of Vladimir Lenin through expanding the functions of his role, all the while eliminating any opposition. He held this nominal post until abolishing it in 1952, concurrently serving as -
Joseph Stalin (cont.)
the Premier of the Soviet Union after establishing the position in 1941. -
Period: to
Containment
This topic is significant because it refers to the effort to contain the rapid spread of Communism throughout the 1950’s. The US and its allies used diplomatic, economic, and militaristic actions to contain the spread of Communism from territories in which it was already present. This effort occurred during the 1950’s and was successful as Communist regimes weren’t able to influence very many other countries and Communism stayed fairly contained in the countries that it was already in. -
Harry S. Truman (cont.)
of when he became president. He had to make decisions during WWII and the Cold War that would affect the nation forever. -
Harry S. Truman
Truman is significant because he was the US president at the end of WWII and throughout the beginning and the tensest portions of the Cold War. Truman became the president due to the death of FDR towards the end of WWII. He was faced with many difficult decisions including the decision to drop the Atomic Bomb and what to do about the Berlin Crisis. He was the president of the US from April 12, 1945 up until January 20, 1953. Truman was influential due to the time period and the current situation -
Mao Zedong
The Cold War's spread to Asia also led to the spread of communism throughout China. This is important because the United States of America was trying to fight communism worldwide. Mao Zedong was the chinese communist leader and political theorist. He was in office from June 19, 1945- September 9, 1976. Aside from being the communist leader, he doubled the population and proceeded with the political campaign called the Great Leap Forward. -
United Nations (cont)
vote on the UN budget. The Security Council would keep international peace and security. Eleven members would be on this, where Britain, France, China, Russia, and U.S. have permanent seats.
This happened in 1944, but the charter was only made in 1945. The UN was created and still runs today. They have solved many world issues. -
United Nations
After World War II, the Allied Nations needed to create a law or organization to prevent future world wars. Roosevelt thought an international political organization was the only way to achieve this. Representatives from 39 countries met to create the UN. They would vote on world affairs, one vote for each country. They made a charter giving the General Assembly (one representative from each country) power to vote on resolutions, choose non-permanent representatives of the Security Council, and -
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy was a candidate for senator and was the opposer of Robert M. La Follette in the 1946 political campaign. He sparked his career by accusing his opponent of being “communistically inclined.” Fear of communism won him the election. McCarthy was the main reason for American's fear of communism. He kept the fear alive. McCarthy became chairman of the senate subcommitee on investigations of communism. He used his powers to turn government officials to testify about alleged communists. -
Truman Doctrine
This topic is significant because the United States of America was informed that Britain could not support Greece anymore. On March 12, 1947 Truman went to congress to get a grant for 400 million to fight communism in Turkey and Greece. It's goal was to aid “free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” The results were positive, it pledged the United States to fight communism worldwide. Harry Truman was president from April 12, 1945- January -
Period: to
Marshall Plan
This plan was important because the United States of America was trying to aid the European economy because there was mass starvation and terrible winters. In June 1947, secretary of state George C. Marshall proposed what came to be known as the Marshall Plan. IT gave European nations American aid to rebuild their economies. Western Europe's recovery appealed to communism and opened new trade markets. George C. Marshall was most famous for this plan. -
Period: to
Berlin Airlift
It showed the Soviet Union that the western allies wouldn’t abandon the citizens of West Berlin and were prepared to go at all lengths. This was in late June of 1948. The Soviet troops cut off all road and rail traffic to West Berlin. They had planes bring over supplies to people in Berlin. It became a symbol of American determination to stand by the divided city. This ended on May 12th. -
N.A.T.O. (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
An intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. This ensured that if a war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union broke out that we would be backed by many countries that are our allies. -
Period: to
Korean War
Was a war to stop the spread of communism. The americans stepped in to help the very weak south korea from being invaded by north korea who was aided by Soviet Russia. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Before Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, he was a five star general in the US Army during WWII. He is responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa. He was also successful with his invasion of France and Germany from the Western Front. -
Nikita Khrushchev (cont. 1)
so close to the U.S. weren’t removed, the Soviet Union and U.S. would go to nuclear war. Khrushchev ultimately negotiated with Kennedy and they came to an agreement to remove the missiles. Khrushchev was an important negotiator as Stalin would not have done the same. This occurred in 1962, though he became leader of the Soviet Union in 1955. The ultimate result of the crisis was neutral. Nothing had come of it, but the end to a pointless Cold War rivalry. Tensions were loosened between the two -
Nikita Khrushchev
He succeeded Stalin and undid some of the damage the Stalin had set forth. During the missile crisis, he was the one to negotiate with President Kennedy and prevent the world from entering nuclear war. The U.S. had possession of nuclear weapons after World War II. With this knowledge, plus the fact that the U.S. had weapons in Turkey, annoyed Khrushchev. Khrushchev decided to build and place missiles of his own in a Russian satellite state, Cuba. Kennedy threatened that if the missiles that were -
Nikita Khrushchev (cont. 2)
countries.
He was in power from 1955 to 1964. He was famous for leading the Soviet Union in its de-Stalinization. Khrushchev undid all the horrid policies of Stalin and brought the Soviets back on track. He was also very famous for almost bringing the world into nuclear war when he put nuclear missiles in Cuba aimed at the U.S. -
Warsaw Pact (cont.)
and Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Pact was a Soviet military reaction to the integration of West Germany into NATO in 1955. The countries included were: Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany ,Hungary, Poland, Romania, Soviet Union, & Albania. -
Warsaw Pact
(Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) : (1955–1991) was a mutual defense treaty between 8 communist states of Central and Eastern Europe in existence during the Cold War. The founding treaty was established under the initiative of the Soviet Union and signed on 14 May 1955, in Warsaw. The Warsaw Pact was the military complement to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CoMEcon), the regional economic organization for the communist states of Central -
Period: to
Vietnam War (cont.)
came in to help Southern anticommunists defeat the Communists, so it wouldn’t spread worldwide.
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 from Vietnam. North Vietnam and South Vietnam were reunited. -
Period: to
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was based on stopping the spread of Communism. Communists and anticommunist forces fought internally in Vietnam. The U.S. joined to help the anticommunists, because the were afraid of the domino theory. If Vietnam fell to Communism, other countries would slowly do the same.
Communists in South Vietnam, known as the Vietcong, were fighting anticommunists in the region. The North Vietnamese Army eventually aided the Vietcong rebels, providing them with arms and troops. The U.S. -
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States of America and was in office from January 20, 1961- November 22, 1963. is legacy was extremely important to Americans because many looked at him as an amazing president and American. His presidency is important because he was the one who was in office and launched the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as believing in peaceful revolutions. He was also involved in the Latin American communism scandal. -
Berlin Wall
In June of 1961 Kennedy met with Khrushchev who wanted to stop the Germans from going from East Germany to West Berlin. Kennedy reaffirmed the West’s commitment to West Berlin so Khrushchev built a wall sealing off the Soviet sector. The Berlin wall for thirty years stood as a system to separate the East and the West. -
Period: to
Cuban Missile Crisis
The closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The United States armed forces were at their highest state of readiness ever. Soviet field commanders in Cuba were prepared to use battlefield nuclear weapons to defend the island if it was invaded. Luckily, thanks to the bravery of two men, President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, war was averted. Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe but U.S. missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet -
Period: to
Cuban Missile Crisis (cont. 2)
Khrushchev's plan to place missiles on the island. In the summer of 1962 the Soviet Union worked quickly and secretly to build its missile installations in Cuba. Tensions finally began to ease on October 28 when Khrushchev announced that he would dismantle the installations and return the missiles to the Soviet Union, expressing his trust that the United States would not invade Cuba. Further negotiations were held to implement the October 28 agreement, including a United States demand that -
Period: to
Cuban Missile Crisis (cont. 3)
Soviet light bombers be removed from Cuba, and specifying the exact form and conditions of United States assurances not to invade Cuba. -
Period: to
Cuban Missile Crisis (cont. 1)
Union. In late April 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev conceived the idea of placing intermediate-range missiles in Cuba. A deployment in Cuba would double the Soviet strategic arsenal and provide a real deterrent to a potential U.S. attack against the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Fidel Castro was looking for a way to defend his island nation from an attack by the U.S. Ever since the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Castro felt a second attack was inevitable. Consequently, he approved of -
Lyndon B. Johnson (cont.)
known for his efforts of containment especially in Vietnam and his strong belief in the domino effect. HE believed that we must stop the expansion of Communist regimes at all costs. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
President Johnson became the president by default directly following the assassination of JFK because of his previous position as VP. Johnson’s presidency was during the once again booming and bustling US. As a countryman he didn’t attempt to lead from a high an elegant place. Instead he was known for speaking directly, convincingly, and even at times roughly. Johnson became the president after JFK’s death in 1963 and would continue his presidency until January of 1969. Johnson was most well -
Period: to
Ronald Reagan
Overall, President Reagan boosted the U.S.economy. He cut taxes, lessened reliance of the government and increased the national defense. He also greatly contributed in getting Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
He started policies that helped the economy and introduced major tax cuts. Most importantly, West and East Berlin were separated by a gate that had wires and watch dogs and mines. East Berlin was still under Communism. Reagan got the Soviet leader, Gorbachev to finally tear down the -
Period: to
Ronald Reagan (cont.)
wall and free the people.
He was president form 1981 to 1989. The overall result of his presidency was a positive change to the economy and better relations with other countries.
During his two terms, he helped make the U.S. a safer and better place to live. No one will ever forget that he helped patch things up with the Soviet Union and tear down the Berlin Wall. -
Period: to
Iran Contra Scandal
A US president illegally sold arms and access to US military equipment to a terrorist country. President Regan abused military powers in hopes of freeing US hostages in Iran. In 1986 lots of speculation ensued and congress now keeps a closer eye on the government. -
Fall of Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall kept East and West Berlin separated. West Berlin was free as where East Berlin was under Communism. No one could get in or out of East Berlin. All people in East Berlin were almost considered as prisoners. They couldn’t leave because this wall was filled with mines, guards, dogs, barbed wire and machine guns. Whoever attempted to go through would die. When this wall was finally torn down, it was significant in a sense that people were freed and a major Communist force was crushed -
Fall of Berlin Wall (cont.)
Ronal Reagan gave a very inspiring and memorable speech that was mainly targeted toward to Soviet Union. He told Gorbachev to “tear down this wall!” He exposed the Soviet Union as an evil empire and eventually convinced Gorbachev to tear down the wall.
Reagan gave his speech to tear down the wall in 1987. The wall was only physically torn down in 1990. Overall, everyone in East Berlin was freed and a major stepped toward ending Communist aggression was taken. -
George H. W. Bush
He won Republican nomination in 1988. His priorities were focused on domestic issues. Bush guided America through the period after the Cold War. Foreign policy was key to dealing with issues in Russia, China, Panama and the Persian Gulf. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev is significant because of his position as the leader of the Soviet Union and as an important and influential Communist leader dating back to 1985 when he took power. Gorbachev met with and tried to work with Ronald Reagan to improve the relations between the US and Russia and to prevent another arms race with America that he knew they couldn’t afford. He was the first leader of Russia who showed signs that he wanted reform. From 1985 Gorbachev started and would continue to make efforts -
Mikhail Gorbachev (cont.)
to reform the economic system in Russia and to improve international relations until the end of his terms as president, which was in 1991. One of the events that Mikhail Gorbachev is the most well known for is his decision to bring down the Berlin wall. He also made and signed the first agreement to destroy nuclear arms in agreement with President Reagan. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union (cont.)
was no longer the Communist empire of the Soviet Union, but instead the country of Russia was born. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
In 1991 after the resignation of Gorbachev the USSR was officially dissolved and the Commonwealth of Independent States acknowledged the independence of all 15 republics within the former Soviet Union. The Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union formally announced the collapse or the dissolution of the USSR on December 26, 1991, the day directly following the resignation of the Soviet president; Gorbachev. It occurred on December 26, 1991 and the result was that there
